Musky from shore

[MuskieBait]

There are many more reasons to use a stiff and heavy rod for muskies than to land the fish quickly.

With truly BIG muskie lures, the hook wire is very heavy gauge and the gap is wide. This combination will make a solid hook set difficult on a MH rod as it is much too soft. You need the stiff rod to deliver a heavy hook set into the bony jaw.

The stiff rod is meant to handle heavy lures. Many BIG muskie lures weight anywhere from 2-8oz. Lures at this size will snap MH rods which are not designed for casting in this range.

Depending on where you fish for muskies, some fish live around log jams or heavy weed bed. You need the heavy rod to pull a big fish away from these snags as quickly as possible. It is the same argument that bass anglers provide when they justify the use of 65lb braid and MH to H bass rods to pitch in heavy weeds or wood cover. Otherwise, that type of gear is overkill for even tournament winning bass.

Some rods are also designed with trolling in mind. Trolling a large crankbait or double 14's spinner generate a lot of resistance on the rod. Anything less than XH rod will constantly put a strain on the rod while trolling.

As for the heavy line justification, there is a rule that is well known to distance casters. It is the one-ten rule: For every one ounce in casting weight, you need to use 10lb of line strength. Thus, if you were to cast a 3oz swimbait, you better have a minimum of 30lb line. Again, the super heavy line recommendation is based on application...and for some people, versatility dictates that the heavier the line, the more situations it can handle. Spooling with 65-80lb braid will allow anglers to fish heavy lures as well as troll with the same outfit.

Yes, you can catch muskies on MH rods. I use an Okuma Komodo 364 with 40lb braid and a Shimano Clarus 7' MH for smaller muskies. So far, my biggest landed was a 32" fish. My friend Matt used a 7' MH spinning rod, a 3000 size spinning reel and 30lb braid to land a 36" and a 41" muskie on the same day. People have caught big muskies on M spinning rods with 8lb test unintentionally. Is this the best gear to use? No. Does it get the job done occasionally? Yes. But if you are serious about catching BIG muskies consistently, then you need to be tossing BIG lures...not bass size lures...and that dictates heavy outfits.

** A friend of mine recently went to California with a M action travel rod to fish for tuna. They caught some tuna under 10lbs...but he said it was the most painful experience fighting hard running fish on undersized gear. So if you want to target fish a species and do well, use appropriate gear.

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(10-05-2015 08:31 PM)MRQturbo Wrote:  every musky we've landed went back in the lake w/o issue....i don't believe that they've evolved to become apex predators w/o being fairly hardy and tough...but thats just me...

If that's the argument, I don't know why salmon belly up when they are being played for too long. Aren't salmon designed to be hardy and tough so they can jump waterfalls and swim hundred of kilometers to reach the spawning grounds?

If that's the argument, I don't know why marlin die on the line when they are being played for too long. As an apex predator with only sharks to worry about, and these predators travel across the ocean chasing bait schools, are they supposed to be hardy and tough?

If that's the argument, I don't know why Tiger Sharks belly up when they are being played for too long. A 14 foot Tiger Shark has no other predators aside from man, and it is as tough and hardy as you can get when it comes to apex predator.

The truth is this: over playing a fish can cause significant lactic acid buildup that a fish cannot recover from the ordeal. This has been shown. In extreme cases like marlin and tuna, they have been known to suffer heart failures (heart attacks) during extended struggle and the fish dies on the line. Although a fish may appear to swim away fine at the moment of release, recovery following release is not 100% and there is a mortality rate. As such, anything that an angler can do to land and release a fish quickly can improve survival rate...and if you are able to mitigate for fish loss, it should be done.