Musky Reel Gear Ratio Explained
More times than I can recall I have been asked by anglers, what gear ratio reel should I use for musky fishing. With so many modern musky reels available to fishermen it can get confusing. But rest assured sorting out what gear ratio reel to use isn’t as complicated as it might seem. Let’s take a peek under the hood of modern musky reels and demystify the matter of musky gear ratios.
To better understand how musky reel gear ratios will affect your actual on the water fishing let’s first break down what the gear ratios of a reel mean. If you are new to the world of musky reels you can find the gear ratio of your reel generally printed on the body of your musky reel or somewhere on the star drag.
A reel that is marked as 6.3:1 is telling musky angles that for each revolution of the reels handle the spool of the reel is turning 6.3 times
The gear ratio of a musky reel means the following: The first number two numbers denote the number of revolutions the spool makes with 1 full turn of your reel handle. So, a musky reel with a gear ratio of 7.6:1 means that the spool turns 7.6 times with a single turn of the handle. The same can be said for a reel that is 5.3:1, that the spool will rotate 5.3 times with 1 full revolution of the reel handle.
This makes musky reel gear ratio less of a matter of what is best and more of a matter of what is the most efficient. Reels with a high ratio of spool revolutions to handle turns mean that line will be picked up and reeled in quickly whereas lower musky reel gear ratios will bring in line in a slower manner if both reels handles are turned at the same pace.
To pick the right musky gear ratio anglers need to consider a few factors. How fast do they intend to retrieve lures? If muskies want lighting fast retrieves a reel with a high gear ratio of 7.6:1 might be applicable. But on the flip side of the coin if muskies want slower more finesse presentations a high gear ratio reel might be overkill.
One must also consider the gear ratio of a musky reel for picking up the slack line generated when working rubber lures and musky tubes. While these retrieves may not be quickly advancing the ability to reel in slack line quickly between pops and rips can help avoid missing strikes.
While high gear ratios might seem like the best option with their quick line pick up it is most often the case that anglers have difficulty slowing things down with these speedy high gear ratio musky reels. A good rule of thumb is that it is far easier to speed up your handle turns when reeling than it is to slow down how quickly you are turning the handle.
With this in mind most often moderation is the key for selecting the right musky reel gear ratio. Reels with moderate gear ratios of 6.3:1 allow musky anglers to work large lures that require speed or quick line pick up but also enable slow precision retrieves. If you are looking for a singular musky reel to cover all of your needs a gear ratio of 5.8:1 or 6.3:1 should meet all of your needs.
If you want reels that make certain musky lure types easier to work higher and lower gear ratio reels can be of great benefit. Musky reels with gear ratios of 4.9:1 and 5.3:1 can be perfect for slow rolling spinner baits and buck tails but also have a tremendous amount of torque that can be used to muscle in large blades and giant rubber lures. Gear ratios of 7.6:1 and higher can quickly pick up line while fishing Krakens and tubes extremely as well as burn top waters and bucktails easily with fewer turns of the handle.
At the end of the day musky reels are simple machines and each gear ratio that is offered presents anglers with a different mechanical advantage. Lower gear ratio reels are slower but have more torque while higher gear ratio musky reels are speedy and may present more resistance with harder pulling lures. This makes picking the right musky reel gear ratio a matter of choosing the right tool for the job. I would like to note that if you are new to the sport of musky fishing a reel with a middle of the road gear ratio is the best place to start and other reels with varying gear ratios can be added to your musky fishing game as you see the need arise throughout your fishing adventures.