Good value musky rod

[greenhornet73]

I do not do a lot of musky fishing but when I’m at my friends camp on the SLR I have been trying my hand at some casting.  My 6’ MH casting rod isn’t cutting it for my 1oz spinners and large crank baits.  What are some decent rods for under $100?  I am thinking heavy action and maybe 7-7 1/2’ to pair up with my Piscifun Alijoz 300. Any recommendations would be great, thank you.

[Sea Nympho]

Well GH73, under a $100, I would try Muskie Flea Market on Facebook. Musky rods are pricey but worth it.  A St Croix Triumph series would be your best bang for your dollar. If you get a Musky on , it will be worth every $ spent. 7' 6" or 8 ' should do it. The guys online at The Musky Shop can steer you in the right direction. Call them for good free advice. Best of luck and good fishing.   Dan

[lachsforelle]

I have a Cabela's brand musky rod that I got for less than $100 and it has held up just fine.

 

[Sea Nympho]

Thats cool, I didnt realize Cabelas offer a Musky rod.  I've been running St Criox Rods since 1992 with no problems. I'm a troller, my casting friends like 8' 6" TO 9'  rods for casting.  The longer rods cast heavy lures farther and are better for figure 8's boatside. Just throwing it out there.  Tight Lines !!

[lachsforelle]

Right on.  If I was a dedicated musky guy, I'd probably pony up for a nicer casting rod, but for the handful of casting days I do a year, it's a good fit.  For trolling, I use my LE and LO dipsy set ups.

[greenhornet73]

I have a Gander Mountain IM6 8’ Musky rod I bought on clearance years ago  when it was closing down for around $40 and it works awesome for jigging striped bass and bluefish but haven’t tried casting with it.  It has awesome backbone but very little tip action unless under a decent load.  Does a good casting rod have a little softer tip or not necessarily?

[Sea Nympho]

Prices sure have gone up. I think a good rod is worth the investment

[Ronix 51]

On 5/25/2023 at 11:13 AM, greenhornet73 said:

I have a Gander Mountain IM6 8’ Musky rod I bought on clearance years ago  when it was closing down for around $40 and it works awesome for jigging striped bass and bluefish but haven’t tried casting with it.  It has awesome backbone but very little tip action unless under a decent load.  Does a good casting rod have a little softer tip or not necessarily?

Not necessarily - the tip and its action (or how soft the top end of the rod feels) varies between rod manufacturers. To get an idea on how a muskie rod might feel, compare both its action (medium, MH, H, XH, etc) to its taper (moderate, moderate fast, fast, etc.). A rod with a fast taper will bend more towards the tip of the blank thus giving it that stiffer feeling. St. Croix rods tend to have faster tapers paired with their actions vs. chaos tackle rods which have more of a parabolic bend and load more further down the blank. Both are great rods and have different tip actions. A lot of it comes down to A. what you're throwing with it and B. personal preference.

 

To the original poster's question: what is the size baits are you going to be throwing with this rod? Boat-side maneuvers are a big part of musky fishing now so longer rods have definitely become the norm. If you're going to stay under 8' or go with a longer (8'0+) telescopic rod, you can probably find some used ones in facebook groups that are relatively cheap to ship and discounted. Otherwise, your retail options are pretty limited around NY minus cabelas in Buffalo and Chautauqua Reel Outdoors in Lakewood down by Chautauqua. 

[NPike]

I got mine 8..5' from St Croix 2  piece. They had a  line of rods in varying  degrees of loading  and lengths in  the  Mojo Musky series.  For medium-heavy 1/2 to 2 oz, I bough St Croix Triumph   series never  had a better casting rod in >> 40 years, excellent sensitivity.

[NPike]

I  still don't think y can beat St Croix. It really is worth  the extra  $(50 to 80). And they backup  their guarantee. Over the years sent 3 back or reported (no loner need to send back the rods