Trolling Rod POWER!?
Chocodile
Posted 2/3/2006 9:12 AM (#175471)
Subject: Trolling Rod POWER!?




Posts: 12


Just a quick question for everyone: does the heaviness/power/stiffness of your trolling rods affect the actions of your lures? Thinking of upgrading my trolling arsenal, and want to know if when I'm running a depthraider or even a DB-04, the stiffness of the rod is going to take away or enhance the action of the bait.

The Chocodile Cometh

Edited by Chocodile 2/3/2006 9:12 AM
Justin Gaiche
Posted 2/3/2006 10:31 AM (#175474 - in reply to #175471)
Subject: RE: Trolling Rod POWER!?




Posts: 355


Location: Wausau, Wisconsin
No, the rod will not effect your lures action. Your line and terminal tackle and speed will play a larger role in lure action. The only place I could see that having an effect would be when you have 5' out on a prop wash rod however the turbulance in the water from the prop will jack that up so much it won't matter.

I really like the 8' Fig Rig Rods Tooth Tamer Glass Rods. They have amazing strength, backbone and softness in the tip.
SteveHulbert
Posted 2/3/2006 1:33 PM (#175494 - in reply to #175471)
Subject: RE: Trolling Rod POWER!?





Posts: 202


Location: Angola, IN
Good Question,

I agree somewhat with 8"crank. The rod does effect the action of the lure, but so does a lot of other things, like he said. Most of the trolling I do, short-line power trolling, there is anywhere from just the leader out (4' of line) to maybe 30-40 feet of line.

Depending on the lure, the action can be affected by the stiffness of the rod. Smaller baits....like 6" Lokes, wiley's, depthraiders, etc. can have a different action with a stiffer rod. If you like erratic action baits like jointed Believers and Terminators, they will run "better" with lighter action rods.

There are guys who troll fairly large baits for a living (10" jointed lures) on 7' medium action rods.
Justin G
Posted 2/3/2006 6:04 PM (#175525 - in reply to #175471)
Subject: RE: Trolling Rod POWER!?


Have had good luck with 7-7.5 foot rods, MH power using 10 inch cranks. Went to an 8 foot heavy power for the 13 and 14 inch baits we like to use. Very happy with the performance.
Justin Gaiche
Posted 2/3/2006 10:34 PM (#175548 - in reply to #175471)
Subject: RE: Trolling Rod POWER!?




Posts: 355


Location: Wausau, Wisconsin
OK, who's this Justin G?????? I'm Justin G. Boy, I can see this causing problems. Two Justin G's? I don't think my girlfriend can handle that! With Mike's response which I do completely agree with him. When I was speaking for outside rods I was using the fact that I always run boards where as the rod action does not effect lure action because of the board.
SteveHulbert
Posted 2/4/2006 9:03 AM (#175580 - in reply to #175471)
Subject: RE: Trolling Rod POWER!?





Posts: 202


Location: Angola, IN
8inchcrank,

A lot of people do it, but I'm Mike Hulbert's oldest brother, Steve. Mike is a hell of a guide, but not a troller.
Funny, I don't use planer boards, and my "outside" rods at 8'6" AllStars that keep my lures "outside" the propwash!!! No boards for me....but I'm about to start fishing St. Claire this summer.
outlaw
Posted 2/4/2006 2:39 PM (#175607 - in reply to #175471)
Subject: RE: Trolling Rod POWER!?


long rods on a boat are usually a soft tip with plenty of mid stregnth to butt. this will help you tell if theres weeds fouling a bait. on st clair many of us use 10 footers, dipsey rods with eva foam handles so the salties dont eat the handle, any one coming here st clair is in for a treat. fish the canadian side its much better in fact if your using a smaller boat your better to lainch outa canada
Mikes Extreme
Posted 2/4/2006 6:10 PM (#175629 - in reply to #175607)
Subject: RE: Trolling Rod POWER!?





Posts: 2691


Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin
Outlaw has a good tip as far as a soft tip and weeds.

I run small baits during the summer and weeds are a problem. I like the 8ft 6in Walleye Extreme Planner Board rods for my smaller cranks. This soft tip(bends about 3 guides down) allows me to see the action of the cranks, the rest of the rod is stiffer. If the tip is vibrating the bait is clean, if it's bent more than usual and the vib is less you have a small abount of weeds impeeding the action or something on the hooks from hitting the bottom.

The soft tip actually helps you improve the hookups. Since going to these rods I have far less rip, rip, gone's. Most of the time they suck it in and they are hooked. A soft tip can help.

I also like the longer rods for boards and flat lines. This will allow you to get some of your baits away from the boat. Then run some close to the boat with shorter rods for down rods.

sworrall
Posted 2/5/2006 6:22 PM (#175735 - in reply to #175629)
Subject: RE: Trolling Rod POWER!?





Posts: 32957


Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin
I have a set of trolling rods designed for big salmon lures.The limited amoun of trolling I do, these are perfect, even with very large baits. Very stiff butt, heavy middle section, and lighter tip.