Northwest Fishing Reports

Was wondering what brand rod most guys are using? I'm looking at picking up a rod soon. I've been using Loomis steelhead rods (plug rods and back bouncers) which work okay but don't seem to be heavy enough for the bigger fish. Was looking at a Loomis or possibly Lamiglas muskie rod. I personally prefer a little longer length, probably looking at 7.5 to 8 foot. Thanks.

I have wondered what most consider to be the required gear for Muskies. So far I have used a shorter 6' 6" bass heavy action bass rod. Since I have been fishing from water level in a pontoon "kick" boat, the shorter rod has made it much easier to manage. I have thought of going with a longer rod around the 8' to 9' in length to make casting the lighter lures a bit easier. Basicaly a salmon rod such as you have mentioned. Unlike bank fishing for salmon where you really need to horse them in quickly, you have all the advantages of using the boat to your advantage. I am thinking a medium auction rod would be fine with 10 to 15 lbs main line.
I would be interested in hearing what the more experienced guys are useing for muskies.

For a first muskie rod, I recommend a medium-heavy action bucktail rod with a fast tip in 7'6" length. It will handle bucktails, crankbaits, and surface baits. You could also use a general-purpose rod in a 6-6" to 7'3" length with a medium to medium-heavy action and a fast tip for most of your fishing. The main advantage of this rod is it might be less expensive. If you fish in a boat with a high casting deck, you'll need a long rod to do figure-8s. A longer rod also casts farther with less effort.

Rollie's sells economy rods by Shimano, Daiwa, and Cortland in the $70 to $100 price range, and these are good rods. St. Croix is one of the most popular brands; their "Premier" series rods are priced from about $110 to $170, and their "Avid" series rods are over $200. These are excellent rods. Premium quality rods by St. Croix, Loomis, Lamiglass, and Diamondback generally cost $200 or more. Generally speaking, though, you have a pretty wide selection from reputable name brands if you can spend around $120. Bass Pro Shops offers a 6'3" heavy-action rod for $29.95, but this is really a jerkbait rod and not the best rod to fish bucktails and crankbaits with. It would be a good second rod if you want to play with jerkbaits and gliders.

I currently own 7 muskie rods I've accumulated over the last 20 years, most of them purchased on sale or from bargain racks. Three of these are special-purpose rods, including a spinning rod. I have 4 general-usage rods, and two of these are bucktail rods, in 7' and 7'6" lengths, one by Garcia and one by St. Croix. The Garcia is my favorite, and was an economy rod that I picked off a sale rack in a tackle shop in Hayward, Wisconsin about 15 years ago. The St. Croix is the most expensive rod I own (I paid about $130 for it in 2003) and is the one I use most. I really would like to acquire a third bucktail rod that's somewhere between those two, and if I could give myself a new rod, I would buy Diamondback's 7'6" Light Bucktail Rod, which Thorne Bros. sells for $199 (Rollie's price on this same rod is $209). If I were your spouse giving you a birthday present and had $200 to spend, I'd give you Diamondback's 7'6" Medium Bucktail Rod (same price), because it's a little more versatile in terms of handling a wider range of lures. If you can spend that much, I think you would be very happy with this rod for many years to come, but you can satisfy your needs by buying one of the other rods that costs less.

On the subject of steelhead rods and bass flipping rods, they're okay for smaller muskies, say up to about 38 inches, but they really don't have enough backbone for good hooksets and they're on the light side for playing 20 lb. fish. I've caught tiger muskies on my flipping rod, but I'm really not comfortable with it, and prefer to use a proper muskie rod. I think you will, too.

I have two rods that can cast small bucktails (like the Mepps). One of these is a muskie spinning rod I got from Cabelas. The other rod is a Pete Maina Series muskie casting rod from Bass Pro Shops, 8'6" (2-piece). I have also used my flipping rod for this purpose, and I have friends who have used steelhead rods in 7 to 9 foot lengths. Keep in mind that when casting lightweight lures, you need to use a lighter line. If I were going to fish for tiger muskies with bass plugs, I think I'd use a heavy action bass rod in a longer length, say 6'6", with a pretty stiff action, such as a worm rod designed for big bucketmouths.

I just bought an 7'-9" Berkley, cork handle, Buzz Ramsey line rated at 15-50. Sweet rod and I think it was about 60 dollars. It's light as a feather and stiff as a board, perfect!! I bought this one at Bi-Mart but you can find them about anywhere. They are hard to beat for the price in my humble opinion. I have the same rods in a 9' version that I use for chinook.

Jed V.

Don gives you some very good info on rod choices but remember when he say MH, he's refering to MH Musky action. Not MH steelhead etc. There is a big difference.

I decided to go with G.Loomis, ordered a MUR914C this morning. Should be a nice rod for throwing bucktails.