Tiger Muskie

[Bugchucker]

I recently lost my 10 wt graphite muskie rod overboard...amazing how quickly a kayak can tip when turning around to reach for a beer. Anyway, I figured I might as well consider just making a muskie rod to see if it's possible. I cast up to 10 inch flies so ideally a 10 wt, but I realize that would probably be impossible to cast for any length of time. Thinking of a double hander (casting overhead), 9 wt, maybe a two piece 8 footer? Sound even remotely plausible? Any help in developing a taper is appreciated. I'm a very novice Muskie hunter. I figure if my arm gets too tired, I'll take a break and fish for trout with my 5 wt.
Thanks,
Mark

[Gunpowder Angler]

What ever rod you build, I suggest also doing a strength training program.

[mrampant]

I built a 10wt in a 3 piece format that was with bamboo ferrules and hollowed; I could cast it for most of the day without too much trouble and if I timed it right I could get 90 ft of line out with one back cast. Which is consistent with my efforts using a graphite rod.
If you are interested send me a pm and I'll see if I can dig up the numbers.
Cheers,
Mark

[MNJoe]

Mark

I agree with you. I chase tiger muskies in fall and get tennis elbow. To me, it is about fly design. The fatigue comes from casting a "wet sock" all day, not necessarily being a 10 wt. It's crazy I might spend an hour tying a fly only to see it shredded on the first fish.

I have two handed rods and wouldn't choose it for this purpose, if it were me. Seems cumbersome, especially after stripping in the fly, but might be interesting to do figure 8s. I have no experience with switch rods.

I use a clear intermediate line with a running line on a 10 wt. I notice I need to slow my cast and really allow the rod to load, otherwise I work too hard at casting and get the tennis elbow. I fish unweighted hollow fleyes with a metal leader section for weight and jigging action primarily in shallows less than 10 feet deep. With the shooting line I don't have to cast a lot of line and let her fly. So it is shooting shorter section of line and loading rod so it does the work.

Joe

[joep]

Wouldn't some of the heavy PHY young really shine here. You can mess around with the tapers a bit, hollow them splice them etc. Also, James Reid makes a 9wt hollowed and spliced. Maybe email him if you are looking for some ideas.

[Bugchucker]

Sorry for late reply....
Thanks for all the help gentlemen. I'm going with a guide in a couple days, so I'll get a better idea as to what I'm actually supposed to do with a muskie rod.

mrampant...I will probably take you up on the design, although I have no idea as to how to do a bamboo ferrule. I just ordered fiberglass tubing to try some fiberglass ferrules on a 4 piece bonefish rod I want to try and build. Maybe that would work?
Thanks again everyone,
Mark

[pete from mass]

Thomas & Thomas is offering a series of bamboo rods for saltwater called “Sextant”.
They range from 6 weight to 12 weight and the 10 wt is 8’ 5”.
I think your rod is very doable.
I spend a lot of time fishing for stripe bass . My rod of choice is a 10wt (because it casts better in wind).. I think your biggest challenge is fly design. Trying to get get a big profile that you can still cast. I hate the “wet sock” sensation. It is possible to get a big profile and still keep it sparse and castable.
Good luck.

[Bugchucker]

Thanks for the info Pete. I'm still researching tapers and trying to decide if I really want to work out my arm casting bamboo or just be lazy with the graphite. It'd be fun to catch a tarpon too though.....