Susky River Rat Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 I am looking to start throwing A rigs for bass on this one lane where there is a tone of open water bait. I have a musky 8’6”assault stick musky rod fast medium heavy 3/4 - 4 oz paired with an abu revo toro beast I used to smaller musky baits. Would this be a good rod for this? For you gear heads out there what really is the difference between a musky specific rod vs a bass specific rod rated around the same rating? I do not have an issue buying a new set up for this adventure but, if I have something already that will do the job why not utilize that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted January 7 Super User Share Posted January 7 Worth a shot. Maybe hook it up and go chuck it for a while. A muskie rod seems like over kill for bass fishing though. At least where I am. Further south where there are bigger Florida strain bass it might be more practical. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susky River Rat Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 @gimruis yeah I do as well. I just have no experience with the A rig. Seriously a 5-6lb bass is probably the biggest I would routinely catch on it. I’m not saying there aren’t bigger in that water because I am sure there is just like any body of water. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User WRB Posted January 7 Super User Share Posted January 7 I am not familiar with that rod so can only suggest trying it. Most Musky rods have heavy lower 2/3rd of the blank closure to XXH swimbait rods. The heavy overall weight and longer rod may wear on you faster then a rod designed for A-rigs or MH 5 power swimbait rods. Tom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted January 7 Super User Share Posted January 7 4 minutes ago, WRB said: The heavy overall weight and longer rod may wear on you faster Good point. Traditional muskie tackle wears my out a lot quicker from a physical standpoint than bass tackle does. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susky River Rat Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 7 minutes ago, WRB said: Most Musky rods have heavy lower 2/3rd of the blank closure That was my concern and that I would feel and detection. as far as wearing me out I have that set up balanced very well and I have learned to use the rod as a lever and let it load rather than horse it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User WRB Posted January 7 Super User Share Posted January 7 IROD IRG783SB is rated for 1-4 oz lures Fast-Mod action, 7’8” And excellent A-Rig/ Medium size Swimbaits like Hudd 68 (2 1/4 oz) etc, $150. IQ804SB, 8’ with cork handle similar to above and made for A-rigs plus same 1-4 swimbaits. $205 Tom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Valley Tackle Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 The lure weight range looks good. No one casts more than a musky angler so don’t worry about fatigue. Species specific labels are just suggestions and mostly just marketing. Short answer to the OP is Yes 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User A-Jay Posted January 7 Super User Share Posted January 7 I am not an A-Rig expert, but I fish them Like any somewhat different presentation, there's a bit of a learning curve. And with this deal there's a good bit IMO. The tackle for sure being one of them. The size and numer of jigheads and baits, as well as the type and size line used can help determine what rod would perform well. The more the A-Rig weighs the more rod I'd use. A lighter rig benefits from a lighter blank. Either way, rods at or even over 7'6" seem good. A rod rated for 4 o z is not what I'd select unless the rig was that heavy. For reference, I fish 5 baits, all with 1/8 oz heads. Total rig ends up something a bit over an ounce when you add in the plastics. A musky rod in this situation would seem to me like panfishing with a flipping stick. A-Jay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody B Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 I've never weighed my A-rigs. I do a few different things with them. Most of the time I have four 1/8 to 3/16 heads with swim baits that are 2 to 3 inches long. For the 5th, and trailing bait I've had really good luck using a 1/2 ounce Johnson Silver Minnow spoon. I've seen them ignore a full swim bait rig on sonar, then actually caught doubles on one with the spoon on the next cast. Perhaps it's different than what they normally see. My rod is 7'6" heavy extra fast. IIRC it's rated up to 2 1/2 ounces or so. It's not a specific swim bait or A-rig rod. I had zero luck with an A-rig until I got live sonar. What I learned is I wasn't letting it sink enough. It sinks slow, especially for it's weight, but it also comes up slow. I was slow rolling mine like a spinnerbait. What mine like are give them a BUNCH of time to sink, then a moderate, hopping retrieve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susky River Rat Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 @Delaware Valley Tackle thank you. I am not worried about fatigue because of the rod weight. Even my 65 year old dad can cast reg dawgs all day. It’s all in the mechanics of the cast and using the rod as leverage and letting it load. The issue with musky fishing isn’t the cast ever. It’s the retiring the ripping pull dragging big baits through the water. I will try this set up first and if I feel like it’s hindering my ability I will get a lighter rod. @A-Jay this was for my light musky lures. Some were only an ounce up to about 3. Throwing a small wooden suick on a XXheavy rod is about impossible. @Woody B I won’t be using live sonar. I already had it in my head to learn the sink rate of it to get it down to close to where I need to be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted January 7 Super User Share Posted January 7 I have bass swimbait rods rated 2-8 oz and muskie rods rated 2-10 oz. Two different animals. The muskie rod is MUCH stouter. That assault stick should serve you well for throwing rigs. That additional power of the muskie rod, while not needed for fighting bass, makes chucking a rig easy compared to even XH bass rods. Sensitivity shouldn't be an issue. Rig bites generally aren't subtle. Give it a go and see what you think about it. Just make sure to set your drag appropriately for the hooks you're using. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User WRB Posted January 8 Super User Share Posted January 8 It's not the total weight of A-rigs, about 1 1/2 oz total, it’s the bulk and air resistance requiring loading the rod and making a long lob cast. If the rod is too stiff it. doesn’t load up to help launch the lures. I used the IROD suggested and it works good, my XH swimbait rods we’re very tiring to cast A-rigs, great for 8” Hudds and 5 - 7 lures. The Musky rods I used in Canada for about 20 years casting Musky lures I learned from experience were too stiff to use for bass swimbaits. Musky rods need more power to get hook sets on big tooth fish. Tom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susky River Rat Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 @WRB I was using .75 oz wood suicks, .22 short SS which are 1oz, 1.5 oz mini angry dragons and 6” phantoms which are 3 oz on this rod. It was specifically bought for this purpose so I could load the rod up to cast those lures. I understand jt will flare open in the air much like a double cow girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Solution FishTank Posted January 8 Super User Solution Share Posted January 8 I had a 8' St. Croix Mojo Musky rod with around the same specs. I wanted to use it for A-rigs and swimbaits. It looked good on paper but in practice it was not the best idea. If I had a good size fish hit it, say 3lb+, it wasn't bad but when a smaller fish would bite, which would be most of the ones I catch, I had a hard time getting a good hook set because of how stout the rod was. A fish really had to hit hard. The way it loaded was just different from a bass rod. Also, it was fatiguing to fish this thing. I ended up selling it. The short answer for me is yes, you could use it but I would try it out with the idea you may need something else. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susky River Rat Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 11 minutes ago, FishTank said: If I had a good size fish hit it, say 3lb+, it wasn't bad but when a smaller fish bite, which would be most of the ones I catch, I had a hard time getting a good hook set because of how stout the rod was. That’s what I am worried about. The back bone of the rod is to stiff and won’t flex enough to get a good hook set. I’ll just rip the lips off instead or miss the bite completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted January 8 Super User Share Posted January 8 I'm throwing rigs on a 9' H muskie rod. Heavy wire 6/0 hooks. Wire is .082 and .088. 1/4 oz heads and 4.8" keitechs. I'm targeting muskie but, I've had zero issues hooking and landing bass and saugeye with it. Average cast is 80-90 feet without a ripping it, just lobbing it out there. I used to use a 7'11" flippin stick and it worked fine also, but I found it more tiring to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susky River Rat Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 @T-Billy I am not going to use it for musky. Just bass. I have no need to beef up. I will probably never musky fish in my home state again. I do not want to upsize and won’t have a need to. I want it to suspend/hover in the water column much like @Woody B described his do. i am going to follow the suggestion of use try it out but, probably end up planning on getting different gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User T-Billy Posted January 8 Super User Share Posted January 8 2 hours ago, Susky River Rat said: am not going to use it for musky. Just bass. I understand. I was just trying to make the point that it's easier to throw on heavier gear, and that strike detection and hooking/landing smaller fish on that rig shouldn't be an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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