Looking for some expert input. I have a couple guys who want me to put together a 9' XH Muskie casting rod for them. I've built some larger pike rods but not anything this big.

Recommenations welcome please.

What baits are your customers going to be throwing with these rods? The intended purpose will dictate which blank will work best.

jeremy

Jeremy - both said they throw a lot of Bulldogs and other big plastics.

Thorne Brothers in Minneapolis really specialize in Musky fishing.

Give Lonnie a call in the rod building department for very good advice on the blank and component choice for a great musky rods.

They have worked with St. Croix rods to bring out a line of Musky blanks that they call the "Predator" blanks. Really no better blank on the market for Musky fishing.

[www.thornebros.com]

For big rubber, here are my recommendations:

Tackle Industries 9' XXH
St Croix Legend Big Dawg (you can easily extend it to 9')
St Croix Premier 8'6" XH (you can easily extend it to 9')

I am in the middle of building a rod for my personal arsenal that is basically a Premier 8'6" XH extended to 9'5" with about 4" trimmed off the tip. I am building it to throw Pounders for an upcoming trip to St Clair. All testing points to this being a dynamite big rubber rod!

As Roger mentioned, Thorned Bros has their line of Predator blanks made by St Croix. They are very nice blanks, but also very expensive. If you're paying retail, they are cheaper than the St Croix Legends. If you are able to purchase them wholesale through a rod building business, the Legends are MUCH cheaper! If you decide to go with a Predator, the XH or XXH will work depending on the size of the bulldogs.

jeremy



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2014 12:59PM by Jeremy Wagner.

As a musky fisherman and rod builder I would recommend the St. Croix 9' "Big Nasty" blank. It is a legend tournament series SCIV blank. It will handle any bull dawg they want to throw, plus it is an awesome big bucktail blank as well. I have two of them that I built myself and use them for exactly what these guys are looking for. One always has a bucktail on it and the other usually has a bull dawg or top water bait of sorts on it. This is a very versatile blank...

Obviously, you will be using a casting reel. I would highly recommend one of the spirel wrap guide set up of your choice. Torque is huge on a fully loaded muskie rod if your hooked up.

Although Bob's advice can be very good, there are many Musky fishermen that do NOT want a Musky rod to be spiral wrapped.

It has to do with the way that the rod is cast and used for musky fishing. Yes, a spiral wrapped rod can take care of some issues, but for some Musky fishermen, they very much was a conventional wrapped rod.

So, always check with the client before building a rod that is out of the "norm".

Be safe

Although Bob's advice can be very good, there are many Musky fishermen that do NOT want a Musky rod to be spiral wrapped.

It has to do with the way that the rod is cast and used for musky fishing. Yes, a spiral wrapped rod can take care of some issues, but for some Musky fishermen, they very much was a conventional wrapped rod.

So, always check with the client before building a rod that is out of the "norm".

Be safe

Just to let you know, we have some IMU rod blanks that have been discontinued still out there. We even still have a few instock that any one of our retailers can special order it for you.

I do a fair amount of muskie fishing and toss some 16oz bulldowgs and I use an 8'6" extra heavy competitor blank. Though I like the spiral wrap on bass rods I do not like it on my muskie rods.