I want to purchase a couple of trolling combos, but I’m not looking to break the bank in doing so. I primarily would like to run some Suffix braid to pull deep diving cranks. What are some quality rods and reels that I should be looking for?
I seen Will’s article on this topic, but I didn’t catch what types of rods and reels he was using, only that he was running Suffix 6/20 braid. I’d like to also hear what the benefits/cons by using braid over lead core? Thanks for any help!
I am curious about trolling combos also. I am looking for lead line set ups with counter reels. I have been looking at the okumo brand at fleet farm and the cabelas brand combos. Anyone have any experience with either of these?
I am not sure if the Site has been fixed enough to allow a
search of old Posts, but any thing by Will and Brad Juaire are
right on for info.
You’d want a rod from at least 7 1/2 foot to 8 1/2 foot. I
like the Sealine-27’s for braid line trolling or deep cranks on
braid, and the Sealine-47’s for #18 pound braid and has enough room
for a decent amount of backing.
You can find more expensive reels, but the Sealines are not that expensive
and have a decent drag system.
If you are a guide, get the best you can afford.
Hope that helps,
Jack
To get someone’s attention in the hopes that they answer your question, tag them like this. For Will Roseberg >>> @MalmoMafioso
Shimano Compre 9’6″ Cast/Trolling * Medium-Fast * Medium * 10-20 Lb Line Wt * 1/4-1 oz Lure Wt
Match this rod above with a SG47LC Daiwa reel.
If you decide to use the new brands of lead core like Suffix Advanced 832 Lead Core or Tuff Line MicroLead, you may be able to get away with buying an SG27LC Daiwa reel. The 27’s are smaller and hold less line than the 47’s.
Anglers Guide HQ’s will probably have the rod above. (Dean Marshall)
I happened to end up with Shimano Tekota reels, as they are great but you sure pay a lot for them. I also went with tony roach weight McGill rods but shimano and clam Jason Mitchell rods also offer some great options. Jason Mitchell rods run about $70 msrp and under and may be a good lower cost options. Some people do just fine with cabelas depth master combos that are on sale for $60 for the combo right now.
To me lead vs braid is about depth, I troll down to about 20′ with braid and below with lead. Some people troll less than 20′ with lead also.
Previous post of mine:
May 23, 2014 at 6:39 pm#1412111
I was in a similar place this time last year, as I had some basic gear but wanted to upgrade to some quality pairs like you did. I ended up going with tekota’s and tony roach trolling rods and have been very happy so far. I also put a lot of research into rigging them. The best advise I can give is to make each rod in the pair identical to the other. By this I mean the exact same amount of backing, lead, and fluorocarbon and backing and braid on the other pair. I went into exacting detail on this step and even tested the line counter accuracy against a 100′ tape in my back yard. This duplication in pairs and accuracy makes things very repeatable when you find what works.
I also took a tip from James and put a small swivel about 5′ (length may vary depending on hook keeper location on your rod and length to the rod tip, so you don’t have to reel the swivel thru the guides) from the end of your fluorocarbon and then putting just a snap at the end. This way you can replace the last section of fluorocarbon as needed without shortening the overall length.
I also would recommend Jason Halfen’s leadcore 101 article:
http://www.idofishing.com/forum/showflat.php/Number/759159/fpart/1/the-art-and-science-of-trolling-with-leadcore-line
I have a few photos of the detailed article on tuning and reproducing line set ups, as I actually put everything on the first reel of the pair backwards first, note the lengths of each component, and then put the configuration on to the next reel in the pair as the backer comes off first so it will load the next reel perfectly. This all gets a bit confusing but feel free to pm me and I will get you a better explanation.
Typo on my last post…
Tony Roach rods are made by Wright McGill aka eagle claw. I like the grips and guides.
I use the cabelas depthmaster telescoping planer board rods with Okuma Convectors and have had good luck. I bought a couple depthmaster reels and they are all failing within just a few years.
hey brian, fleet farm has okuma line counter combo’s for $87.00, with telescoping rods. pretty inexpensive set up and decent gear.
I want to purchase a couple of trolling combos, but I’m not looking to break the bank in doing so. I primarily would like to run some Suffix braid to pull deep diving cranks. What are some quality rods and reels that I should be looking for?
I seen Will’s article on this topic, but I didn’t catch what types of rods and reels he was using, only that he was running Suffix 6/20 braid. I’d like to also hear what the benefits/cons by using braid over lead core? Thanks for any help!
Hey Brian,
The good news is this is one of those rare times where I’ll actually recommend that you go cheap! If you get addicted to trolling like myself you’re going to end up with about 20 different specific rod combinations (Multiple Rods each for long-lining shallow, long-lining deep, planer boards, 3 colors lead, 5 colors lead, etc.) but you’ll have plenty of time to work on that inventory later. The two rods I started out with were just the most basic Cabelas DepthMaster 8′ telescoping medium action trolling rods which you can buy for about $25-35 right now. The biggest drawback to these rods is that their heavy and not that sensitive isn’t a big deal for trolling deep cranks because with all of the resistance needed to get those big billed baits down deep you’re going to want that baby sitting in a rod holder anyway.
By going with a less expensive rod it will leave you with a few extra $$ to spend on a higher quality reel (And more Rapalas!) which I think makes a much bigger difference for getting fish to the boat. The lower level Cabelas DM and Diawa Accudepth are serviceable and the Shimano Tekotas are as good as it gets but if you’re looking for the best value for the price point I would recommend checking out the Diawa Sealines.
If you’re interested the specific rods in my boat right now for my deep water long-line trolling are 9′ medium action St Croix Eyecons. Hope this helps and if you’ve got any follow up questions fire away or feel free to shoot me a PM anytime.
I appreciate all the responses guys. Thanks!
Will,are you using any backing on the long lining reels with braid? If so, what do you suggest? I would assume 10lb mono? I’m going to tinker with lead next year, but this year I want to give long lining a shot. It’s been several years since I dabbled in it. If I remember right, somewhere in the 150 feet back range got me down to 26-28? With Fireline I believe.
Yes, you will definitely want to put backing on your long line rods with superline. Most importantly without the backing the line could slip on the reel, but also line counter reels are calibrated with a full spool of line so if you don’t fill it your readings won’t be accurate and it’s much more cost effective to only put 150 yds of braid on versus several hundred to fill a spool with 6# diameter line. Another thought is that for my long lining reels I prefer to use the smaller size 17 or 27 (Sealine sizes) reels so that if you ever use them in shallow and want to hold onto the rod they aren’t as heavy.
For the feet back it depends a lot on the lure… 150′ back will put a Taildancer down over 30 ft. In order to get it up just a little my magic number is 133′ which puts me down around 28-29′. Deep Thundersticks don’t get down as far so you’re going to need 150-155′ to get down around 26-28′. Until you get a pattern down though I would run lures at varying depths. My usual starting lures are a Blue/Chrome/Red Bill Thunderstick out 125′ and a purple clown flash TD-11 Taildancer sent back 133′ and I will usually give them at least a half hour before I start sorting through other cranks. Good luck if you make it out this weekend!
Will,
This information is great. What rods are you using for your leadcore and your board rods?
How has the basin bite been as of late?
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