Really good intro video for the most part but misses out on some key points: 80# braid, steel or 150# leader, reels often tightened down too much on a drag & something has to give: That only give is the rod action. Chaos Tackle uses a moderate fast so the blank can take a fighting fish boatside while it's still a hot fish. That's not nearly as good with a fast taper rod IMHO. I own St Croix (Legend Tournament) 2-10 oz H & a Legend Elite 3/4-3 oz M. The 2-10 oz sucks! There is zero parabolic bend to load up on a cast. It's horrible to even try ripping or twitching baits. The M rod is decent though. I changed over to Chaos Tackle 20/20 for the most part because of the moderate fast actions & how they are just incredible with bait presenting. I don't agree with the video suggesting only H or XH rods. They serve their purposes, no doubt. As do the M rods in that 3/4 oz starting weight range (Many inline spinners, spinner baits, crank baits, Suicks etc fall under a 4 oz range as examples). Pick the right rod to fit whatever bait you think you'll be using the most for starting out as rod #1, IMHO There are also handle pistol grip extensions available for some of the rods baked in from the factory & others can have them installed. I'm not a fan. I tried them but just don't find them comfortable. Some guys love them though. This also has to be taken into account when musky rod shopping. See if someone around you can fish with you so their pistol grips can be tried perhaps? I don't fully agree with the caster's height being the only factor. It's actually the height + height of the boat gunnel above the water line that make the rod length instead. I have a Chaos Tackle 8' 6" & 9' Swat rods. The 9' for my boat + my height inhibits bait presentations because I'm tapping the water with the rod tip way too often. A 8' 6" is ideal for me- I can make a wide 8 all day long & properly control a bait's presentation. The 9' is a bit too long. My 10' Shock & Awe is just way too long, period for the boat & my height. Examples? compare a kayak vs a bass boat hull vs a deep vee & there are 3 very different heights above the water. Rod length is way more than just castability because once the bait is in the water, it has to also be presented enticingly & that's all on the rod. Daiwa DX series handles weights really well. I own the 2-8 oz model. Sensitive, can fling 5 oz with ease (most I've tried so far) & it's in the $99 range for budget conscious. Daiwa markets it as a swimbait rod but works great as a musky rod. The video touches upon telescopic rods but doesn't really deep dive the benefits. My rod locker is 8'. I can squeeze a 8' 6" rod. Telescopic musky rods allow a 10' rod to shrink down to 8' 4", a 9 footer down to under 8' collapsed. Being able to fit rods in a locker is so important for boats that have them. Critical even. When rod shopping, make sure you have a way to transport the rod. Without a rod locker, i can't even fit anything longer than 8' in my car. overall rod length is critical Also, I don't take a rod length at face value. Measure where it counts: Line up reel seats or line up foregrips & actually see what the lengths are of the blank because that's a meat & potatoes of the rod. Daiwa DX rods are 8 footers, & when lined up by reel seats is only 2" shorter than Chaos Tackle's 8' 6" rods because it has a 4" shorter butt. Close enough in length for nice sweeping figure 8s. I own the 2-8 oz model. Daiwa cost? $99!! (I could not pass it up!) More rod details? Trolling! The entire realm of musky trolling rods are missing. My trolling rods are Chaos Tackle 7' trolling rods off the corners & I admittedly cheaped out on 9' Shimano TDR M & MH (H is way too heavy for musky IMHO) rods paired with decent reels to give me about a 25' spread with 4 rods in the water. I haven't found a need for a pricey long side rod, so I cut corners. I did grab the 7 footers because they fit my boat perfectly for the transom corners. For starting out on a budget? Diawa DX 2-8 oz range + a Piscifun 300 to give a solid, balanced all around rod to being with. The entire combo is under the $220 range. Reels are a whole other topic :) :) All of this is my extra 2 cents. I made mistakes with St. Croix thinking how could I go wrong, it's a St. Crox after all.... very expensive lesson learned & the H rod sits on a shelf. I hope this helps someone else.
Great video. I just got donated a bunch of musky baits from my grandfather so this video was right on time for me! I think it’s worth mentioning to look online for used rods too. I have bought all my salmon and walleye trolling setups this way and got good rods and reels for a good price all pre rigged too (for the first season at least LOL). I love your videos hopefully we will be back on the water before April if winter allows
There are a bunch of rods made by Gator that are aimed at this kind of action, not sure about their availability in the US though. One suggestion when talking gear - have some links in the description!
you guys are amazing love this my son just started getting into musky fishing has got some decent fish 31 pb he want go bigger in setupd thi shelped alot thank you would love this as a job and your amazing Ben keep it up live in wisconsin hoping next year can get boat me and my son can start a channel
I’m trying to get into musky fishing and have looked at different rods for hours. Do you know if the bass pro shops predator musky rod 7’6” heavy is a good rod.
wow, you just broke down musky rods better than i have ever seen it done. im gonna just link this video to newbies asking questions from now on. i will add. i can throw an esox assault single 8 or a bucher 500 or JB rattler on a 9.5 shock and awe with a 400 tranx or lexa for great distance. i cannot throw a husky medussa on a Medium heavy rod.
What cast weight would you say? Need brand new gear for it 🤦♂️ looking at getting revo toro rocket. Or the toro 60. Gona pick your brain until july, sorry. Going to america to TRY musky fishing. And cat of course. Here in UK we only got welsh cats. Big buggers. But got to try musky first. Its on my list to do befor i die. Another is aligator gar. But need south for that 😁
Realistically the shock and awe is a good bucktail rod and small to medium rubber. Yes they can cast big rubber but working big rubber efficiently they miss the mark on imo. I own one and like I said I've found it's a really good bucktail rod. The new musky innovations rods the xxh and xxxh are friggin sweet for Big and giant rubber but also even med rubber they're gonna be a game changer for people that like giant rubber
Really good intro video for the most part but misses out on some key points:
80# braid, steel or 150# leader, reels often tightened down too much on a drag & something has to give: That only give is the rod action. Chaos Tackle uses a moderate fast so the blank can take a fighting fish boatside while it's still a hot fish. That's not nearly as good with a fast taper rod IMHO.
I own St Croix (Legend Tournament) 2-10 oz H & a Legend Elite 3/4-3 oz M. The 2-10 oz sucks! There is zero parabolic bend to load up on a cast. It's horrible to even try ripping or twitching baits. The M rod is decent though. I changed over to Chaos Tackle 20/20 for the most part because of the moderate fast actions & how they are just incredible with bait presenting. I don't agree with the video suggesting only H or XH rods. They serve their purposes, no doubt. As do the M rods in that 3/4 oz starting weight range (Many inline spinners, spinner baits, crank baits, Suicks etc fall under a 4 oz range as examples). Pick the right rod to fit whatever bait you think you'll be using the most for starting out as rod #1, IMHO
There are also handle pistol grip extensions available for some of the rods baked in from the factory & others can have them installed. I'm not a fan. I tried them but just don't find them comfortable. Some guys love them though. This also has to be taken into account when musky rod shopping. See if someone around you can fish with you so their pistol grips can be tried perhaps?
I don't fully agree with the caster's height being the only factor. It's actually the height + height of the boat gunnel above the water line that make the rod length instead. I have a Chaos Tackle 8' 6" & 9' Swat rods. The 9' for my boat + my height inhibits bait presentations because I'm tapping the water with the rod tip way too often. A 8' 6" is ideal for me- I can make a wide 8 all day long & properly control a bait's presentation. The 9' is a bit too long. My 10' Shock & Awe is just way too long, period for the boat & my height. Examples? compare a kayak vs a bass boat hull vs a deep vee & there are 3 very different heights above the water. Rod length is way more than just castability because once the bait is in the water, it has to also be presented enticingly & that's all on the rod.
Daiwa DX series handles weights really well. I own the 2-8 oz model. Sensitive, can fling 5 oz with ease (most I've tried so far) & it's in the $99 range for budget conscious. Daiwa markets it as a swimbait rod but works great as a musky rod.
The video touches upon telescopic rods but doesn't really deep dive the benefits. My rod locker is 8'. I can squeeze a 8' 6" rod. Telescopic musky rods allow a 10' rod to shrink down to 8' 4", a 9 footer down to under 8' collapsed. Being able to fit rods in a locker is so important for boats that have them. Critical even. When rod shopping, make sure you have a way to transport the rod. Without a rod locker, i can't even fit anything longer than 8' in my car. overall rod length is critical
Also, I don't take a rod length at face value. Measure where it counts: Line up reel seats or line up foregrips & actually see what the lengths are of the blank because that's a meat & potatoes of the rod. Daiwa DX rods are 8 footers, & when lined up by reel seats is only 2" shorter than Chaos Tackle's 8' 6" rods because it has a 4" shorter butt. Close enough in length for nice sweeping figure 8s. I own the 2-8 oz model. Daiwa cost? $99!! (I could not pass it up!)
More rod details? Trolling! The entire realm of musky trolling rods are missing. My trolling rods are Chaos Tackle 7' trolling rods off the corners & I admittedly cheaped out on 9' Shimano TDR M & MH (H is way too heavy for musky IMHO) rods paired with decent reels to give me about a 25' spread with 4 rods in the water. I haven't found a need for a pricey long side rod, so I cut corners. I did grab the 7 footers because they fit my boat perfectly for the transom corners.
For starting out on a budget? Diawa DX 2-8 oz range + a Piscifun 300 to give a solid, balanced all around rod to being with. The entire combo is under the $220 range. Reels are a whole other topic :) :)
All of this is my extra 2 cents. I made mistakes with St. Croix thinking how could I go wrong, it's a St. Crox after all.... very expensive lesson learned & the H rod sits on a shelf. I hope this helps someone else.
Thank you so much for this comment, I found it super helpful, and I will most definitely give the Daiwa DX a try for my first musky rod in the spring
Great video. I just got donated a bunch of musky baits from my grandfather so this video was right on time for me! I think it’s worth mentioning to look online for used rods too. I have bought all my salmon and walleye trolling setups this way and got good rods and reels for a good price all pre rigged too (for the first season at least LOL). I love your videos hopefully we will be back on the water before April if winter allows
Appreciate it! Good luck this year!!
Chaos rods are awesome, fair price, durable, telescopic and great lengths, you won't be disappointed. Great stuff Ben, enjoy the channel very much.
Great considerations and break down of the nuance of musky rods!
There are a bunch of rods made by Gator that are aimed at this kind of action, not sure about their availability in the US though. One suggestion when talking gear - have some links in the description!
Love the Shield Rods from the Musky Shop
you guys are amazing love this my son just started getting into musky fishing has got some decent fish 31 pb he want go bigger in setupd thi shelped alot thank you
would love this as a job and your amazing Ben keep it up
live in wisconsin hoping next year can get boat me and my son can start a channel
That’s your opinion on the diawa prorex reel
I’m trying to get into musky fishing and have looked at different rods for hours. Do you know if the bass pro shops predator musky rod 7’6” heavy is a good rod.
wow, you just broke down musky rods better than i have ever seen it done. im gonna just link this video to newbies asking questions from now on. i will add. i can throw an esox assault single 8 or a bucher 500 or JB rattler on a 9.5 shock and awe with a 400 tranx or lexa for great distance. i cannot throw a husky medussa on a Medium heavy rod.
Appreciate it!!
I don’t know if you will answer but what is the best musky rod for all around and is a heavy
What cast weight would you say? Need brand new gear for it 🤦♂️ looking at getting revo toro rocket. Or the toro 60. Gona pick your brain until july, sorry. Going to america to TRY musky fishing. And cat of course. Here in UK we only got welsh cats. Big buggers. But got to try musky first. Its on my list to do befor i die. Another is aligator gar. But need south for that 😁
I would say a rod that’s rated 3-8oz is Gina do you pretty good! Most musky rods are built in that range too!
I use the okuma psycho stick. I love it. It’s 9’6”
Scheels makes a good budget muskie rod too.
Predator muskie rod bass pro 50 bucks. Caught many 40 plus inchers here in eastern Missouri
What would reel would you pair with that MOJO Musky rod with?
Good video, really 👍. Thanks from 🇨🇵. See you next time ✌️
Good video, thanks!
Very informative video
Okuma Musky Psycho Stick really should be in that lineup.
So is a M bad
Realistically the shock and awe is a good bucktail rod and small to medium rubber. Yes they can cast big rubber but working big rubber efficiently they miss the mark on imo. I own one and like I said I've found it's a really good bucktail rod. The new musky innovations rods the xxh and xxxh are friggin sweet for Big and giant rubber but also even med rubber they're gonna be a game changer for people that like giant rubber