TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT RECOMMENDATIONS

Rods: Steve has been affiliated with St. Croix since 1988 and has found no reason to use any other brand of rods. By application, here are his choices:

• Bucktails -- Steve prefers the St. Croix 8-0 Legend Tournament (TM80MHF) "Top-N-Tail" for most bucktails, including Double Cowgirls. For lighter-weight bucktails, he uses the St. Croix Legend Tournament 7-3 medium heavy (TM73MHF) "Downsizer." Another good bucktail stick from St. Croix, though less expensive, is the 8-0 Premier (PM80MHF).
• Jerkbaits -- For glider-style jerkbaits (e.g. Reef Hawgs, Hellhounds), Steve uses the St. Croix 7-6 Legend Tournament heavy action rod (TM76XHF) "The Jerk." For diver-style jerkbaits (think Suicks), he uses St. Croix’s Legend Tournament 7-9 heavy action (TM79HMF) "Lip Stick." A lower-priced alternative is the 7-6 Premier (PM76HF).
• Crankbaits and minnowbaits -- For large crankbaits and minnowbaits (DepthRaiders, Triple D’s, 10-inch Slammers, 10-inch Jakes, etc.), Steve uses St. Croix’s Legend Tournament 7-9 heavy action (TM79HMF) "Lip Stick." For smaller crankbaits and minnowbaits (Baby DepthRaiders, 6-inch minnnowbaits, etc.) he uses St. Croix’s Legend Tournament 7-3 medium heavy (TM73MHF) "Downsizer." A less-expensive alternative is the medium heavy 7-6 Premier (PM76MHF). (Make sure you check model numbers before buying. St. Croix has two 7-6 Premiers.)
• Topwaters -- St. Croix’s Legend Tournament 7-9 heavy action (TM79HMF) "Lip Stick."
• Plastics -- St. Croix’s Legend Tournament 7-9 heavy action (TM79HMF) "Lip Stick" or the 8-6 Legend Tournament (TM86XHF).
• Livebait, trolling -- St. Croix Premier 8-0 (PG80HM). This rod features fiberglass construction for increased durability in extreme conditions.

For more information on St. Croix rods, please visit: <www.stcroixrods.com>

Reels: Steve uses the St. Croix AC-300 exclusively for all applications. These are extremely smooth reels with terrific durability, outstanding drags, and a versatile 5.1:1 retrieve ratio. New power handles increase comfort and leverage for hard-pulling baits, and a beefier anti-reverse bearing makes these reels as tough as they get.

For more information on St. Croix reels, please visit: <www.stcroixrods.com>

 
Line: Steve uses PowerPro 65-, 80- and 100-pound test PowerPro line, depending on the presentation being used. When fishing in Minnesota and Canada, where the chances of encountering larger fish and/or rock structure exists, he exclusively uses 100-pound test PowerPro. Steve has used PowerPro exclusively since 1997 and has never lost a musky to a line failure.

For more information on PowerPro's fine product line please visit: <www.powerpro.com>

      
Lures: Steve believes that lures are tools, and there are no magic baits. Each one is used for a specific situation. His tackle box is filled with lures like Mepps, Double Cowgirls, DepthRaiders, Slammers, Reef Hawgs, TopRaiders, Teasertails, Grandmas, Jakes, Stompers, Bull Dawgs, Shallow Invaders, Jackpots, and Triple D’s, to name a few.

Steve highly recommends the Mepps line of bucktails, in the Musky Killer, Magnum Musky Killer, Giant Killer, the all-new Giant Killer Sassy Shad (which Steve helped design), Musky Marabou, and Marabou lines. No other company offers Mepps’ variety of colors, as well as the mix-and-match versatility of switching blades and tails right in the boat. Plus, the split ring jointed design provides a more life-like tail action as the lure is pulled through the water.

Almost every Mepps bucktail Steve throws is tipped with a Mr. Twister tail. See his article, “Go With The Glow” on this website.

For more information on Mepps' fine product line please visit: <www.mepps.com>

Nets: You will find only Frabill’s Big Kahuna or Power Catch Big Game nets in Steve’s boat. Not only are these nets large enough to easily capture the biggest musky, but they feature treated, knotless netting, which ensures a safe environment for a netted fish. Frabill’s new Pow’r Lok yoke system allows easy extension of the handle.

For a safe release for you and your musky, Steve recommends that after you net your fish, leave it in the net and in the water. Unhook it in the net, and don’t bring it out of the water until your buddy has the cameras set up and is ready to photograph. Remember -- time out of water kills!

For more information on Frabill's fine product line please visit: <www.frabill.com>

Trolling Motor: Steve has long been a fan of Minn Kota’s PowerDrive models and currently uses Minn Kota's brand new Terrova. Not only do these trolling motors have plenty of power, but they have unsurpassed durability. With an 18-foot cable to the control pad, the trolling motor can be steered from anywhere in the boat!

For more information on Minn Kota's fine product line please visit: <www.minnkotamotors.com>

Outboard: Steve has never used anything but Mercury Outboards and rigs his Rangers with OptiMax high performance engines and 9.9-horsepower Mercury Pro Kickers.

For more information on Merc's fine product line please visit: <www.mercurymarine.com>

Boat: Steve has been a member of the Ranger Boats family since 1995. He fishes out of the Ranger Fisherman models, and currently runs one of the newly-redesigned Ranger 619's.

For more information on Ranger boats, please visit: <www.rangerboats.com>

Boat, Outboard Dealer: Heckel’s Marina in Eagle River ranks in the top five of Ranger Boat dealers in the entire United States. Steve buys his boats and outboards there and has them rigged and serviced by Heckel’s professional staff.

For more information on Heckel's Marine, please visit: <www.heckels.com>

Fishfinder/GPS: Steve has become a big fan of the new Humminbird fishfinder/GPS combos, running a widescreen 997 unit on the console of his boat and a 787C in the bow. Great resolution, tremendous target separation, and unmatched GPS accuracy. Plus, the 997 has Humminbird's exciting side-imaging technology.

For information on Humminbird electronics, please visit <www.humminbird.com>