What is the best fly fishing setup for Musky?

What's the best setup for musky fly fishing?

That is a pretty regular question with an answer that is very subjective and based on several different things.

Here's what Jenn and I are currently rocking this season. These setups cover two anglers on lakes and rivers for pretty much anything the mucking fuskies throw at us!

Winston Alpha+ 10wt paired with a 10wt Cortland Pike/Musky Intermediate. This is mainly rigged with a topwater or small fly rod. It is absolutely stunning to cast

Chippewa River 2-piece 10wt paired with a Scientific Anglers 11wt Full Intermediate. This is Jenn’s main casting rod for slinging medium to large musky bugs.

Gloomis IMX Pro M 11wt rigged with a Scientific Anglers Sonar Musky 11wt. Typically what Jenn is using to two hand or water load the big meaty flies. I use this setup for dredging.

Gloomis IMX Pro M 12 wt paired with a Cortland Pike Musky sink 4 12 wt. This is my main casting rod. I can single hand, water load, or two hand, just about any fly. The line setup gets my big flies down quick. If we are on the river then I swap a spool for intermediate.

Chippewa River 9'10 two handed paired with Cortland 600 grain Sink 8. This is the long range XL fly cannon. I keep it rigged with a sink 8 98% of the time so I can work big flies deep. This is effectively my pounder rod :)

These don't all make it on every trip...so we are often swapping out spools throughout the season if we are packing light or changing fisheries. The Temple Fork BVK SD Reel and NTR Reel have been the go to for us so far. Solid looks and tough to beat value for a musky reel.

Good luck out there this season!! Don’t hesitate to reach out to the shop with any questions.