High price trolling rods, why?

I have 5 trolling rod combos. I bought the $70 dollar combos from scheels that come with a telescoping rod and a line counter. I have used them 2 seasons and have had no issues with them.

Trolling is not a finesse technique so I am curious as to why people spend big money on trolling rods? JT Custom rods offeres one for $219, St. Croix has rods around $110. I can understand spending some money on the reels. I have never had any problems being able to determine lure action on my scheels rods or if the bait was fouled. What am I missing?

There is definitely a performance issue.
However there is what I refer to as the “festool” aspect also. Which is “if you have it, spend it”

They make them because people buy them. Almost laughable to me that somebody would pay more than $50 to pull cranks with a rod that’s in a holder. To justify it they’ll tell you they know when a fish is following by how the tip is vibrating.

I’m far from an expert but seeing a lures action on the tip seemed to be a huge advantage. There is no comparison from a depthmaster rod to a Talora.

I have 4 of the Cabelas combos and they work just fine in my opinion. I can see where a better reel would make a difference but when running braided line, I can easily see when the cranks are running true or if they are fouled up by weeds. When you are using planner boards, you lose that on all rods I assume

I couldn’t agree more. Anyone who tells you that spending substantial money on the actual rod for trolling applications is lying and has probably wasted a ton of their own money already.

I’ve got 5-6 Cabelas combos, and 2 St. Croix trolling rods I was gifted. For pulling lead, there’s not the slightest bit of difference. The reel is far more important than the rod. For braid long-lining rods, the Depth masters performance is just fine and it’s easy to see if a bait is fouled. I’m not a big planer board guy, but I just don’t see how that would be a major difference either if paired with the correct action and line to absorb the waves’ pull on the boards.

I spent $40 on a PAIR of used Shimano TDR’s and they certainly do the trick. With braid it’s very easy to read the tip. Haven’t run them with lead yet.

I use okuma deadeye trolling rods I got for 49 each. I do like the med moderate, as I pull mini planer boards so don’t need an expensive rod for that. I have 2 St. Croix eyecon 7 ft med/mod bouncer rod for pulling 3 ways, big difference there

For long line trolling a high quality rod is fantastic. Having the extra sensitivity, tip action, guides that dont freeze up right away. My cheap trolling rods havent left the garage in a lot of years. Yes if you are driving around with them in a rod hold you are not feeling anything anyways. Go cheap. Not a chance for the long lining I do. Just way to much to feel out there.

So what trolling application did JT make the rod for? Anyone got specs on it.

I don’t own a trolling rod I paid more than $20 for. With that said, I’ve had people use $100 trolling rods in my boat an I can tell you there is certainly a difference. I’d prefer to use that one over my cheapos, that’s for sure.

You certainly don’t need them but they really have their benefits. Buy one or two and give them a try. There’s always a bunch of people here that will buy them used if you don’t like them. They go pretty fast.

Kelly Jordan wrote:

I use okuma deadeye trolling rods I got for 49 each. I do like the med moderate, as I pull mini planer boards so don’t need an expensive rod for that. I have 2 St. Croix eyecon 7 ft med/mod bouncer rod for pulling 3 ways, big difference there

Okuma Coldwater downrigger rods for me. $69 retail but you can find them for under $50 if you catch them on sale. I have an assortment of “expensive” trolling rods in storage that haven’t seen the light of day in years.

Im not disagreeing with anyone here, an angler with money in their pocket can spend it the way they choose, but I’d recommend saving some money on trolling rods and reallocating the extra funds on better reels.

James Holst wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Kelly Jordan wrote:</div>
I use okuma deadeye trolling rods I got for 49 each. I do like the med moderate, as I pull mini planer boards so don’t need an expensive rod for that. I have 2 St. Croix eyecon 7 ft med/mod bouncer rod for pulling 3 ways, big difference there

Okima Coldwater downrigger rods for me. $69 retail but you can find them for under $50 if you catch them on sale. I have an assortment of “expensive” trolling rods in storage that haven’t seen the light of day in years.

Im not disagreeing with anyone here, an angler with money in their pocket can spend it the way they choose, but I’d recommend saving some money on trolling rods and reallocating the extra funds it on better reels.

Have any 7’6″ Tidemasters in storage you want to part with?

Francis K wrote:

Have any 7’6″ Tidemasters in storage you want to part with?

Sorry, sold those years ago.

I have inexpensive Okuma trolling rods and they work for walleye to salmon, and I couldn’t care less for an expensive rod. Many more effective ways to enjoy and spend money in my opinion.

nobody “needs” a Huracan Performante either, since a Chevy Cruz will get you to the grocery store just fine.

sometimes the tool is also a toy.

James Holst wrote:

I have an assortment of “expensive” trolling rods in storage that haven’t seen the light of day in years.

Sounds like they should see the classifieds page!

I have some rods that are more on the spendy side, but since I get a discount is the only reason I have them.

I also have some cheaper rods as well. And quite honestly I have A LOT of hours on both and I couldn’t tell you a real difference between cheap and expensive. My biggest issue with my expensive rods, is that they have micro guides. I have pulled away from a company because they seem to like micro guides on EVERYTHING… To me they have no reason being on a trolling rod at all.

So now I have to buy a bunch of trolling rods for salmon fishing and a couple more for walleye. I can tell you that I will be buying cheap rods even though I get good discounts on nice rods.

To me its just not worth it.

When I started to get into long line and bottom bouncing trolling I had lots of Cabelas points to play with. I tried many different rods. Even some in the $300 range and the one I liked best was a $50 rod. It had the right tip and action for what I was looking for. Don’t get me wrong, the $300 rod was lighter and more comfortable holding all day but didn’t have the right tip and action for the presentation I was doing. The best thing you can do is find someone with some different rods you can go out with and try what they have. Some lures work better on some rods and some on other rods. The big question is what do you want to use and do. I have not done enough experimenting with lead core or pulling boards to comment on rods for that.

There is a difference between the inexpensive rod and a more expensive rod. It is about performance and what you want. There are rods that do handle boards better than others. I have a few rods built specifically for hand holding for trolling. They are lighter and much more sensitive than rods like the TDR or Okuma or any of the other major manufacturers. In my opinion, there are no rods built with the highest performance materials and manufacturing techniques. There are rods for steelhead with those attributes but, they are for steelhead, not for walleye. Difference is components and handles. Frankly, there are no really good rods on the market for walleye trolling. There used to be, not anymore. I think I have just built the best rod for hand trolling for walleye. Next is a set of rods for trolling walleye and coho. They are being built from Hot Shot rod blanks. Not cheap, probably will cost me about $150 each and a lot of time. Best rod for trolling walleyes is a 8’-9’ medium power, extra fast action or a mag taper. That’s my 2 cents.

Inexpensive Okuma and Cabelas rods for me! For the few times a year I’m actually trolling, I could never justify a high end rod.

This thread has become rather complicated with a lot of opinions shared (which is a good thing), but I’ll try to simplify for someone getting into the sport.

For finesse trolling (i.e. trolling with one rod in your hand) you’ll want a more sensitive/responsive rod.

For general trolling such as downrigging, boards, dipsys, etc (i.e. in a rod holder) you don’t need the same feel.

Trolling rods come in three different materials.

1. 100% Fiberglass. These rods are generally bulletproof, inexpensive and not terribly sensitive. They work great for a lot of applications, and are generally at the top of the list for downrigging. They also work fine for planer board rods, whether running just braid or weighted lines like leadcore or copper on a board. An example is rods such as Daiwa Wilderness or Shimano TDR.

2. Graphite rods. These rods are the most sensitive and responsive. But they are also very brittle compared to fiberglass. They are best suited as a single rod in your hand (long lining braid or maybe leadcore). They are also lighter in physical weight. An example would be a St. Croix Eyecon rod. DO NOT USE A 100% graphite rod for downrigging or dipsys. You can and will snap them in half. Okuma has a line called Coldwater that are designed for most trolling applications (they seem to be more durable than most graphite rods).

3. Composite Rods. These are a blend of both fiberglass and graphite. They share traits of both materials. They offer more sensitivity and responsiveness than a fiberglass rod, and are more durable than a graphite rod. They work well for many applications, but caution and care must be used if having them as downrigger rods. (Don’t heave on them to pop a release). A lot of guys prefer them for long lining braid behind boards, others use them for almost every application. Examples include Daiwa Heartlands, Shimano Taloras, Jason Mitchell trolling rods, etc.

Mike W wrote:

So what trolling application did JT make the rod for? Anyone got specs on it.

Mke,

the JT trolling rod (Ascendant) was built around the idea of trolling leadcore. there are alot of great rods out there that will do the job no question on that. this rod is carbon fiber, so if you were wanting to hold this rod while trolling, you get the added feel in using carbon. the Ascendant was designed to visually see the crank vibrating through the tip. there is a significant difference in actually seeing the vibrating action, and thinking the crank is running true. the reason for the higher price is the high end components used, which when going through the design process for the rod, were demanded by some elite caliber anglers in the fishing industry.

Captainpaddlefoot wrote:

Frankly, there are no really good rods on the market for walleye trolling.

B-man wrote:

3. Composite Rods. These are a blend of both fiberglass and graphite. They share traits of both materials. They offer more sensitivity and responsiveness than a fiberglass rod, and are more durable than a graphite rod.

I use a $30 composite Berkeley casting rod w/ a Pflueger low profile baitcaster when I’m long-lining and holding the rod on the river. If you can’t feel your lure action, pounding sand, or a weed picked up when holding this rod then you might just want to see a doctor because something is wrong with you. Obviously a Talora is a “nicer” rod but for holding in my hand on the river, I’ll take the cheaper, lighter option all day.

The cheaper rods work just as well as the more expensive one especially when driving the boat when ones attention is not always on the rod.
Though, I like a multi purpose rod so I will spend a bit more for a nice rod like an 8.5 extendable just so I don’t have so many rods in the boat. I’m not much of a finesse guy when trolling. If i see the rod bending over irradically I’m pretty sure its a fish if its just bent over its a small fish or a weeds’ either way the lure gets pulled in I also will pull in the lure often to check for debris and what nots. No brainer, I don’t see how a higher end can improve on that.

What general length and action rods are you looking for or is there just a standard on the trolling rods. And second I am assuming these are rods you use the line counter reels with?

Interesting thread.

I use Cabela’s, Scheel’s and Jason Mitchell trolling rods with lead core, snap weights or while long lining and I can see my cranks vibrating on the tips of all of them. I troll crankbaits a lot I’m never found a reason to buy expensive trolling rods, but that’s just me.

lrott2003 wrote:

What general length and action rods are you looking for or is there just a standard on the trolling rods. And second I am assuming these are rods you use the line counter reels with?

Interesting thread.

id say the most used length would be that 7’6 – 8’6 M action rod. there are shorter and longer depending on how you want to run your spread. to be accurate with your depth and repeatability, a line counter reel is really nice to use.

Maybe it’s just me but I can’t see lure action on cabelas depthfinder rods on lead with smaller original or huskies on, even some smaller flickers which can be very good at times. Pulling in 100′ of line is a pia to check for debris. Sure most cranks show up on most rods, I’ll pay a lil extra to cover all my lures.

Just for reference $300 for any rod is crazy, that for a trolling is insane. I also enjoy my okuma extendable trolling rod for around $60 or so.

I have run lots of different combos of rod some very expensive to cheep. the JT built for lead for better ability to see action on lure is important but I can see the rod tip on a #5 shad rap with my cheap Cabelas rods. The depth master dipsey rod for 30 bucks shows just fine. I have 15 plus trolling rods rigged differently for lead core, long lining, etc walleye and salmon. I prefer some of the cheaper rods over my expensive rods. All however have high end reels. I would not spend 200 plus on any trolling rod. This is a push in marketing not in real world application. The Cabelas depth master have a lifetime warranty too.