echo muskie rod

Echo Muskie Rod Review

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New Echo Muskie Rod

This fall, during our annual Muskie adventure up North, we had the chance to put the new Echo Muskie Rod to the test. Echo Rods reached out to Ed McCoy and myself to see if we would be interested in testing out their new predator rod and then provide them with some feedback. Absolutely we were in, and to sum up our experience in just a few words, We liked it a lot!

Postive Feedback

The first thing that Ed and I both noticed right away is that this 11 weight rod doesn’t feel like an 11 weight at all! Ed and I have both had several of these bigger rods in our arsenal before and have either sold them or just quit using the bigger 11 weight rods with our clients. What I have found over the years is the bigger rods are just too much rod for my typical client. Honestly these bigger rods aren’t even for me, I just don’t enjoy throwing an 11 weight for that many casts. The new Echo Muskie Rod doesn’t feel that way at all. In fact if you were to blind fold me and ask me to guess what weight this rod feels like, I would probably guess it was an 8 weight.

The next great surprise is that this rod, even though it is very light in the hand, has tremendous hidden power! The 8’8″ 11 weight – 4pc we tested had no problem throwing the 450 grain lines we prefer. The rod handled both the Sonar Titan 3/5/7 and the Sonar Musky lines with no problem at all. This rod demonstrated the ability to deliver flies of all sizes and materials at distance. It even handled Ed’s super sized game-changers. The new Echo Muskie Rod had no problem delivering flies we commonly fish for Muskie. This rod received positive feedback from all who fished it. Watch the video below from our friends at the Northern Angler to see more of this rod in action.

Echo Muskie Rod
photo by Eric Rambo

Fighting Grip

The next piece of positive feed back we had for this rod regards the integrated fighting grip and extended butt handle. The fighting grip combination received a lot of positive complements from our clients. Throwing these silly sized flies all day is taxing on the body! Your arm fatigues, your grip gets a work out, but the size and feel of the new Echo Muskie Rod’s fighting grip is really well designed. The extended fighting grip butt section helps immensely when doing a proper figure 8. It can also be used as a two-hand overhead casting tool when your shoulder starts to feel it. It’s one of the only rods where Ed and I both agree on the fighting grip design. We both walked away from our experiences with a positive review.

Echo Rod Video Review

Shop Local

The new Echo Muskie Rod is truly a great rod for muskie fishing. I can also see this rod being used for Golden Dorado and various saltwater fishing applications. Plus this rod won’t break the bank at the price point of $299! This is truly a great rod for the value. If you are looking for a new predator rod, make sure to check out your local fly shop. If you need help finding this rod, please let Ed and I know and we are happy to put you in touch with a local shop carrying this rod.

Jon Ray

Ice Dub Minnow

Ice Dub Minnow

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Tying Ice Dub Minnow

Our latest upload to our YouTube Channel is a super simple baitfish pattern that we call the Ice Dub Minnow. A favorite pattern to fish below Tippy Dam, but also works great below Hodenpyle Dam and in the backwaters for smallmouth bass on Tippy Pond. Of course these are only a few of our favorite spots, as it has worked really well for bluegills in the spring when they are shallow and pre-spawn.

If you honestly haven’t tried hunting big pre-spawn bluegills, and you want to test your skills this is a great activity during quarantine. No motor needed for this type of fishing. Get ready to be humbled by the big gills. Great casting practice before the big bugs start hatching on our trout rivers.

Kids Fishing

What also makes the Ice Dub Minnow so great is that you can easily teach it to kids and get them started in fly tying, but also it’s a great pattern to fish with kids, to get them a taste of fly fishing. As I mention in the video this minnow pattern really does fish well by itself, with a tiny split shot. I tend to like Sure Shot, but black bird shot will just work as well. Size No 4 or No 6, are both really small and easy to cast.

Let this fry pattern swing in the current with small twitches of the rod, and it will fish itself. Small minnows can’t swim very fast for very long, so they become easy meals for hungry trout. Fish this pattern in the shallows where small baitfish tend to hide. Good luck and Stay Safe.

Jon Ray

Bulls and Muskie – Videos

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Might be a stretch but something similar about Big Bulls and Muskie Fishing. Here are two videos from this week that grabbed my attention. While watching first video their is a quote that really does rings home. The cowboy talks about how intimidating this certain Bull is. I feel the same way when releasing muskie. The power of these beasts is not always on display like Bull riding, but that 8 second ride has too many correlations to fishing a big Muskie.

The second video is about an absolute huge Muskie that wasn’t caught on a fly, but was a least caught casting. Even casting lures all day is a ton of work. So have respect for any method of Muskie fishing that deals with casting, even though I choose to do it on a fly. Give the muskie video a watch, and just imagine that size of fish coming in on your figure 8.

Check out the two videos, you might be asking yourself why the Bull riding clip, well this summer if you follow us on Social Media you saw that I went to my first rodeo, and it will not be my last. While the rodeo in McBain, Mi was a blast I have a desire to go so see a Western Rodeo and this rancher that is working with the PBR events has me fired up. I feel like as a muskie angler I am similar to a cowboy. Again probably a stretch, but I tip my hat to the ladies and work from sun-up to sun down.

esox

Pike Eats Trout

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I sort of feel bad for the little trout, but the footage is amazing so thank you little trout for sacrificing yourself for this video clip. Check out the link below.

brown trout

Jumping Brown Trout Video

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This short clip below has me thinking of warmer times, looking forward to the upcoming trout season. Even though right now it feels so far away. Big week this week for tying and hope to generate some good content video wise. I know we will be tying a few good foam patterns for the July / August foam hatch. Make sure to come back to links. In the mean time a little video for ya. See if you can see the brown trout hunting down the dragonfly before it jumps.

DRI Duck Swing Hat

Connection – Fly Fishing the Au Sable

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Mangled Fly Stickers

Thoughts for a new Top Water Fly

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These flying fish have me inspired to work on a new fly pattern and  retrieve, defiantly two handed retiree  to  the match speed needed, and just need to figure out how to cast a fly that has wings.  No mater this is a cool little video.

muskie picture of the day

The Grind

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Really enjoyed this short video because of the honest truth of it all.  I get the opportunity to guide and fish for muskie a few weeks a year.  This video really does capture most of the days, it’s a Grind.  But the belief that you need to have as angler that the next cast could be the one, is what I really do enjoy.

Scientific Anglers

SA New Video – Tiny Piece of All of US

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Amazing company making the best fly lines in the world.  Plus they are based in Michigan.  Check out this new video by SA.

Tiny Pieces of All of Us from Scientific Anglers on Vimeo.

For Scientific Anglers, fly fishing is a passion. It’s something we live and breathe day in and day out. Every fly line that we produce is the joint effort of a group of dedicated people and we love what we do. SA is built from tiny pieces of all of us. This is who we are.

Mangled Fly Stickers

Ultimate topwater for GT’s

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I see this as an opportunity to throw bigger topwater patterns.