Can't believe it

General musky fishing discussions and questions.

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fredjordan
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Can't believe it

Post by fredjordan » Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:06 am

So today I finally got a muskie on. Not only was it on but it was a big one and right when I got it to the boat it snapped my line. Now I am upset not only because I lost the fish but also because of the damage my lure is going to do with it still being in the fish......I really dont know what happend I had 50lb braided on and a 12" leader. I normally use an 18" leader and maybe its teeth hit the line....I dont know I am very distraught about it though. My biggest was 49 1/2" and was 30lbs on st.clair and this one was bigger than that. Was it my drag? What the hell happend?

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Chasin50
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Post by Chasin50 » Wed Jul 07, 2010 6:11 am

Wow, sounds like a great fish. Even though it may seem like 50 lb line is adequate, it really isn't for muskie. I would highly recommend bumping up to 80 lb. That has become the standard for muskie nuts, with many folks using 100 lb.

The fish do not seem to care about the presence of the line, so there really isn't a downside. Braid is very strong, but also susceptible to abrasion. It can wear and not be obvious that it has weakened.

The 12" leader is probably fine for length, but the quality and strength are important. Make sure the leader is built with appropriately sized components. I use leaders made with 120 lb single strand stainless or 130 lb fluoro. The weakest terminal component is rated at 250 lbs.

These are both good insurance policies that will prevent (not eliminate) break offs. Check you line often, and re-tie daily or within the day as needed.

Don’t beat yourself up too much, it's not like you did it on purpose. Hopefully the fish will shake the bait quickly.

edalz
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Post by edalz » Wed Jul 07, 2010 3:10 pm

I agree with everything Chad has said and here are some things to consider:

-80 or 100lb braid is the way to go and I like PowerPro or Berkley Invisabraid.

-After a full season with braid you can pull it off and flip it around for the next season.

-Get a good leader like Chad has talked about (see if you can get some from MMA) and if not Stealth makes a good leader and I just stepped up to 150lb flurocarbon.

-Check your rod guides with a Qtip to make sure they are not cracked. If they are cracked it will pull off the cotton and this could lead to a line failure.

-When fighting a fish try to make sure the line doesn't touch the boat or motor if possible. I have seen line broken in saltwater like this and sometimes you need to put the rod way underwater to avoid it.

I know you feel bad but this can happen to anyone and if you and others learn from it then that is all you can do. Good luck!
"I wish ignorance was painful".

fredjordan
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Post by fredjordan » Wed Jul 07, 2010 5:11 pm

Thanks for the help guys! I have been using 50lb braided PowerPro for the last 3 yrs and have been happy with it up until this point. It worked fine for pike but after what I have read I need to up the PowerPro to atleast 80lb. How long will it take the hooks to rust out? or better yet I hope the fish has thrown the bait. I have been using Berkley leaders but not as many lbs as you have suggested. Before I head back out I will spool up some 80lb and a stronger leader.

I can't help but think that if I would of loosened the drag that I might not even me typing this right now, but posting pics and it would of been released with no harm done.

When it seen the boat it dove straight down and snapped my line. If the drag had been loose it would of just peeled out line.

Where does everyone keep there drag for fishing? Do you let the fish run a lot until it gets tired? Do you let it run but then horse it in just before it stops?

Smada962
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Post by Smada962 » Wed Jul 07, 2010 5:42 pm

fredjordan wrote: Where does everyone keep there drag for fishing? Do you let the fish run a lot until it gets tired? Do you let it run but then horse it in just before it stops?
I like to keep my drag about as tight as possible, but immediately after the hook set I will back off as needed. I want to make sure I can get the best hookset possible even on a long cast and keeping the drag super tight helps this. It has just become habit for me so I don't see it as much of a hassle.

I never like to let them run until they are tired. Too much stress on the fish plus it just leaves more time for something to go wrong or the fish to get off. I've lost a few too many nice fish at boatside so I get impatient. Not saying you want to "horse" it either, but it is ideal IMO to get the fish in the net as soon as possible.
Ryan Adams

Yeah well ya know, that's just like, your opinion man

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Will Schultz
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Post by Will Schultz » Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:06 pm

I have gone away from a locked down drag setting and instead to a setting that is very tight yet slips slightly upon hookset with a long heavy rod. The drag is tight enough that small fish (under 40") can't take line but anything over 45" can take line on a hard run. If I see that a fish is barely hooked I will sometimes use the freespool to give line. Beware backing the drag off during a fight too much, if you can't keep a bend in the rod the drag is too loose and will result in lost fish.

That is good advice about going to at least 80#. Spiderwire stealth and power pro are the lines I prefer. For leaders check out Stealth tackle - http://www.stealthtackle.net/
Self interest is for the past, common interest is for the future.

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Steve S
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Post by Steve S » Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:43 pm

I'd rather have more drag than less. I try to get them in the net as fast as possible to get them to settle down and get them on there way.

edalz
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Post by edalz » Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:51 pm

I know I lost some fish last year because of a locked down drag. I have loosened it up and use my thumb if I feel the fish taking too much. I want to get them in the net as quick as possible but horsing them in doesn't work well for me.
"I wish ignorance was painful".

swanezy
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Post by swanezy » Wed Jul 07, 2010 10:47 pm

i usually have my line tight on hook set, then loosen it accordingly depending on the size of the fish.

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Corey K
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Post by Corey K » Thu Jul 08, 2010 8:03 pm

Would you rather have the fish rest in the net or freak out? IMO a super green fish in the net could do more damage to itself than a slighty tired fish. The last fish I netted was in the net very quickly, the fish fought more in the net than normal, and no I didn't pick the net up, one loose hook in the net and the problem can worsen. Most of my reels are all different some have thumbars, levers, and buttons so freespooling isn't always easy or possible and I have come to really like my reels with a thumbar and not worry too much about loosening up the drag. I don't know about size of fish dictating on how hard they are going to fight, some of the smaller fish I've caught have fought hard especially in cool water.

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jasonvkop
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Post by jasonvkop » Fri Jul 09, 2010 12:06 am

Corey K wrote:Would you rather have the fish rest in the net or freak out?
+1. I usually play fish more than hauling on them as I don't want them going nuts jumping all over the place. I keep my rod tip very low, in the water even, and will let the fish run when it wants to by free spooling my reel. I've seen a good amount of people try to force a fish one way or the other and it leads to the fish going crazy at the surface and throwing the hooks. My brother really hauls the fish in and catches a good amount of fish so I think it is just up to the individual on how he or she is comfortable in fighting the fish.
The Musky Bandit strikes again!

Smada962
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Post by Smada962 » Fri Jul 09, 2010 10:12 am

Let me clarify what I said earlier. I never would advocate a "locked down" drag. I just said I like it real tight, but even then with 80lb power pro it still will slip slightly, until I get to loosening it which I do every time I get a fish on regardless of size. Just depends on each fish. And I surely would NEVER fight a fish with a locked down drag. And as far as playing them out, I just beleive in getting it in the net ASAP. Not saying horse it in at all, just that if the fish is in netting range, I will net it, as opposed to letting it take a few more runs. Last summer when I was still trying to get the hang of fighting and netting muskies by myself I lost a couple real nice fish by listening to advice from my dad and trying to tire them out a little before I attempt to net.
Ryan Adams

Yeah well ya know, that's just like, your opinion man

TimD
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Post by TimD » Fri Jul 09, 2010 1:57 pm

I normally tighten my drag down fairly tight, not too tight, and loosen it if need be with a larger fish and haven't experienced any problems until this year. I'm not sure if it is just coincidence or not. Since going to a few of the longer rods this year, 8'6" and 9'3" okumas, which I really like, I have lost several fish on DB10's or other blade baits. In the past this has rarely happened. Bucktails are normally at the high end as far as hooking percentage for me. Not sure if this is a drag issue, the hook setting dynamics have changed with the longer rods or what.

Ranger
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Post by Ranger » Sat Jul 10, 2010 5:15 pm

I didn't notice if you mentioned the brand/model of reel you are using. Drag systems of different brands and models of reels arrive out-of-the-box in various states of functionality, and most reels can be improved. I upgrade all my reels with better quality components resulting in vastly improved drag system performnce. (All my reels are older Abu 4000, 5000 and 6000 series and every one has replacement Smooothie drag washers plus other upgrades.)

With the exeption of my jig/creature rod, all my muskie rods are spooled with 80# PowerPro with either 80# flourocarbon (Climax) leaders or 240# stright-wire leaders, both of which I make myself. (I use Berkley bearing swivels and Stringease snaps as terminal leader components.) 240# straight wire leaders are used only for Poes Giant Jackpots and all glide baits, otherwise I use 80# flouro on all presentations except the jig/creature rod. The jig/creature rod has 50# PowerPro with homemade 40# Sevenstrand leaders each attached directly to the jig.

Flouro leaders including terminals are about 12", straight wire leaders including terminalas are the same length as the lure I'm using, and the jig/creature Sevenstrand is about 24". The jig/creature rod is custom made for me using a blank intended for bass fishing, specifically, the jig/creature rod was intended for flippin' jigs into heavy cover for bass - a long rod with a fast tip but lots of bend.

If the components of your drag system are top-shelf and you set tension correctly then you shouldn't have to do [i]anything[/i] like thumbing the spool or lessening the drag while fighting your fish. This matters to me because I fish long hours and at night. Long hours result in fatigue which means lesser ability to make effective split-second decisions fighting the fish. Fishing at night means my drag system must be able to deal with strikes I get both far away from the boat and also boatside strikes on the 8, either way the drag is set to get the fish to the net. So far, I've never lost a fish due to the failure of the drag system or because I failed to change the drag tension while fighting the fish, nor have I ever killed a netted green fish.

Last, if you choose to replace your drag washers with Smooothies, you not only improve your reel's potential performance, you also learn how to break apart, clean, relube and rebuild your reels. This is invaluable knowledge necessary to ensure your gear is [i]always[/i] the best it can be every time you launch your boat.

And thems my 2 cents for muskies.

When fishing spincast outfits for walleye and I hook a big girl (anything approaching or over 30") I ALWAYS adjust my drag tension while fighting the fish because I have 8# braided line and usually a 6-8# flouro leader. I boated a nice 28" walleye a week or so ago (on a homemade crawler harness, thank me) and once I got her close to the boat that fish ran from boatside straight down to the lake bottom, about 25' deep, 3 or 4 times before I could get her to the net. Normal big walleye fight for me these days.

Whew, sorry I wrote so much. I respect other folks who have responded with their suggestions to your initial post, we learn from each other always.

fredjordan
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Post by fredjordan » Sat Jul 10, 2010 11:52 pm

I have 2 rods with c4 abu garcia reels and 1 with a c3 and also the 6500lc. I have always liked abu garcia reels and my walleye poles are also rigged with abu garcias.

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