Trolling Rods: What to Buy

I just bought a couple Mr. Walleye Planer boards but i don’t have rods for them yet. I want to buy rods that i can use for general longline trolling and leadcore also. Any suggestions?

Tony

Don’t worry about getting too high quality of a rod for the boards. I use Walleye Angler trolling board rods from Bass Pro. They are designed for board use. They are reasonably priced. I would suggest the shorter versus longer model because they are easier to take of the clips than longer rods.

For long-line trolling I would use a better quality rod. The assumtion is that you’ll be using line-counter reels so my choice is G Loomis GL-2 MBR 941C 7″10″. They have a very fast tip that telegraphs every wobble of your Shad Rap. If you should get grass on a treble you’ll know right away. I also use these for lead-core. Put them in the rod holders and go. You do not need to hold them but you can. The walleyes set the hook themselves. (Topics for another thread…Proper hook setting and Quit pumping the rod!!!!)

Don’t buy or use regular spinning or baitcaster equipment, use the specialized stufff and see the difference.

what about fiberglass rods i did some research before and a lot of people recomended glass rods

The 10’6″St Croix Wild River Rod is my choice for long lining cranks and pulling boards, model number WC106MMF2 to be exact. The 10’6″ rod has a meduim moderate action and functions as a huge shock absorber when useing boards. I firmly beleive I get better hook ups with super lines when long lining cranks with these rods. Very sensitive to! I have never tried lead core on these rods, maybe someone who has will chime in?

You can get my with KMart specials as long as they have the backbone for boards.

But for long-lining you need something that you can read or feel. With boards you read the board, the rod is just to get them out and away from the boat.

Glass has a place in the bass world for tossing cranks for sure.

I use 9’6″ Diawa Heartlands for lead and Ugly Stick big waters for long lining and have never had a problem with either brand.

Gator Hunter

I definitely like the longer rods over the shorter ones for boards. Here’s why. When you get into some rougher waters, the longer rods can be held in a rod holder at a nearly vertical position. This helps the board ride up and over the waves much better than a short rod. The reason is that the long rod will keep the line going from the rod tip to the board up and out of the water which prevents line drag between the board and the rod. You will quickly learn how to get the board un-clipped despite the longer rod. But a shorter rod can never make up that vertical difference.
JWB

I use the Bass Pro Walleye Angler rods as well in the 8 foot length. They have worked well for me.

ALot of good suggestions here.
Personally, I my go to rods for board pulling are the Croix 10′-6″ Wild river rods that Dustin mentioned. I have about 85 days a year of just board pulling on these rods and they have made my life worry free. As mentioend the longer rods give you the ability to keep the line off the water to prevent line drag, but more importantly this rod is limber enough to absorb big wave surges and handle any big runs at the boat side. I have customers comment that they like the longer rods for playing the fish better than some of the shorter rods.
I agree that sensitivity is not a issue at all when pulling boards, but these rods have become very versatile rods for me on the rivers for pulling 3 ways and bait. The longer rods get the lures away from the boat and give me the opportunity to run a shorter inside second rod where conditions apply.

I too like the St. Croix Wild River rods in the 10 ft 6 in. length. These are the same rods that Steve and Dustin are talking about. I also just picked up some 8 ft 6 in Wild River rods which I believe will work well for this too. I have not used those yet [8 ft 6 in rods] but have heard good reports on that length also. These rods should work well for 3-way and live bait and long lining plugs too from what people have told me. The 10 ft 6 in rods also work well for 3-ways and live bait as they keep the bait out away from the boat. Good luck and please feel free to let us know which rods you choose and how well you like them. Thanks, Bill

I use 7’casting rods for most of my fishing. I’ve been thinking of going to a longer rod for trolling, because I often use my foot operated bow mount trolling motor for trolling and want to stay away from the boat. I see where James uses the WC106M2 (Can’t fin it in the catalog) and Dustin uses the WC106MMF2. Are both of these rods the same price? As I can only afford one would either make a good all around trolling rod (I have never used boards)??
JIM

Actually, Dustin and I use the same rods. The WC106MMF2. I believe in the product review that DeeZee and I did together we may have messed up the product code. The rods that Dustin is referencing are the rods in question and they are simply marvelous for longline trolling, pulling boards and 3-waying.

For all the reasons listed above why the longer Croix rods are nice, here’s the one that carries the most weight with me… they’re FUN! My customers love them as the seem to make a decent fish feel nice and a nice fish feel big without EVER giving a person the feeling that the equipment isn’t perfectly matched to the job. I very much enjoy fighting a fish with them and I still chuckle every time I see that super long rod load up with a nice fish.

Sorry for any confusion that goof with the product code may have caused you or anyone else. Details! It’s all in the details!

So what kind of reels do you guys put on these 10ft+ rods? I assume thet are spooled with superline…what lb. test?

I have my Wild River Rods rigged with Diawa SG27LC Line counter reels. I use Spider wire stealth in the 20lbtest-6lb diameter. There has been a lot of talk about line couter reels on this board in the past years. Going on 5 years with my Diawa’s and they have not missed a beat for me . Great reel!

I have been using Abu Garcia C3-6500 reels for quite some time now. I have 4 of them that are 6 years old or more. The last two years I have added the digital line counter excessories to these reels and they have some nice features. “But” and this is a big butt. Last year we fished on Memorial day weekend with Jarrad (Fire-flick) and he had the SG27LC line counters on his rods. When I update my equipment, these are the reels that I plan to buy. Was very impressed with the quality of these reels.
JWB

THe Diawa Sealine SG27LCW has got my vote as well. These reels have been day in and day out dependable, durable and very easy to use.
My personal biggest reason I like these reels other than all the details listed above is the fact that everything on the reel is mechanical….meaning that there is no battery to go dead or a LCD screen that slows or freezes up in cold temps. Whats more annoying than slowly letting your line back behind the boat some 150+ feet and eventually you look down and you line counter screen has died or needs to reset.
I have about 7 years on 8 of my Diawas through tournaments and guide trips and have been very faithful every day on the water!
Good luck to you!

I will have one of those Croix WC106MMF2 by the time I get my boat out in the Spring. Do they cost $140 no matter where I get one, or do they have sales on them?? I will buy a line counter reel after James shows me how to use it in June. Does your video have info about line counter reels and boards?

JIM

Jim,

The video that James and I put out does not cover trolling applications. The video focuses on how we fish plastics on wingdams and rip rap shorelines for those mama eye’s. Very educational video for those wanting to learn that presentation………plus we got lucky and had some big fish come to the boat the day we filmed that video .

As for pricing on the wild river rods? They are going to be the same at all retail businesses from what I have heard and read in the past.

There is a reason they make a lot of different rods! LOL

I have run trolling rods up to 9.5 feet and have gone back to and am most happy with an 8 footer. I do my fair share of pulling boards too.

Right now I’m running the St. Croix GT80M with the Diawa 27’s. Love this set up. (The GT80M was updated to the PGT80M this year) This is an 8 foot rod that telescopes into the handle for easy storage.

I fish alone quite often and find landing a fish on the 9.5 or longer rod was cumbersom for me. Also, putting on/taking off the board was not a smooth process….for me.

Jon J.

My suggestion on trolling rods for running boards and leadcore would be useing the 10 footers and the 8’s.

I run the 10’s straight out the side and the 8’s straight out the back

Trolling with more then one in the boat its nice to have those 10ftrs straight out the side especially running leadcore, keeping distance between lures is a must!!! You tangle the leadcore up while it is out you might as well cut it off!! And you cover so much more water!

You shouldnt have to many worries taking you boards off with the long rods just lift the rod tips straight up and swing the boards to your chest its a piece of cake after a while.

I never had the 10’s til the last 2 years and I will never go back to trolling with the short rods!

The more water you cover the better your odds!

Oh and the 27LC’s definatly get my vote they take a lickin and keep on tickin!