I still dont know what rod to get!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[shae1986]

All righty I am asking for the help of the musky anglers here. I am relitivily new to the muskey scene, fished for them the last 3 years here and there and last year i caught one, so you all know what that means.

I have been looking at rods non-stop for a little over a month now. I go to college so funds are somewhat limited but i dont want a piece of junk. I have thought of going custom and that is still an option but have been looking at some different rods. Like a St. Croix or a Berkley. I do want a good rod and I think i want a 6'6" MH rod. I all ready have purchased a reel. Any imput here on any other rods i should look at?

Thanks

A. Shae

P.S. I throw mainly bucktails, large spinner baits, and hard bodied topwater lures.

[10,000 Casts]

For what you are going to use them for, I highly recomend either

1. Guide Series Pro Select IM8 from Gander $79.99

2. Shimano Compre $99.99

3. St. Croix Premere $159.99?

all have good warranties but Gander and Shimano's is over the counter and st. croix's will cost you $50.

I highly recomend going with a 7' heavy but MH will be ok if you like the feel of it better. Longer for better casting and deeper figure 8's and more leverage. Stouter for better hooksets and throwing heavier baits i.e. mag hawg wabblers.

I have use the Guide Series rods for 2 years and I still really like them. I have a 7'6" heavy and a 6'6" MH. This year I am going to the St. Croix SC4's (but they are expensive) and using my Gander Rods as backups and for my buddies. I have also used some Compre's and for the money you can't go wrong. I am not huge fan or the Premiers but alot of people really like them, they have a better action and a little better constuction and heavy duty eyelets but they are too heavy for my liking.

Hope this helps

John-

[bigbritt]

give thorne bros a call.....tell them what you are interested in and they can help you in the right direction....they will custom build a number of different blanks for you and they arent all that much more expensive. i had a st. croix premier 8 foot blank turned into a 8'9" thorne custom that didnt cost much more than a stock.

http://www.thornebros.com/

[Jim Hudson]

Shae

For your money, check out the Pete Mania line of rods and or combos at Bass Pro... I have been using these exclusively for the past two years with good success.. Good bang for your buck IMHO...

There are a wide range of rods for different applications and I would say if you want to pull all kinds of duties with one rod, either the 7'6" or 8'0" model will do you well on all the lure types you mentioned, plus more..

The rods come with a balancing system as well that really helps when chucking baits all day long... The reels are nice too!!!

[shae1986]

Thanks for the opinions everyone, I think the reason i am looking for a 6 6 or 7 is that is the only size i have ever used. I am headed to Gander on thursday to take another look at some rods. Keep the ideas coming.

A. Shae

[MUSKY18]

From the lures that you said you use, you would be best suited with a longer rod than 6'6". I would go with at least a 7'er for certain. For bucktails, topwaters and big spinnerbaits, the longer the rod, the more ease of use. It is much easier to figure 8 with longer rods, as well as retrieving those baits. A 7'er will also be good for working the mojority of jerkbaits and crankbaits. I have mainly use Gander and Shimano rods and really like them. Two season ago, while fishing up on Vermillion, I snapped my 7'6" Gander rod in half. Walked into the Gander when i got back, gave them the broken rod, and walked out with a brand new rod. No questions asked. I also have a few Fenwick HMX rods, which run about the same price as the Shimano Compre rods. Just my .02

[10,000 Casts]

Shae,

when you come to fargo, hit up Sportsmans, Scheels and Gander. It's nice to put the rods side by side. But remember that all 3 stores are still getting stuff in so they might not have some specific rods.

I would suggest getting some friends and road tripping to Blaine for the Muskie Show. They will have every rod that you can imagine and more including some of the customs so you can compare them. You will probably save $20-30 bucks and that can help pay for gas.

I will be down there all weekend, shoot me an email by Wednesday night if you want to check out some rods down there. [email protected]

John

[cjac]

I'd encourage you to look beyond the 6'6" as well. As much about keeping the rod "loaded" when hooked up on a fish as it is about casting distance. The longer rod makes for easier and bigger figure 8s, and the ability to speed it up if you need to.

I have a 6'9" that's my shortest I use and even that feels short to me.

Chris

[RK]

Hiya Shae -

Look hard at either the Shimano Compres, or the Pete Maina Bass Pro series.

I never used to have much time for the Compres, but since they redesigned them they're actually pretty nice, with a much wider variety of rods than they had before.

The Maina series rods are just good bang for the buck too.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Meat-Run]

Shae,

Rob is on the right track those two rods are very dependable rods and a good price especially when trying to build up your arsounel(sp?). I started out with a 6-6 and upgraded to a 7 footer and now for even throwing the smaller baits such as bucktails a 7fter is going to work better. Too, don't get caught up in the custom rod building until your financially established if you know what I mean. Believe it or not I have pruchased $40 muskie rods that are very "disposable" in the 6-6 size and work perfect to get my collection up and to share with buddies when we fish together. Later down the road you'll want the lightest rod you can afford because heavy rods will were you down on long days.

Stick with the 7ft size and grow from there and do join a local muskie chapter nearest you because some of the chapters have lure/rod swaps and this is a great way to increase your selection very cheap. I feel for you because I was in college at one point and couldn't afford the "legends" and "g-loomis" until I was out of college. The funny thing is that still to this day my favorite pole is a two piece 6-9 St.Croix that in its day cost about $59, go figure.

Good luck and if you can get to the Blaine Expo that place is AWESOME place to see what is available.

mr

[DinkADunk]

My wife has been real happy with the Shimano Muskie rods she has, very good grip design. Myself I like large grips so I build my own. Anyhow, besides the usual suspects (St. Croix, Shimano, Fenwick, G. Loomis) you might also check out FigRig rods. Joe's Sporting Goods in St. Paul has a resonable selection and Thorne Brothers has carries all of the above plus they put together some reasonable Muskie combo's (line, reel, rod) that will save you a few bucks.

[DitchPickle13]

Shae~

I have a Pete Maina BPS, Guide Series IM8, and a Compre. No compaints about any of them really, but the Compre is certainly my favorite. I paid the same for the Compre as the Guide Series because I got it at the Muskie Expo. I would definitely buy a Compre if I needed another rod!

My $ .02

[bubs]

use a 7ft you can"t go wrong it you could even go to the 7'6 but on a limited budget get a 7 ft. you can through all the baits you said and most of the jerk baits too. the 6.6 is good for trolling big bait and casting heavier jerks. their are so many good rods out there it is just preferance. when you have a bigger budget than you can have specialty rods. I have from 6.0 to 8. and seem to always throw the 7 or the 7.6

[shae1986]

Well i would like to say thanks again for all that replied too my question. I went to the stores today and I now know what i am going to buy, a 7'2" guide series rod from Gander. I looked at i believe 5 or six different rods and also some different lengths and that is the rod i have chosen. Sometime in the next week or two i will head up there and make the purchase and also get some line too so I can spool up the reel and make some casts in the backyard. Thanks everyone!!

A. Shae

P.S. Sad thing is I went to strickly look at musky rods and i bought a walleye rod too.