Shorty Trolling Rod Question

I am NOT looking any particular brand/model !

I would like to know when you go to buy a shorty trolling rod what do you look for in that rod?

What helps you decide to purchase it?

I have looked at a couple of the X brands and thought there was too much flex in the handle section and the handle was too long for my liking.

This winter I plan on building myself a pair and need ideas as what to spec the rod out at,I am leaning towards a pair of 5′ Med/F action rods with a handle total length of 18-20″

Tell me your thoughts.

TIA Jeff

I would agree with the handle. I like mine to be just a little shorter.
I also look for them to be rated for ‘leadcore’ for trolling. The two I use the most are rated as leadcore, and they perform wonderfully. They are flexible enough to take the hits of wipers and walleyes, but are tough enough to pull 175′ of lead. Those are the main ingredients I look for. Most of the ones I’ve seen that are rated for leadcore seem to be similar.

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This winter I plan on building myself a pair and need ideas as what to spec the rod out at,I am leaning towards a pair of 5′ Med/F action rods with a handle total length of 18-20″

Tell me your thoughts.

TIA Jeff

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Jeff,

Happy New Year.

In regards to you making a five foot trolling rod. You stated you are leaning towards a Med/F. At Limit Creek we have the “Runt” rod it is a “”shorty” rod, a 5’0″… My advice to you after selling these models is to not have a fast action in a five footer. This gets to the heart of the problem with most trolling rods, and that is they are buggy whips or they are too stiff in the tip.

You completely need a giving medium action tip to absorb strikes and keep fish hooked. With a fast action tip on a 5’0″ rod you will lose many fish upon the strike, there is just no shock absorption there. I also advise you to beef up the rod and make it a medium heavy versus a medium. Trolling cranks with the rods in the holder as you know is very tough on the rods and a medium heavy will hold up better on snags or flathead catfish than a medium power in the long run.

I have found the short 5′ length of the medium heavy rod makes certain that this rod is not a willow rod even though the tip is a soft medium action, it really works well this way.

You are correct in the rod handle length I prefer 20″ vs. 18″, but it is a personal choice… I use an 11″ butt handle and a 4.5″ top grip handle (5.5″ of the reel seat makes up the difference).

Hope this information helps in making your trolling rods!!!

Keep catchin’

Turk

I tend to agree with Turk, The few I have used are too stiff.

To keep a fish hooked during the fight, especially big head shakes, you need a moderate action with a lot of flex. (think of a down rigger rod)

8′ and 10′ rods allow much more action from tip to mid to be soaked up but with a shorty you only have about 3′ of actual rod blank to get action from to soak up the fight.

My personal guess on the rods you mentioned using that bend in the handle is that it actually helped keep the fish hooked up, though quite annoying to feel it bend that far down.

I hope you are satisfied with your shortys, they are not for everyone but I do have uses for them from time to time.

I got 5 ft. rods at Cabelas for lead core and they seem to work nice. Not sure on the specs on the rods at the monent, they are in storage for the winter. Look them up on line might help.

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What helps you decide to purchase it?

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In my case it is who helps me decide and that would b e Dean. He pretty has seen and used so many rods, has good judgement, and I trust his opinion.

BTW…I bought those Sealines and Tidemasters from you a few years ago…thought you didn’t troll?

The only reason I didnt troll was I didnt have the right trolling motor and my big engine didnt like to troll down to below 3 miles and hour.

I have since bought a new trolling motor/I-pilot and got my big motor dialed right in and can now troll down to 3/4 mph with out it dying, which by the way was a $150 well spent.My tuner did a great job.(Thanks Dale)

Welcome back to the trolling world! Love those setups you sold me!

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Welcome back to the trolling world! Love those setups you sold me!

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I have 4 more now, the price was RIGHT

For me it was a process of elimination when it came to the shorty rod selection. The bigger concern for me is making sure I can read that tip and see what the bait is doing in the rod holder and it can take the shock when I get a bigger fish on or a snag. I tried 3 different brands of shorty rods before I bought the pair I have now.

Justin,
What shortie rods do you have now that you like?

I have the Scheels brand in the 5 ft length. I have caught Northern’s up to 38 inches on them and Muskies up into the low 40’s on them. They have held up well. I like I can still read the tip even with 120-140 ft of lead core out. I run the 9 ft Cabelas planer board rods on my outside lead core rods.

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I have the Scheels brand in the 5 ft length. I have caught Northern’s up to 38 inches on them and Muskies up into the low 40’s on them. They have held up well. I like I can still read the tip even with 120-140 ft of lead core out. I run the 9 ft Cabelas planer board rods on my outside lead core rods.

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I just looked up the specs on that rod and I must say I do like the specs, I am a big fan of the graphite blanks over glass.