# Spinning gear setup



## CrewCabMax (Jun 2, 2008)

Anyone fish with a spinning rod for muskie?? All you ever hear about is casting setups. Just curious if anyone used spinning tackle. I was wanting to buy a new rod and reel more for musky/pike fishing. I am NO GOOD with baitcasters AT ALL, so its going to have to be spinning tackle. I guess i havent practiced enough with casting gear, but would like to get a spinning rod setup. What would be a good starting point? What am i looking for in a reel? What types of reels would you recomend?? Rods?? Thanks for any help!


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## Mason52 (Aug 21, 2009)

Musky gear is different then bass stuff. See if you can find a friend with a 6500 or 5500 Abu to try, it's not that tuff trust me, even my 9 yr old can use them with the 1 to 5 oz baits used with musky fishing. You'll get used to it quick and be glad you did. I had never use one but a few time before I started Musky fishing and now it's second nature


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## ironman172 (Apr 12, 2009)

I caught this 25 lb fish on the rod and reel shown(while trolling for saugeye)....medium lite ugly stick....now if I was musky fishing all the time with LARGE baits I would use bigger gear...but not much bigger....I will troll with casting gear as I to have not learned to fish with them and just let the bait out behind the boat without casting...I like the shimano calcutta 400 

If you want bigger spinning gear for that fish check out some salt water equipment...penn 5500- 6500, 704z would work well...302 mitchel...heck if you want to spend some money a Van Staal 150


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

Big thing is to match the lures with the rod and reel. You can do fine if you use Mepps Musky Killers and some of the other smaller bucktails. If you want to throw double cowgirls well you going to have to beef up your tackle. Alot of guys at Leesville use Sisson's which is really just a bass plug. 
The baitcasters now a days are so much better than they were in the past it's amazing. If you were using a reel that was thirty years old I can see why you may have had problems.


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## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

Many of the top rod manufacturers are making spinning rods for musky fishing. The Shimano Compre 7' spinning rod is a great choice. There was even a segment in a video with Jim Linder where he discussed the advantages of spinning rods for muskies. They're especially good for certain applications, like jigging big tubes or bulldawgs. 

Here's what I'd buy if I was purchasing a spinning setup for muskies:

Rod: Shimano Compre 7' Spinning rod 
Reel: Shimano Symetre 4000 series
Line: #65 power-pro

You should have NO problem casting most of the typical muskie baits on this setup. Granted some lures require a specific setup to throw them (i.e. double cowgirls, big rubber swimbaits, etc).


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

I have a Pflueger Medalist in the 6500 series....with an 8.5' Power Pro Rod....its a great combo for muskies. And don't believe that all you have to use for muskies is a biatcasting set-up....there are spinning reels and rods out there that will get the job done just as easy, especially while casting. Trolling is a different issue, but it appears you're looking for a set-up for casting only. Just get yourself a quality spinning rod with a good/smooth drag system which holds a good bit of line and a M to MH action rod 7.5' or more in length, and you'll be good to go. I got 50 lb. Power Pro line on mine as well. The only thing is you're kind of limited on what kind of baits you run....I just use mine for cranks and bucktails...no jerkbaits. Hope this helps.

Cabin Fever Go Away!!!!!!


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