What is your "ideal" pike rod and reel set-up?

[cjac]

Hey all,

I'm curious as to what is your ideal pike fishing rod and reel combo!

I have several muskie combos, but sometimes feel they a bit too much for throwing some presentations. On the flip side, some bassin' combos aren't quite enough.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

* 9' Diamond Med action muskie rod with my new Curado 300DSV reel, great for bucktials but a little too long at times.

* 7'10" St Croix Avid flippin' stick with a 300 Shimano Cardiff. Jig 'n' Pigs, some topwaters.

* Abu 4600 on a 6'6" MH rod for the lighter days. Sometimes switched out to a 7' MH St Croix.

* Daiwa Luna 300 on a 8'6" Thorne custom Avid blank, great for the bigger baits.

* Abu 6500 on a 7'6" MH pike/muskie/bass rod, with a longer handle. I like it for cranks.

What do you all lean towards for pike? Look forward to reading the ideas and options.

[b1gf1sh1]

first off i am going to just assume your talking about pike under 32''s. anything over will test everything you listed. so assumeing that, i'd take the luna off the 8' 6'' rod and stick it on the 7'6'' rod and spool up with 30 lb. original spiderwire. assuming you have a quality tip. if not i'd change it with one.or you could set the reel on a 7'2''(my preference) IM8 guide series MH/fast muskie rod from gander. i've found it to be a very good multi-purpose rod. has a ceramic tip which was made for superlines, even fireline can't cut in under any amount of pressure that can be applied. tips awsome for trolling but the rods not made for it being an IM8, which is graphite. anyway. i have three setups, a 250TE/DC shimano calcutta, on this rod and two 400TE shimano calcutta's on the same rod. one 400TE has never been used in the two years i've owned it. just a back up i never needed yet. the 250 is ideal with 30 lb original spiderwire on it for medium/small to medium sized lures,and the distance i get with it is unreal with a 6'' shallow thunder. spoons take all the line down to the backing if they fly just right. fighting a 46'' fat girl is even great with it. don't know about bigger ones as it's never had one bigger on (that i got in) lost some that might have been. 400 handled my PB 51 1/2'' did'nt measure the girth as i quick release. lol, i'm rambling. anyway, the best is my set up with the 250 TE/DC IM8 gander guide series, 7' 2'' MH/fast action IMHO. the rods never were my most worrisome thing. line, drag, and leader with ballbearing are. after that it's all operator error, or a smart fish IMO. cjac, if you don't own a 250 TE/DC spend the money. you won't regret it i promise. silky smooth vs, cheap polyester/cotton blend. have not felt one single jerky drag in it yet. allways goes out smooooooth. and you can sneak up on fish from way out and cast 100 feet past them and be ''more'' than 100 away. buy one. wifey won't mind it is small enough to still feel like you've got a good fish with a 5-6 lb fish.

[delmuts]

mine is a 7'6" MH flipping stick, paired with an old 5600 black max,and 80 #PP.( i use this for bass fishing in the nasty stuff too! )

[AaronM]

 Quote:

first off i am going to just assume your talking about pike under 32''s. anything over will test everything you listed.

I really disagree with that. I most often fish for notherns in the spring and usually don't target them the rest of the year. I keep my 15 pound test line on the reel and just use my bass rods. I've caught many fish in the upper 30s and low 40s, and have never had a problem handling the fish, losing the fish, or overplaying the fish. IMO, if you don't want to drop the money for a new northern rod, use what you have.

[b1gf1sh1]

lol. you misunderstand. i said test not break. cjac was saying it felt to light or too strong. anything over 32'' i've ever caught never felt to little to be caught on those rods he mentioned. for real fun a #5 fly rod would be great huh?? i can't comment on the smaller stuff because my style is either the MH's or my spinning outfit's. i do own a couple few trolling rods that are heavy.line counter reels, two Tekota's. i own a couple low pro's and lighter casting rods but they have gathered dust on the reel covers for years. so i just don't know.

[AaronM]

Ah my apologies. I see what you were getting at now. Fly rod..now that would indeed be fun

[cjac]

I see what you mean by "testing" the set-up now too!

I forgot to mention the set-up that may be my favorite. 8'Med Dback with a 253 Luna, the reel is along the lines of the 250 Calcuttas. This is my go-to tiger set-up, and caught a couple really nice bonus pike too, out of a lake I wouldn't have suspected.

I mentioned the 300 Cardiff, really a nice reel for the $100 range. Some call it a "poor man's Calcutta". Something to consider for those reel shopping.

I will say I do have a blast with a spinning rig and a topwater like a Skitter Prop or Heddon Torpedo for pike, even off the dock. Fun times and a 4 lber can make a run for the money!

[Steve Foss]

For me, for pike, for 20 years it's been Ambassadeur 6500 series reels and 7' graphite MH rods like the Berkley Lightnin Rods. It's an affordable combo that can stand the gaff, and it makes a fine addition to a musky or catman's tackle lineup.

I have always been on a budget, so $200 or $300 reels and rods have not been within my reach. I've fished with those $500 setups and they are great, no doubt at all.

Yet I've still got two of the original 5500 and 6500 series reels I bought more than 20 years ago. I fish with them all the time and they still work great.

I believe at last count I have 7 Ambassadeur baitcasters.

[Muddog]

Almost all my Northers are cought with a ML rod and 8lb test line. In the area I fish a 12 lb Norther is big. Norther pike are not power swimmers. Just get them to face toward the boat and they will dart right to it and as long as you turn them and get them to dart back and forth along side of the boat and not under it (doing the yo-yo), it is not really a power game. Just aim them carfully. 3-4 runs and then the net.