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jeroldharter
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Revisiting this thread a few years later. In the meantime, I picked up a Meiser 2-hand overhead casting rod. Basically, these are short (9'6") and stout spey rods designed for heaving dense Skagit heads and big flies with minimal false casting. So much easier than single handing a big rod all day. The hard part is that there is not much online to teach you how to use one. I just happened to see a guy using one on a saltwater trip and was curious. Now I have two of them - one for bass and the other for pike/muskie/saltwater.
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smokedwhitefish
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My tying sickness has lead me to big musky/pike flies. Now I need a rod that will deliver these large, tandem hook flies where I want them to go. Anyone fish muskies? What rods do you use?
(Disclosure- I've never caught a musky, but I'm hell bent on catching my first this year on the fly. I'm from Northern Wisconsin, I shouldn't have much trouble finding fishy water.)
RM
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cschub13
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Why do you think it needs to be a spey or switch rod? Plenty of people get the job done with a traditional large weight fly rod.
Your rod choice also depends a lot on where and how you are fishing. Lake, river, boat, canoe, shore, wading, etc.
I assume you already fly fish if you are tying your own flies. What do you typically fish?
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smokedwhitefish
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I know I could get by with a traditional 9wt, but I guess I kind of just want a two hander. I have a gear addiction... Fishing for musky I would be throwing bigger flies from a boat, so I'd have room to cast a two hander, and (correct me if I'm wrong) I figure I could cast those big flies farther and/or easier with a two hander.
I own single hand rods in 3, 5, 7, and 8 wt. I mostly use the 5 wt for bass, and the 7 wt for steelhead. I wouldn't trust my cheapo 8 wt for a musky.
I dream of one day making it out to the west coast to fish some of their big Pacific tributaries for steelhead, in which case I would want a spey rod, or at least a switch, but in my neck of the woods I'd pretty much only use a two hander for pike and musky. I'm not in a hurry to buy a rod, just doing my research to figure out what I want.
RM
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cschub13
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quote smokedwhitefish: "I know I could get by with a traditional 9wt, but I guess I kind of just want a two hander. I have a gear addiction... Fishing for musky I would be throwing bigger flies from a boat, so I'd have room to cast a two hander, and (correct me if I'm wrong) I figure I could cast those big flies farther and/or easier with a two hander.
I own single hand rods in 3, 5, 7, and 8 wt. I mostly use the 5 wt for bass, and the 7 wt for steelhead. I wouldn't trust my cheapo 8 wt for a musky.
I dream of one day making it out to the west coast to fish some of their big Pacific tributaries for steelhead, in which case I would want a spey rod, or at least a switch, but in my neck of the woods I'd pretty much only use a two hander for pike and musky. I'm not in a hurry to buy a rod, just doing my research to figure out what I want.
RM"
I think you'll find a larger traditional fly rod (10-12wt) would be better suited for pike/musky. They can easily get a 12" waterlogged bucktail the appropriate distance.
I'm certainly no expert on two handed rods though and I'm also not sure how well they would even cast a heavy musky fly, but I would think that using a two handed rod wouldn't work just on the basis of retrieve. You'll need a solid strip retrieve for those big fish that I'm not sure you can get done with a two-hander. Just my thoughts.
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WHendrix
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I lived on the West coast (well, not exactly, I lived in Eastern Washington) and had several friends who used spey rods for Steelhead. They also went to Northern Saskatchewan for pike and they all used traditional 9 or 10 wt. rods for that.
Bill
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jeroldharter
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Spey rods are more mushy than traditional rods. Muskie tend to follow flies before striking so you are not having to set the hook 60 feet out. A regular 9 footer will do. I have caught most of my muskies on a 9 foot 8-wt rod casting bass/pike flies. I rarely fish for muskies on purpose - too much work. But I catch then regularly fishing for smallmouth. I like to keep an 8-wt 9-foot rod rigged with a large, 3-0 half-and-half that I cast out if I get a follow. I also through the same fly on purpose when fishing for muskies in Canadian lakes. The 8-wt is a bit light for blind casting so a 9 or 10-wt would be a little easier on the arm. If you are truly tying large muskie/pike flies then I would use a 10-weight.
You could always do both, a 10-wt plus an equivalent spey rod and see which you like best. That will satisfy your gear issues!
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smokedwhitefish
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You guys aren't helping my gear addiction... Now I need a 10 wt pike rod, and an 8 wt spey rod... Thanks a lot! ; ) But really, thanks for the input.
I figured a two hand rod would offer a little more leverage to fight a fish the size and strength of a musky? I've never used a spey rod, so I guess my assumptions are just speculation.
RM
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