Musky Fishing on a Budget 2025
Nothing in modern life is getting any cheaper and unfortunately musky fishing is no exception. But fear not, there are still a few options for amazing musky fishing gear that land monstrous muskies without breaking the bank. With a conservative budget in mind let’s take a look at the best musky gear available that won’t break the bank but won’t let you down either.
1. Livingston Lures Magnus
The Magnus is a hybrid swim-bait that features a hard head section and a traditional soft plastic swim-bait body. The combination of the hard head and soft body section allows musky anglers to easily replace the soft section after tangling with a toothy fish such as a muskie or pike. Gone are the days of expensive musky swim-baits being disposable lures that break the bank.
The Magnus continues to innovate as it includes an adjustable weight system allowing musky fishermen to easily fish the Magnus in shallow, mid-depth and deep-water scenarios. The Magnus’s adjustable weighting makes this lure a valuable tool throughout the entire musky season. While other swim-baits are “one trick ponies” the Magnus can do it all from season opener to the coldest days of winter and everything in between easily making it a top pick for best musky lure of 2025.
But don’t just take our word for it. The Magnus won Best New Lure in Europe at the Angling International awards show in Budapest Hungary leaving no doubt the Magnus is a pike and musky catching machine.
2. The Kraken
When musky anglers think about jerk baits and tubes our minds immediately go to soft plastics. While soft plastics are undeniably musky producers the frugal anglers know that they are disposable baits with a short shelf life. But fear not in 2024 Livingston Lures unleashed the Kraken a true tube style jerk-bait that is a hybrid or extremely durable ABS plastic and a soft replaceable tail section. The body section of the Kraken is built to last a lifetime and also features the same versatile weighting system as the Livingston Lures Titan. This means that you only need to buy one crank verse a box full of other jerk-baits. The included adjustable weights mean you can fish the Kraken shallow, mid and deep and all points in between. No need for piles of lures when the Kraken can do it all. The versatility of the weight system coupled with the ability to replace the tails means you can buy one jerk-bait that you can use all musky season long. The Kraken checkout around $30 and the replacement tails come in two packs for $7.99 and keep in mind the skirts last a very long time, so the Kraken absolutely is a budget friendly musky lure.
3. Next Level Braid
Like all things, musky line prices are also climbing with no end in sight. Fortunately, Next Level Braid was released and gives anglers a premium line at a budget friendly price. Next Level Braid checkouts at $16.99 for a 160-yard spool. With a proper amount of mono reel backing each spool of Next Level Braid is enough to spool up two full size musky reels. Next Level Braid might be budget friendly, but the quality is top shelf as it is an eight-strand braid made in Japan from premium materials.
Another quick tip to save money in braid is to reverse your spool before buying more line. The braid that is at the bottom of your spool rarely sees water if at all. Instead of changing your line pulling off your braid and reversing it can give braid a double life span.
4. Musky Shop Shield Rods
To catch a musky, you have to have a rod and if you have looked lately the prices have gone through the roof. High end musky rods are pushing prices near a thousand dollars which I find to be insane but fortunately the folks at The Musky Shop came through with a rod solution for those of use that don’t wear a top hat and monocle.
The Musky Shop Shield Rod is offered in numerous models but the core musky casting models are 8’ / 8’ 6” / 9’ / 9’ 6”. They are offered in Heavy and Extra Heavy actions.
While all the lengths and actions are perfect for any sized angler or casting application the price is also right, ranging from $224.99 - $249.99. The Shield Rods have high quality rod eyelets, cork grips and a very comfortable grip. I have personally used these rods for years now and have nothing but good things to say about them.
5. Savage Gear Alien Eel
It's undeniable that muskies love big rubber baits. They always seem to crush these oversized hunks of jelly. But if your luck is anything like mine, they rip off the tail or damage the body. Most times you're lucky to get more than a couple of fish per bait before they go in the trash can. Needless to say, the disposable nature of these lures makes dropping a ton of cash on them a losing proposition. At $12.99 the Savage Gear Alien Eel is a little easier on the pocket book and has been very popular with Tennessee Muskies. The Alien Eel performs as well as, if not better than Bull Dawgs, but has a unique feature of a hook clip to hold the front hook against the body, which translates to a higher hooking ratio.
While there is no doubt the price of musky lures will continue to climb, these lures, line and rods will ensure that you have the proper tools to hit the water.
Cheers,
Have a great 2025 Musky Season
Tennessee Musky Guide Service, Tennessee Musky Fishing, Tennessee Musky Charter, Tennessee Musky. Melton Hill Musky, Melton Hill Musky Guide.
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