The Hunt For Big Fish with Larry Dahlberg

Larry, what line have you been running on your komodo reels? I'm thinking 65lb. PowerPro...?

65 powerpro or 80 Bobby Brown.
best
L

Got my new komodo reel...tested it out today...gave Northland Tackle Bionic Braid a try...line isn't bad...looks almost like sufix 832, without the goretex...lin was pretty smooth and surprisingly quiet thru the reel...held up well today...
The Komodo is awesome...super smooth, casts very well, and tough as nails...had 40" pike today burning line off the reel...drag was super smooth...
Guys in the market for a new reel....try the komodo 364 w/Power handle...more than worth it(The Musky Shop carries it for a much lower price than everywhere else)....

Hey Big B!
Nice pike, you and whigs are a pretty effective team. Fishing should get better and better, which sounds like it might be hard to imagine! do you know if the little pink salmon still run up the nemadji and the little creek in jay cooke park?
best
L

Thanks larry.
As far as I know, they still run up the nemadji... I know they still run up Jay cook...but the road thru the park is still closed, so it'd be a long hike...and no plans to fix the bridge in the park in the foreseeable future either...
Everyone goes up to the rivers up the North shore now...French river is a lot better now...

Yea, we make a good team...it's my confidence bait...it's the only lure I've seen outfish live bait...I've caught more big fish with whiggly this summer than I have since I first moved to minnesota...going to Mille lacs next weekend...hope whiggly produces there like it has for you there in the past...
By far, in my opinion, the greatest musky lure of all time...

good luck on the big pond. when do those tasty little salmon run? Have they started?
doesn't the stream in jay cook run into the nemadji?
thanks, I appreciate the info!
best
L

Thanks larry...I dont believe it does...the stream in the park is part of the St Louis River, but there's at least 1 dam between it and the area of the river where muskies are stocked. I'm not sure when they start running...only people I know of that are very knowledgeable about the salmon would be the guys at Marine General...they live/breathe salmon and lakers...

In that area, at some point and place in time they should intersect with esox...
best
L

Yea, I don't doubt it...
On a different note, the problem I mentioned before with having the leaders cutting on the lure seems to also have to do with the rod I was using...switched to a m/h MOJO musky rod with a little softer tip and made a big difference...had no issues at all with the leader, although I still have the problem of whiggly turning on its side...I'm gonna try heating them up again and see if that helps again...will let you know...

Tried whiggly out after heating it up...helped a little..biggest difference I've noticed is changing to a higher speed reel...using the lexa 300 pwr, I couldn't burn it fast enough to make it swim correctly...using the komodo, I've noticed a huge difference...burning it with the komodo, it swims perfectly...although I tinkered with it for a while to get it work only to lose it to some bad line snapping off at the swivel after fighting with a 50"+ pig...

Larry...I'm guessing the little pink salmon must be running or about to...have noticed that almost any pink lures, especially pink swimbaits, flukes, and bucktails are very hot right now...

find where they first have a chance at intersecting and you will find some very big predators...
best
L

Hi!
Has anyone tried the Daiwa Lexa 300/400? Wondering how comparable they are to the Komodo or the Iron. Price point is similar.

Thanks, hope everyone is well!

ok reels, but I didn't think they cast as well. the one I used had a half a season on it and made noise when I really bombed a cast. Retrieve power etc seemed fine.
best
L

The 400 casts a lot better than the 300...if you're debating on getting one, get the 400...fits nice in your hand, smoother than the 300, and can handle the big baits a lot better...I have both..use the 300 for small blades and topwater...have the 400pwr and use it for big blades and big rubber...if you're gonna use whiggly, get the komodo...my favorite reel for whiggly and live bait...very smooth even under heavy pressure from big fish...Larry will agree...watch his show catching super fast sailfish on it...I used it last weekend for big drums in texas...an awesome reel for the price....

I absolutely love the Diawa Lexa 300 hyper speed. It casts a mile and quick flips of the handle creates a ton of action in twitch baits and whiggleys (both purchased and homemade). The Komodo's nice, but I think the drag rating is overrated. I atually like the comparable Okuma Citrix with the power handle better. I've had to send the Komodo back to get the drag repaired twice. Never had that issue with any other reel (perhaps just luck of the draw).

Robert

I saw above that Larry like 65lb PP for his casting reels. But generally he is throwing pretty big plugs on those. I am throwing much smaller plugs for snook and reds, 1/2 oz to 1 oz and I have tried lighter braid (10lb) like I would use on my spinning reels and frankly having some overrun problems on the spool. Granted I am still using Ambassadeur 5500 (old habits die hard) but trying to figure out a plug setup. I do not have the overrun issues on my tarpon plug rods and have been running braid on those for 12 years or so.

Thoughts?

Thanks
Jason

I've found that anything under 30 gets to be trouble on baitcasters tossing plugs the size you refer to, and prefer to use 50. The way I see it, it's so thin even at 50 pound it doesn't usually matter to the fish, and if it does I make it up with the length of the leader.
You might try really "underloading" the spool. In fact i'll bet it solves the issue. you will still have more than enough line capacity because the line is so thin.
best
L