Forum | Spinning outfit for muskie and pike

Now here's a question that I don't really understand.  It's interesting, but I don't understand it all the same.  It's kind of like asking the question, "I want to drive 16 penny nails, what size Crescent Wrench should I buy?"

I suppose there are some people that just cannot (for whatever reason) use a baitcasting outfit.  But that's about the only reason why I can think that a spinning rod/reel should be used over the properly sized baitcasting outfit.

Baitcasting tackle is the proper equipment to fish for these large, toothy creatures.  Baitcasting rods come in the proper lure weight/line class and actions for effectively fishing the large lures typically used for pike type fish.  AND, baitcasting reels offer a much better weight to "power" ratio than spinning gear can offer.  Here's a case in point. 

The Shimano Stradic is one of the few spinning reels that has the internal gearing to handle muskie/pike fishing on a regular basis.  In order to get a reel that's going to have the line capacity to handle the fishing you're asking of it, you're looking at minimum a Stradic 5000, and preferrably a 6000 series reel.  The weight of the reel is 14.1 or 21 oz., depending on the reel you choose.  A Shimano Calcutta 400 (which is the workhorse reel for muskie fishing) weighs in at 11.7 oz.!  Those extra ounces are really going to add up over a day of chucking big baits.

Now, are you going to be throwing traditional muskie/pike lures, or are you going to be tossing the big stuff?  Because that gets us into totally different rod classes.  Some of the new swimbaits for muskies weigh a pound or more!  That's NOT a lure that's going to be friendly to most spinning rods available on the market today.  And let's not forget about the latest fad, the "Cowgirl" spinners.  With two #10 blades, two 7/0 treble hooks, this isn't an easy lure to throw, and it's less easy to retrieve.  Again, this isn't spinning rod territory.  I did a BUNCH of looking for musky spinning rods and the selection is pretty limited.  Most of them are in the 1/2 – 1.5 oz. class.  There were a couple that would handle 2 – 6 oz. lures, but the weight factor again of a rod like that has to be considerable.

And what I've covered so far doesn't even begin to get into doing things like figure 8ing at boatside with a reel in freespool!

I'm going to need some additional information from you before I can begin to describe the spinning outfit needed for pike & muskie fishing.