Steel rod? My Mom bought my Dad one of those back in the late 40's I believe as a birthday gift. It's still out in my Mom's garage, I'll have to take a look at it sometime.

As for Muskies going after a lure, most people new to Musky fishing are so surprised at what's happening, they stop reeling to watch and the Musky looses interest. The correct technique is to reel as fast as you can when you have a Musky following your lure. If you think about it, in nature a fish being attacked isn't going to slow down, it's going to try and swim away as fast as it can. My Son had a Musky follow up in Canada. Being young and with fast reflexes he had that fish coming in so fast it rammed the side of the boat.

As for favorite reels, I like the older Quantum Tour series. Available in 6.3 to 1 or 7 to 1 retrieve ratios, they're the best casting reel I've ever used. I buy the older blue colored ones on Ebay or Craigslist for $100 to $150 depending on condition. Original list price was $279.

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