Your Muskie Lures

First off when buying muskie fishing lures make sure you are buying top of the line lures, lures made by trusted companies that have a trusted reputation within the world of muskie fishing. We are not fishing for bass here! Losing a 14 inch bass because of lure failure is one thing, losing a 50 inch muskie that took 12,000 casts to hook is another!

Any hard bodied muskie fishing lure should be built with a through wire construction, inline spinners should be built using a solid wire process!

One area that many lure manufacturers will cut corners on are the hooks they place on their lures. One of the first things I do after buying a muskie fishing lure is swap out the hooks! Cheap hooks break and bend, theres nothing worse than loosing a big muskie because of hook failure, nothing! I replace all of my hooks with VMC 4X or 5X hooks, these hooks are much stronger than most stock hooks and hold a point. Even after replacing your hooks it is very important that you take the time to sharpen them. Even the best hooks out there are not always sharpened to full capacity out of the pack.

Also make sure that the O rings holding the hooks to your muskie fishing lures are of the highest quality! One weak link in the chain could ruin a full days worth of fishing! A big muskie will open a generic O ring up with ease.

Muskie Fishing Leaders

The quality of leader you use while muskie fishing is just as important as any other aspect of your muskie fishing gear. NEVER use crimped leaders, they are garbage and will fail when you need them most! Use only high quality, hand tied leaders made by a company with a good reputation for producing quality leaders. Bucher Tackle makes a good muskie fishing leader, I have not had one fail on me yet!

Hand tied Fluorocarbon leaders are a good alternative to conventional leaders, I dont use them personally though I know allot of guys that do and I have heard nothing but good about them. I would steer clear of titanium leader seeings that they are all crimped and as mentioned before crimped leaders = bad news! If you want to risk losing the muskie of a lifetime than by all means give crimped leaders a run. Ive just seen to many anglers lose big muskie going this route.

Muskie Fishing Line

It has been disputed for years as to which fishing line is the best for muskie fishing. In my opinion the evolution of super braided fishing lines puts this argument to rest! These super lines offer the muskie angler rock solid hook sets with absolutely no stretch and also offer awsome casting characteristics. The strength of these fishing lines is also amazing, there are no other lines lines made that are as well suited for muskie fishing as a good braided line. Mono is out on muskie fishing, its time to make the switch!

The only exception to this would be while trolling for muskie, when trolling for muskie you want some degree of stretch. In this case you will want to go with the highest quality mono fishing line available to you.

Muskie Fishing Reels

In this day and age there are so many high quality fishing reels available to the muskie fisherman. It would be impossible for me to sit here and tell you go with this or that specific fishing reel, but what I can tell you is this, dont cut corners! Buy a solid high capacity, dependable reel for fishing muskie. Cutting corners here will cause you nothing but problems. A good muskie fishing reel will last for years, in fact if you purchase a good muskie fishing reel you will not only eliminate the chances of fouling up many a muskie fishing trips, but also have a fishing reel you will be able to pass on to your children.

Make sure you maintain your reels, set and test your drag on every outing. Lubricate your reels several times per muskie fishing season. As mentioned above muskie fishing is not like bass fishing! The gear you use while muskie fishing will take more abuse than any piece of fishing gear you use to fish for bass or just about any other freshwater game fish!

Muskie Fishing Rods

Like muskie fishing reels, there are so many high quality rods out there that your options are virtually endless. The key here is quality!

A high quality graphite fishing rod is a must for muskie fishing, Ive seen to many big fish lost because an angler tried to cut corners on rod quality. Having any run of the line heavy action rod just wont cut it!

Rod care is very important, abusing your graphite fishing rods will create week points within the blank which can ultimately lead to rod failure. One of the most dreaded things that can happen to any angler with a huge muskie on the end of his or her line.

The weight and length of the rods you use for muskie fishing will depend allot on personal preference and fishing conditions. No matter what rod you do use make sure it is of the highest quality, period! A trout angler may be able to cut some corners when buying a spinning rod, though that avenue is just not going to cut it when muskie fishing!

I hope this article shed some light on just how important quality and dependability are when it comes to muskie fishing. As mentioned before there is nothing worse than fishing for days on or weeks on end to get that one monster hooked only to lose it due to equipment failure.

Always, even with the best gear go over every detail and inspect all of your muskie fishing equipment before hitting the water. Do this and take the advice given above and you will eliminate your weak links and lesson the chance of losing the muskie of a lifetime!