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| As someone who is a caster 99% of the time, trolling is something I will only do when I have to. With that said, my goal for 2003 is to become a better troller for those times when it is called for. I would like your opinions on what types of trolling rods you prefer. What should I be looking for in a trolling rod? Length, soft tip, what? Thanks, I very interested in reading your opinions.
Chris Drury |
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| Doc......
For trolling spoonplugs ,I run 5' rods for no-bo or
wire.
For open water or other applications,I'm using 9 or 10
foot rods , line counter reels and 12 or 50 pound mono.
The rods are dipsy rods and work well .The dipsy rods
are in holders when trolling. [;)]
dennis |
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| 8' south bend catfish special. Don't bother with cork grips cause they will get screwed up in the rod holders anyway. These catfish rods are strong and heavy. |
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| Hey Chris!
I would second (actually third) the south bend cat classic 8 footer. I have two of them. They have a decent tip but what I love is this cheap fiberglass rod has some serious back bone. I like them so much I use them for sucker fishing in the fall (and you know what type of back bone you need for suckers!). Got a few muskies on them last year up to 45 inches using suckers. They troll depthraiders and 10 inch jakes wonderfully! For 40$ (for both) they can't be beat! Scott Jenkins saw my two and ran out and bought two himself. I think I got mine at Sports Authority.
Good luck!
Cory |
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| I just got done fishing with a buddy on St. Clair and he had a 8' custom fiberglass rod from Thorne Brothers that was phenomenal. They are going to be much more expensive than many of the others listed here but I'd be willing to bet that this rod would have a longer life span. It does have a hard foam grip which goes along with some of the other comments here.
Craig |
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| Chris,
The Classic Catfish Series has been a tough to beat rod for trolling. I like the CC80H or the CC76H.
Rob |
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| Hey guys thanks so much for the quick response. I am grateful. Now here's another question. Do you run mono, wire or superbraids (Tufline, PowerPro, etc.)? I have a spool of 50lb Big Game I keep for my surf rods when I get back to the Jersey Shore. I was thinking of using that but am open to suggestions. I am going to go with Cabelas Depthmaster Gold reels, they are pretty nice for the price. Again thanks and any other suggestions would be great.
Chris |
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| Chris,
I use 20# P-Line CXX Strong. The strength of that line is unbelievable. It comes in a light green color that disappears in the water.
Rob |
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| I run two 8' St. Croix Classic Cats, also use them for suckers in the spring and fall[:)] |
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| There are to many trolling rods to choose from. I would suggest for your first year you use the jerkbait rods you already have. Then if you see that you like it and want to do more of it then go out and spend good money and get yourself a great muskie trolling rod.
My two outfits are G-loomis MUR786C-JB 6'6" jerkbait rods with abus 6500C3C for the inside rods and the MUR946C-TR 7'10" trolling rods with daiwas linecounter reels for the outside rods.
In the summer I use the same rods I cast with no problems. Man I used to have but one good muskie rod and did everything with it for years and had no problems catching a tonne of big fish. [:sun:] |
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| For trolling you really dont have to break the bank.
Go to Gander Mt. and buy Browning 8.3' downrigger rods, put on some Okamia line counters and 20-30 pound mono and you will be set for around $75 a rod. Get some heavy floro-carbon leaders and start dragging.
The line counters are great for dialing in on your runs and certain lures. I really recommend them to start out with. I use Penn 209's alot but add it up in my head. 8ft per pass. |
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| We run 10' Erie Series heavy dipsey diver rods(glass) with lead core line and flurocarbon leaders. Reels are okama line counters. Price was about 100$ per rod.The first time we use them we caught a 48" and 37" and they worked flawless! |
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| Any cheap rod ($30 to 35.00) range that is around 8 1/2 foot and labled as a "downrigger" rod will work fine. |
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| Have you ever had any problems using 12 lbs mono to troll? What advantage do you have using lite line to troll?
Mike |
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