The large tube shaped package stood before me, reaching all the way up to my ceiling. In its packaging it looked more like a stripper pole then a fishing rod. The package felt way too light to be a big heavy duty musky rod and for a moment I feared that someone had stolen the rod. I was relieved as I pulled the rod out of the case and saw the Tackle Industries logo starring back at me. It was extraordinarily light weight for its size, weighing in at only 9.4 ounces (268 grams) on my scale. To put that into perspective, a full can of Coke weighs 12 ounces. When you pick it up, its sort of like picking up a carton of milk when you expect it to be full and it isn’t.

I like big butts

Tackle Industry musky rod (top) compared to Shimano Compre musky rod (bottom)

A few specs on this rod:

“Mag Heavy” XH Power Rods: Retail $145.95 (Only $120 during the current summer sale!)
– Rod length is 9′
– Lure weight rated: 3-12oz
– Line weight rated: 60-130lb
– Power: XH or Extra Heavy
– Speed/Action: Medium Fast

- Quality Fuji® components and Fuji® Reel seats
- Number of guides (10); Fuji® Alconite tip top guide and 9 SiC
- 9′ Solid blank rod handle length: 18″
- 1.3″ diameter oversize cork handle with flared end for ultimate comfort all day
- 6″ cork foregrip

This is the fifth rod in my muskie/pike arsenal and despite being more then a foot longer then the others, its the second lightest, just behind my Shimano Compre muskie rod. I cant wait to test this rod out on some big fish!

At first glance, Sufix 832 looks almost exactly the same as Power Pro. The both come in moss green, they are both low diameter, the both leave your thumb green after a day of fishing with a baitcaster. So what sets them apart? First I’d like to start by saying I’m no scientist, thats Jonathon’s department, so I’ll just do a quick copy and paste from the Sufix website.

Sufix 832 is made from a “Patent-pending construction of 8 fibers (7 Dyneema® plus 1 GORE® Performance Fiber) and 32 weaves per inch. GORE® Performance Fibers improve abrasion resistance, increase casting distance & accuracy and reduce line vibration. Dyneema® fibers provide high strength & sensitivity, hydrophobic water-repellent protection and small diameter.”

That all sounds pretty awesome, and there certainly wasn’t anything comparable written on the Power Pro site about their line. There are really only two parts I’m interested in, increased casting distance and strength. I’m not a finesse fisherman, in fact I’m the complete opposite most of the time. I must admit, I was feeling pretty skeptical as I walked down to the lake with a fresh spool of 832 on my Quantum Tour PT. Could this line really be better then Power Pro?

After my first cast it was pretty clear that it was better. Much better. My lure landed miles further then usual. I guess this line won Best New Line ICAST 2010 for a reason! I was blown away at the distance and control I was getting from this line and was genuinely excited about it. Cast after cast, I sent my lure out more then double the distance of the nearby fishermen. To be fair, I was using a heavier lure, but it was still a thing of beauty. I carefully adjusted the cast control, adding even more distance to each cast.

I really didn’t think I would ever find a replacement for Power Pro, and sadly I still haven’t. I’ll admit, Sufix 832 is an absolutely incredible superline. It casts incredibly, it’s smooth and feels extremely sensitive. It’s almost the prefect line. I have only one complaint really, and for many of you it’s probably not a deal breaker, but it is for me.

If you use a baitcaster and you ever get backlashes, this line is an absolute nightmare to untangle. I was a little overzealous with a couple of casts into the wind and spent the better part of an hour trying to untangle my line before I just decided to call it quits and cut it. I don’t usually get serious backlashes, but if I do, I don’t want to be wasting so much time trying to undo them. Power Pro may not cast as far, but it is significantly easier to untangle and doesn’t cut into your hands as much. If you never get backlashes on your baitcasting reel, you are a liar. If you use a spinning reel as your primary reel, then this may in fact be the prefect line for you.

With that said, we’re not done our search for the prefect all around superline. I’ll be testing out several highly rated superlines over the next few months to see if I’ll ever find a replacement for Power Pro.

Click the image to check it out!

In typical Fishing Fury fashion, we met up shortly after midnight to begin our 4.5 our voyage to Fredericton, New Brunswick. The drive went surprisingly fast thanks to good company and energy drinks and we got to our destination about 40 minutes before sunrise. I gave the boys a few tips, setup a few rods and gave them a crash course on casting big lures with heavy gear. They both caught on quickly and we all began casting out as far as we could searching for the fish of ten thousand casts.

Within two hours, we had covered some serious shoreline. For reasons unknown, the city of Fredericton thought it would be a good idea to to line the shores of the river with the most jagged, tipsy, slippery rocks they could find. Incredibly, we managed to balance on the rocks in just the right place and Aaron hooked into something mean. Two hours into the trip, Aaron had his first muskie, and biggest fish of his life!

After a few quick photos and some cut hooks, this beauty muskie, estimated to be about 38×16 inches, was on its way back into the river. Shortly after getting some new hooks ready for Aaron’s new favourite lure (the Rapala Super Shad Rap), Jarrod decided to take full advantage of the situation and manage to hook into another big fish before I had even had a chance to cast. The result, Jarrod’s first striped bass, and biggest fish of his life! Aaron decided to lend a helping hand and earned the assist on this one after the striper made a run and crossed his line.

After the lads caught some pretty serious fish, I was able to relax and go after my own. My chance came a few hours later when a I saw a good size muskie chasing my lure toward the dock. I executed a figure 8 at the side of the dock and watched in awe as the muskie lunged at the lure not once, not twice, but three time – missing each time and retreating into the darkness below.

After 10 hours of fishing the boys each lost a solid fish, most likely muskie. Worrying that they were losing interest, I told them we could switch to lighter gear and look for some smallmouth bass, to which they magnanimously agreed that they did not want to do. We fished until darkness, casting big lures in search of another muskie, but in the end I was the only one without a single fish.

We spent the drive home recapping the excitement of the day. A day in which we witnessed bald eagles soaring, massive sturgeons leaping, and Double Downs inside of Baconators. After an epic 24 hour marathon of fishing and driving, we all agreed that we would return for round two as soon as possible.

Here’s a quick teaser from our interview, but you’ll have to click through to read the full thing.

Fishing Fury: What do you feel is the overwhelming appeal of walleye that creates such fanatical followers?

Paul Meleen: I think the biggest thing is that walleye fishing is a way of life. It’s been passed on from generation to generation, so it runs in the blood in a way. But another big part of it is the nature of the fish. Walleye can be very finicky. Many other species can be finicky as well, but not like walleye. So I think out of necessity the skill set of your average walleye angler is much more advanced than that of anglers targeting other species.

Continue reading our interview with Paul Meleen FLW walleye angler of the year.

Today we’re bringing that opportunity to you! Since our previous interview with pro angler and first lady of fishing Kim Bain-Moore, we’ve been dying to sit down with another pro angler and this time we felt compelled to let our readers have the opportunity to ask a pro angler the questions they’ve always wanted answer to. This is your chance to ask a pro angler anything you want!

Paul Meleen is a pro angler and this year’s FLW Walleye Angler of the Year (more), he has won over $100,000, weighed-in over 1000 lbs of walleye throughout his career, and has an insatiable appetite for fresh fish.

“Winning Angler of the Year means I was the best out there in 2010,” said Meleen. “And that’s something no one can take away from me. It gets harder and harder every year to win, so I feel very fortunate.

“I’m old school; I simply put more time in than anyone else. I’m practicing from sunrise to sundown, trying to find something off the wall. I also have the confidence of a great sponsor team. Foremost among them is Evinrude. Cabela’s has also been instrumental, and I’ve been with Ranger Boats since 1988. In fact, I was the first walleye pro to run a 600-Series Ranger.”

“I’ve had two goals for a long time. The first was to win Angler of the Year and the second was to win the year-end championship. I’m halfway there, and this could be my year.”

Post your questions for Paul Meleen in the comments below. We’ll choose the best ones and include them in our interview. This is your chance to ask a pro angler anything about fishing, walleye, the FLW tour, and everything in between.

One of the most common “rules” of walleye fishing that I hear is that the fishing shuts down when the weather gets bad.. thunder and lightning are the enemy of the walleye angler, and it is hopeless to venture out during or after any storm event. While I would concur that venturing out when the lightning is flashing is just plain stupid, my personal experience is that there is no certainty that foul weather will diminish the fishing on your favorite waters. Some of our best nights have been forays out to the local lake after a good storm.

The last two weeks have been a classic example. If you are reading the Walleyeguy Blog you know that my son and I have been fishing in a local walleye league. We entered our last night of league last week one point behind another team for the fourth and final spot in the end of the year fish-offs. We needed to beat them last Tuesday in order to take fourth overall. So we had only a few days to do any kind of pre-fishing, and the weather was less than desirable. Wind speeds on our first afternoon trip were 20 mph with gusts up to 30. Suffice it to say that boat control was an issue. So rather than toss it in for the evening, we focused on large mid-lake structures that we knew held fish in the past. This allowed us to either drift or troll over these big shallow areas without having to worry about following exact contours. What we also knew was that when the wind starts howling like it was that day, the fish move right on top of these mid-lake flats. We found fish pulling live bait rigs, but when we switched over to shallow running crankbaits we started catching fish with encouraging consistency.

Continue reading “Walleye Hunting When The Weather Gets Nasty”

Jon and I put our minds together to write two articles, one about our adventures in La Paz, Mexico fishing the Sea Of Cortez, and the second about fishing for bonefish in the Bahamas on a budget. In addition, we made several contributions throughout the magazine. Stay tuned for your chance to get a copy!

I recently contacted Jonathon and pointed out the obvious lack of a walleye fishing zealot on Fishing Fury. For those in the know, the benefits of a walleye fishing zealot are obvious… but for the uninitiated, a walleye fishing zealot is like a cool breeze pouring across the lake on a summer evening. The words of the zealot open your eyes and make you see things from a glassy-eyed perspective. They make you feel the thrill of the “whack” on the end of a Lindy rig, and the gut-wrenching sickness when you discover that you are about to net some “lesser” species. Spend a few quality hours with a walleye zealot and you’ll likely run home, pile your “non-walleye” tackle in a heap in the front yard, soak it in kerosene and set it ablaze.* Spend a month or two and he’ll have you drinking the water out of a leech container on command.

But this is not what I want. I’m a centrist at heart and have no desire to convert the masses. My hope is to provide the reader with a glimpse into the world of someone who spends 99.9% of their angling time chasing stizostedion vitreum.

Continue reading “The Silence of the Walleye Zealots”