Lakelady 15 foot trolling rod

Last Friday I stopped up at the Lakelady Custom Rod builder’s factory (happens to be his home) and was greeted with utmost hospitality. Kris Kristufek has his shop in his home up at Breezy Point, Mn and truly creates precision rods with an artistic flair. I was interested to see, and learn about the 15 foot trolling rod he has been exhibiting at Sports Shows this Spring, and also the very same rod he used on Pool 4 last year. Attached is a photo of Kris in his office holding the 15 footer, which by the way, happens to be made from a 4 section blank and has the famed spiral wrapped guide system on it. I had not seen this technique before, nor had I ever held a rod with it but Kris not only showed it to me, he assembled it, threaded the line and proceeded to demo how the spiral wrap, when applied correctly, neutralizes almost all the torque on the rod. It is possible to literally hold the rod up with one finger with intense pressure being applied to the line running through the guides. This may sound far fetched, but it is true, I was there, I experienced it. This technique doesn’t just “happen” by itself and takes far more work to tune than merely finding the spine in a blank. Kris uses the finest components in building his rods, and prides himself with impeccible quality and beauty in the finished product. The 15 footer isn’t a give away but I’d venture to say Kris will have worked for peanuts per hour when he sells that one because of all the tuning, and learning, he experienced while building this mega-troller. He has in the works another version, lower cost, different blank, different look, but again with the spiral wrap technique. That 15 footer has 19 eyes, plus the tip. Kris worked with James Holst to get a product specification defined which would meet our guides’ needs, as well as their clients. I was impressed with Kris’ overall knowledge in rod building as well as his finished products. He plans to bring the rod down to Pool 4 this Spring so if you see a boat with one very long rod working a #5 Shad Rap, it might very well be Kris. I’m sure he’d be glad to show it to you or better yet, make a custom one just for you.

Attached here is a closeup of the Lakelady logo on a custom rod.

Thanks LundgEYE for the kind words. I too enjoyed our visit in my rod shop last week. Wish we’d had more time to look at some other things I’m doing with these fishing tools!

This 15′ Monster River Troller is realy something as you discovered. But it works and works like a finely tuned shad rap. The tip section is so soft that every “twitch” is clearly visable, yet powerful enough to set the hook with ease. The mid section starts to load up with power almost instantly, transfering the energy down to the butt sections, where there is plenty of “beef” to haul in nearly anything that swims in the river.

My son & I were testing this rod last summer in Pool 4, a rather lazy hot July afternoon, when something took the bait and headed for the Gulf, like it was dinner time! About a half hour later we got this ugly 28# foul hooked carp up to the boat. Somewhere we have a picture to prove it too! A battle royal, but what fun. The rod performed just like I thought it would …. flawlessly. And yes, we both held the rod during the fight with just one finger under the reel against the trigger. I would not have believed this could happen, but it does.

It is all in the set up of the rod. Built in performance designed to do a very specific job. The President of one of the major trolling board companies is salivating over this rod and what it will do, without the use of his boards. No more tangles, easy to set up and fish, simple to land a catch and on and on. Think we have something here for the guys that fish close to the rip rap or wing dams and want to save their lower units, make sharp turns and keep fishing all day long.

If there is a problem with this current rod it is the cost. There are only 2 blanks in the world that will do the job. One of them (the blank) I would not even bring into this country. But there may be an alternative.

We are just about complete with a more affordable version, using a different blank that I think will perform just fine, with some subtle difference, that only will be known when fishing booth rods side-by-side. The new rod will not be as easy to transport, as it is 2 piece vs. 4. It has a large butt section, which will dampen the sensitivity some, but at the end of the day, more affordable for more trollers.

If this weather straightens out, we’ll have both of these monsters down on the river very soon. We will look like ocean tollers with a nealy 40 foot spread going up stream, and lines back about 150 to 175 feet. Stand back…. the LakeLady Fishing Team will be in control! It’s 15 below here this morning, and I’m ready to go!

btw. LakeLady Custom Rods will be at the Sioux Empire Sportsman’s Show this weekend in Sioux Falls, SD. Both River Trolling rods will be on display in our booth. Come on down and experience the difference.

See you on the River!

Kris Kristufek
LakeLady Custom Rods

Can’t wait to see that spread working Pepin this spring!!! Very exciting stuff especially as I get ready to take a rod building class in April. Please keep us updated on your work.

Beautiful rod and excellent craftsmanship… The patience and testing to assemble a rod like that… Well, think I’ll take another large bite of humble pie and head back out to the garage and watch my latest effort turn on the dryer… trying not to notice the flaws : )