Today we’ll be looking at the 13 Fishing Muse II Black casting rod. I’ve been fishing with this rod for about three months now, but just recently spent all day just using this rod to put it through the wringer a few days ago. On this trip, I was able to catch several fish on it and kept it in my hand all day. This is what I found.
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A GREAT ALL-AROUND ROD
The exact model I had for testing that day was the 7-foot, 1-inch medium heavy Muse II. I typically order a medium heavy action when I’m testing baitcasting rods, somewhere between 7 feet and 7 feet, 3 inches. There’s just a lot you can do with a medium heavy rod in this size range, so I can test them with a variety of baits.
The same can be said for this 7-foot Muse II. I’ve fished a sampling of baits from a single small swimbait to a light Carolina rig on this rod. It’s proved itself to be a great all-around rod, one I’d be confident throwing any of these baits on: shaky head, lipless crankbait, spinnerbait, ChatterBait, swim jig, buzzbait, skipping jig, casting jig, finesse jig, 1/2-ounce or under football jig, Fluke, Texas rig, Tokyo rig and I’m sure more.
LIGHT, STRONG AND SENSITIVE ROD
I paired the Muse II with 13’s Concept C3 casting reel for testing. I was quite pleased with the whole setup, able to make long casts and work baits with ease. This rod is super sensitive too. It’s typically hard to tell with a rod if your bait is fouled up unless you’re fishing with a spinnerbait, vibrating jig or some other lure with a good bit of kick. But I was able to tell with the Muse if my bait picked up a tiny bit of trash on the retrieve even with just a simple 3” swimbait on a jighead.
But as sensitive as it is, the Muse II is also super light, and strong. I boat flipped 2 or 3 bass in the 3-pound range on it with no problem, remember this being the 7-1 medium heavy. This exact rod has a fast action, which gives it a good quick tip with a lot of backbone. It’s great for whipping baits out and really leaning into them on single hook lures, while also loading up well with treble hook baits. Again, the 7-1 medium heavy is a great all-around rod.
COMPONENTS MAKE THE MUSE II
The team at 13 Fishing dressed the Muse II out nicely. Premium Japanese EVA foam split grips make for a solid and comfortable grip on the handle. I like the guides they used too. They are Fuji K Frame Stainless Steel Guides with Alconite Inserts. Since they used a mid-range size guide on this rod, you can still get a leader line knot through them if you’d like, where you couldn’t if it had micro guides.
I like the snag-free but still open bait keeper too—the Evolve Snaggle Tooth Hook Keeper. This keeper appears to be closed off, but in fact you can slip a weedless rigged hook under the bottom of the keeper. And of course you can easily store treble hook baits as well. The sleek design though keeps your line from catching on the bait keeper, which it often does with raised, open bait keepers.
QUALITY ROD FOR THE PRICE
Priced around $250, the Muse II falls in the middle of the pack price wise. There are some great options these days at a lower price point—13 Fishing’s own Defy Black that I recently reviewed comes to mind quickly, available at just $59 and a heck of a rod for that price. And then there are the high-end $400 to $600 rods that are on the market too.
The Muse II is a nice rod and one of my favorites that I’ve reviewed recently. I think it comes down to your budget. If you have $250 to spend on a rod, I think you’ll be pleased with the Muse II and how it stacks up against other rods in this price range. I certainly have been.
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