Bait-casting reel - pike, walleye

[nebulosu]

Hi, I am a beginner in bait-casting, just started a year ago. Now I want to upgrade my equipment. I fish mainly for pike and walleye.

I am looking at abu revo winch and daiwa hsta.

Can I use the revo winch for throwing 3/8 oz crank baits, how about 1/4oz jigs or 3/8oz spoons?

[BRONZEBACK29]

Not sure what size of pike your fishing for but I would go with the Curado 300E.

As for the waleye I like my chronarch D7....

[ecu daniel 14]

I agree with the 300 curado...unless you want some beastly Winch drag, but IMO its not fun to just manhandle a fish...I like to play with him

Shimano makes a good product, cant really go wrong....

You might want to take a look at some round reels too...Daiwa Luna, Shimano Calcutta....

[Smalleyez]

The HSTA makes a nice reel for your uses. I had one for a while and I caught some very large pike using it, yet it will cast a range of lures for both eyez and pike.

[nebulosu]

Thanks for the replays guys.

I am based in Europe, so I am not talking about muskies, just pike. There are 10kg (22 lb) pikes, but my personal record is 2.5kg (5.5 lbs). I think curado 300 is a bit to much.

I am fishing for all my life with spinning gear so I have all I need as for throwing light lures.

Just need something to extend my capabilities for deep cranking and heavy lures.

I like the slow speed of revo winch in retrieving lures, but I am concerned about how will it behave when I have a fish hooked on that decides to take a run to the boat.

[ecu daniel 14]

Oh, you should be fine with a winch for that purpose...if you dont feel comfortable enough of the lower speed try a regular Curado or if you like ABU try the STX...

[Elpablo]

For pikes a curado E200 is enough but for muskie is better E300

[Buck2thPerch]

Here in the midwest USA, Norther Pickerels (Northern Pikes or just Pikes as we U.S. Midwesterners call them) get up to 50+ inches and up to 30+ Lbs. And then you also have Muskelleunge(Muskie as we call them) a cousin of the Pikerel that are even more aggressive and bigger (over 60 inches and over 80lbs). I have fished for these fish and a regular Curado 200E7 will do only if you are planning on landing fishes under 20lbs or when you need to throw those 4oz-7oz lures, the Curado 200E and even the Curado 300E are way underpowered. You WILL need at least a Luna 250+ Size or Calcuta 300+ Size for Northern Pikerels/Muskelleugne. Plus the Rods used for fishing such heavy lures will need to be extra Heavy and comparable to big inshore rods but does not need to be as long. Another thing you need to account for is the sharp teeth these fish have. 80lbs and even 100lbs braid will get cut by these fish like a hot knife through butter. These fish are the fresh water equivelant (looks and tenacity) of the baracudas found on the reefs of oceans and seas. Pikes and Muskies have been known to and documented to attack people just like Baracudas.

So with all the facts aside and back to the subject, a normal round reel size of a Calcutta 300 or bigger is necessary.

[nebulosu]

I am not new to pike fishing, I know about their teeth. I use steel or Kevlar leaders tied to 15lbs mono and special tools for removing the hooks from their mouth.

30lbs pike ... this is for pro fishermen. There are records like that registered for the waters I am fishing on but it will not happen to me only once I remember my father caught a 1 meter (3.2 feet) pike but that was on natural bait, not lure and on night fishing (now not allowed anymore where I fish).

On heavy baits ... I did not use anything heavier than 1oz so far ... maybe I should try. Big baits will make me miss all the smaller pikes (4 - 6 lbs) I normally catch and give me totally unproductive and frustrating days.

[Buck2thPerch]

I am not new to pike fishing, I know about their teeth. I use steel or Kevlar leaders tied to 15lbs mono and special tools for removing the hooks from their mouth.

30lbs pike ... this is for pro fishermen. There are records like that registered for the waters I am fishing on but it will not happen to me only once I remember my father caught a 1 meter (3.2 feet) pike but that was on natural bait, not lure and on night fishing (now not allowed anymore where I fish).

On heavy baits ... I did not use anything heavier than 1oz so far ... maybe I should try. Big baits will make me miss all the smaller pikes (4 - 6 lbs) I normally catch and give me totally unproductive and frustrating days.

Using bigger baits is a toss up according to some but from my account, yes, I do catch bigger fish than the smaller ones. 47 inch is the best I have done on Pikes and 52" inch on Muskie is the best I have done. I sold most my Mukei/Pike gears years ago in exchange for Bass gear. Pike/Muskie Gear are more expensive IMO especially lures. Lures are on average $20 and that is the cheap stuff. Decent Rods are $200 and that is Shimano Compre Muskie Rod. Reels...Shimano Calcuta 300TE...$400. Muskie fishing as they call it, is one in a million casting.

[fishingandfords]

I think the e7 curado could be used for both since its cast the light stuff pretty well and it will handle the pike with not problem

[Buck2thPerch]

I think the e7 curado could be used for both since its cast the light stuff pretty well and it will handle the pike with not problem

You could use the Curado 200E7 to do both not doubt about that but these two types of fish are completely different. One is a warm water and the other is cold water. Both inhabit different parts of the thermocline as well thus fishing for them are totally different and would require different lines and lure weights. I do use my Curado 200E7 for Walleye fishing but when I do, my fishing line is usually 6lbs - 12lbs max. Walleye fishing is more finesse and the fish doesn't go on powerful runs. Pikerel, I'd use 15lbs - 20lbs because when you hook into a 12lbs Pikerel, you are talking about a 34"-38" long, powerful fish that lunges and goes on fierce runs. And that is still a small Pikerel. I'd hate to be underpowered with a reel if you catch a 20lbs Pickerel. If you can get two different setups I would do that. If you can't a Curado 200E7 would suffice.

[Carlos Carrapiço]

I'm also from Europe and you will do just fine with the Curado E7. Later, you can decide if you need a more or less powerful reel.

[zalan]

I think the e7 curado could be used for both since its cast the light stuff pretty well and it will handle the pike with not problem

You could use the Curado 200E7 to do both not doubt about that but these two types of fish are completely different. One is a warm water and the other is cold water. Both inhabit different parts of the thermocline as well thus fishing for them are totally different and would require different lines and lure weights. I do use my Curado 200E7 for Walleye fishing but when I do, my fishing line is usually 6lbs - 12lbs max. Walleye fishing is more finesse and the fish doesn't go on powerful runs. Pikerel, I'd use 15lbs - 20lbs because when you hook into a 12lbs Pikerel, you are talking about a 34"-38" long, powerful fish that lunges and goes on fierce runs. And that is still a small Pikerel. I'd hate to be underpowered with a reel if you catch a 20lbs Pickerel. If you can get two different setups I would do that. If you can't a Curado 200E7 would suffice.

Here in Europe we have Zander and not Walleye. Also you need to consider where do you fish for it, if you go on the big rivers, you need heavy jigs to get to the buttom and also in these areas you can always run into a big catfish. It is wise to be on the safe side and I would want something more powerful than the E7 Curado. On the other hand, if you fish the smaller waters where fish over 10lbs are rare, the Curado is perfectly fine for both pike and zander.