Walleye Setup ??’s from a newbie….

I’m making the maiden voyage up to Canada and have a few questions regarding setups for Walleye’s and Northerns. We will mostly be trolling and do some jigging for Walleye. Casting to the shallows for northerns. This is the equipment that I currently have…

Guide Series GS300-662MS Spinning 6’6″ Medium line wght 6-12lbs
St Croix Avid 6’3″ MedXF paired with Sahara 2500
St Croix Premier 6’6″ Heavy Fast Action paired with Trion baitcaster

1. How would you line these options?
2. Which is my best rod for trolling?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Just my opinion here. I would take your lightest option(“1) and do some jigging with this one, you want some feel and this setup sounds like your best bet. Option #2 would probably be be a pretty decent choice for casting cranks(i like x-raps). And maybe do some trolling with your last option. Good luck and post some pics

Thanks for the response smackemup. How would you line these?

I agree with the posts arlready on here. You want your most sensitive one for jigging. Last year on Lake of the Woods I think I had 8lb mono on the line and that seemed to do just fine. I had a secondary spinningrod with a little more backbone. Same lb test but with a wire leader. Had good luck on northerns and a nice walley with a jointed rapala in the parch color. Good luck on your trip. Remember when jigging hook sets are free. I lost a few last year because I never really set the hook hard enough.

I prefer lighter lines, for a jigging combo i wouldn’t go over six lb test. Since you are going to canada you probably are going to need to be able to flip some rocks over to get your jig back so I am going to suggest 6# Fireline, you will not lose a fish from your line snapping. You dont need a leader, no swivel, fireline straight to the jig. If it was me I would cast smaller raps/cranks with this same combo, once again no leader or anything extra. After catching a fish give your lure a good tug as toothy fish can over time begin to slowly wear on the line, and you dont want to lose that next fish, because those are always the trophies. But to answer your question if you are casting cranks for eyes and pike, as long as the pike arent piggy monkeybutts(15# n up), you will be in good shape with the 6 lb line, just keep your drag down. Doing some trolling, dont waste your money buying a ton of spinners; use that money to buy a bunch of hooks, swivels, and probably 3/8 oz lindy weights (possibly 1/4 or 1/2 oz depending on weather, depth etc), you are probably going to need them . Once again 6-8 lb fireline would work well. The only time I would go over ten pound test is if I am expecting to catch big fish. But dont think if u want to catch a ten pound walleye you need ten pound line, this is not the case. Make sure you really give your knots a test by tugging on your hook pretty firmly, fireline likes to slip from time to time, once you feel your knot is solid, game on. Once again good luck and post some pics

Wonderful advice. Thanks for the help.

Your #2 Avid 63MXF is BY FAR your best and most sensitive jigging rod for Walleye…It is one of their best selling rods for Walleye. The G Mountain is a moderate action and about 1/2 the carbon modulus.
I agree with the uses of the baitcaster… Good Luck!

10# to 20# Berkley Crystal on all 3.

I’ve become a die-hard Crystal fan over the last year. It’s a superline that acts a lot like mono, save for the stretch, and the 10# has a 2# diameter, the 20# has an 8# diameter. You can’t really go wrong for jigging or for trolling. For casting cranks, use a few feet of 15-20# flouro.