New muskie reel

For a while now I have been researching reels once again. Last year I got an Abu Garcia Revo toro 50 for casting but my muskie fishing styles have changed from last year. I used to cast only now its more Trolling and Jigging with some casting on the side. I really wanted a reel that can do it all trolling, jigging, and casting which is a tall order for a fishing reel. I have burned out a few reels now and even though they are made for muskie they just can’t stand up to the abuse. I have found the reels that last the longest are the ones that I used more for trolling since they saw far less abuse. The first things to fail are always the level wind and drag. I have seen lots of muskie reels just fall apart on people or break at a bad time.
I wanted a reel that is going to last and not break easily. I was turned onto saltwater reels last year and I have been looking at them for months. I started to realize how simple a lot of saltwater reels are compared to freshwater reels. In some ways it makes them seem inferior but there are less things that can break and they offer different options than freshwater reels. The Lever Drag was a big want for me since it can be preset to specific lbs of force. Now a star drag can also be setup this way but the fact is that once you turn that star drag knob that setting is lost unless it is calibrated again with a spring scale. I found out though that pretty much all lever drag reels do not have level wind. I have been practicing the last few jigging trips with an Abu Garcia record 60 that I removed the level wind from since it failed. I found that it was not hard fishing without a level wind it just takes some getting used to. The next thing that is always hard to choose is gear ratios on a reel: High speed low torque or low speed high torque. I found out that many saltwater reels are offered as 2 speed reels containing both high and low gear ratios which would be great for muskie fishing.

After lots of research I finally ordered an Avet reel. I went with the JX Raptor 6/3 MC.

Here are some of the details
Made in the USA
Lever Drag Max 30lbs on Strike 40lbs on Full
2 speed reel 6.0:1 (46” of line per crank) & 2.8:1 (22” of line per crank)
Magnetic cast control
Weight about 23oz
All machined aluminum frame.
I had it spooled with 300yards of 80lb test Jerry Brown spectra braid

My muskie jigging setup is a 7’ MH ugly stick tiger rod

I got this reel yesterday and I was able to take it out on the river for some jigging already. Had a fish on for a minute but none landed. The amount of line pick up this reel has is just insane on high. The drag got a workout on a snag and it was very smooth I just wish it was fish and not a snag. I plan to put this reel on a casting rod today and give it a try. The surf casters claim with a 8’-12’ rod they can sail lures 100 yards with these reels. I will write up a review once I get a few fish landed on this reel. I figure it will also make a great sturgeon reel so will have to start fishing for them now.

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Here are some pictures of the Avet compared to an Abu Garcia Record 60

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Fishing 7-10 & 7-11

Had a good weekend out there with Troller11, Shagnasty, & Steve J. Saturday we got between 20-25 fish we lost count after a while but there were 5 legals in the bunch. Sunday we were 6 for 6 with 2 legals the biggest was just under 50" and I was happy it was caught on one of my G-Man bucktails. We did not get any runner size fish but it was still a great fishing weekend. Congratulations to The PREMONITION team on that first place fish.
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Jackie the 9 mile BP lure I made up for you also took a few fish this weekend.
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Open seat or 2 for muskie fishing tomorrow 6-10-10

I want to head out tomorrow for muskie jigging or trolling. I plan to hit the lake or river around 11am and stay until 8pm if the bite is good. I am open to either one if I go trolling I will be launching at the crocker launch, jigging I will be launching down in Wyandotte. Please have a Canadian license if we you want to go jigging and a muskie jigging setup with some lures. For trolling I have enough rods and lures for 2 ppl and only an American license is needed. Send me a PM if you are interested.

Coast watch website warning

Just an FYI I know we all use the coast watch site all the time to get our images of the lake to see water conditions but I noticed the other day they have added a warning to the site which is listed below. It looks like they do not want hotlinks to images on their site posted on other websites. I guess we will just have to save the images and post the file so their website is not being overwhelmed with traffic from a hotlink. I would hate to see this site shutdown because it is a great tool for fisherman and or fisherwoman.

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Open Seat or 2

Send me a PM if you are interested. I plan to be at the launch around 6am stay out until I get tired or rained out. You must be 18 or older and have your own tackle. 1 seat left

AlexG