Casting
Rods and reels
Unfortunately, casting equipment suitable for muskie fishing can be quite expensive. In order to cast large lures on heavy line, baitcasting equipment is a must. A top-quality ball bearing reel with a good drag like the Ambassador 5500C or Lew Childre BB-2 is expensive but should last for years.
When selecting a rod, remember that although you don't need the sensitivity of graphite, the hooksetting power and the advantage of its lightness is a real plus. I have had the opportunity to fish with many different manufacturers' rods but I am convinced that the Skyline and Lamiglas rods are exceptional.
Line
Once again, it's back to the controversy about lines: monofilament or Dacron? I believe that when casting, Dacron's low stretch is a real advantage for setting the hook. You're not using rod holders now and it's up to you to pull that big jerk bait out of the fish's teeth and set the hook. My preferred Dacrons are Cortland Muskie Master and Gudebrod GT in 30 or 36 pound-test. If you prefer mono, make sure you use premium quality like Berkeley's Trilene or Dupont's Stren.
The razor-sharp teeth of a muskie can slice through any line regardless of quality, so I always use a leader when casting for muskies. Once again, I prefer a single strand stainless steel wire and I make my own. The only difference between my trolling leaders and casting leaders is length. I prefer a short ten- to 12-inch leader for casting since I don't leave my lures in the water for long periods of time and I can check my line for damage frequently.
Lures
There are four basic lure choices for casting: jigs, bucktails, crank baits, and jerk baits. When fished for muskies, jigs are almost always used in conjunction with a large plastic lizard (or creature) or live bait. They can be very effective under tough conditions (cold fronts) and in lakes that receive a lot of fishing pressure. If there is a drawback to jigs, it is that they seem to catch a lot of small fish and are often swallowed so deeply that the fishes' gills are damaged. This means that a lot of jig-caught fish cannot be released so I only fish jigs under extremely tough conditions.
Early in the season and right through September, bucktails should produce consistently and are without doubt the number one choice as casting lures. As the season progresses, jerk baits start to become more and more effective. A jerk bait is a large wooden bait with no action of its own. The angler must impart action on the lure by jerking his rod while retrieving the lure. There are basically two types of jerk baits: those that dive when pulled and move straight towards you and those that dive and move from side to side. Of the former, the Suick is undoubtedly the best known of all jerk baits while of the more erratic types, the Teddie bait is probably the most popular. My current favorite and the best jerk bait I have ever used is called the Somemake jerk bait. Its reputation vas built by the many fine anglers on Chautauqua Lake in New York.
When it comes to size, you don't have much choice. They should be as big as you can cast, usually weighing between three and six ounces and from nine to 12 inches long. When choosing colors, pick any color as long as it's black! I suspect that the silhouette of the black variety appeals to striking fish. Again, it could simply mean that black jerk baits are catching more fish because more anglers have confidence in them. Whatever the case, they are superb baits and give excitement to angling for muskie.
Crank baits are basically the same plugs as trolling baits. There are times, especially in the very late fall, when you can't get a muskie to come up to hit a bucktail or a jerk bait. That's the time to tie on a crank bait. Quite frankly, fishing muskie-size crank baits is very hard work, specially when you are wearing a down vest and a snowmobile suit in the late fall. When selecting crank baits for casting I recommend you go with the smaller models; it will be a lot easier on your arms and shoulders. When selecting colors, use the same guidelines I recommended for trolling lures.
There are many choices, as you can see, but as a basic guideline I use bucktails about 50 percent of the time, jerk baits about 40 percent, and jigs and crank baits the other ten percent of my casting time.
