Lake Trout/Walleye shanty rigs

Please share what rod/reel/line combos you guys use for Lake trout and walleye when fishing inside of a flip over style shanty. I am looking for options in terms of shanty length rods, reels, and line setups. Since i plan on fishing from a shanty in inclement weather, i wanted to find a way i could target larger species fish, specifically lakers/walleye, and still be able sit in the comfort of a single or two man flip over shanty. I have rods/reels set up for outside of the shanty, but i found that a 32″ rod was a touch too long when inside my frabill commando single man flip over. I thought of going to a shorter 28″ medium action, but i wanted to see what everyone else was using. Thank you in advance and sorry if this topic has been beaten in to the ground, i couldnt find any specific topics that addressed my needs in the search area of the forums.

Are you looking for one rod to do double duty both walleye and lakers?

You’re right on the money, if 32″ is too long then shorten it up a little to 28″ but try not to go shorter than that. I don’t have any issues with a 28″-30″ in mine but houses are different.

Disclaimer – I don’t have lake trout experience.

yes, i was looking for a rod that can do double duty. One for med sized lakers and large walleye to be specific. I beleive the 28″ length range is my target, and i agree, going shorter will not benefit me in any way. I am currently looking at the TUCR bullwhip mated with a Shimano Sedona 500; however, i am not sure if i should go with a different reel or not. I typically use the Suffix 832 braid with a Seaguar flouro leader. Does this sound like a solid setup? Just curious what everyone else uses.

I own a tucr bull whip and I would not use it if I was going after lakers or large walleye, it has a great backbone but it has has a very sensitive tip for detecting light biting pan fish, it really to light of a rod for what your targeting, I would suggest you look at a tucr commander or the precision power rod

I too own a bullwhip and would not recommend it for lakers. I would say either a power precision or a LTP. but I would email the TUCR guys and tell them what u want ur rod to do and they will tell u what rod to get that is best suited for u! great company!!

I believe the shortest they make an LTP is 38″. You may be looking more at a Commander as a good trout/walleye rod if you want a shorter one.

Thanks guys, im in talks with the guys at TUCR. Anyone have reel suggestions, or line/leader preferences?

About 90% of my laker rigs are main lined with braid and run about a 4-5ft leader of heavy florocarbon. I target bigger fish and thats the reason for the heavier florocaron.. Im not a fan of wire leaders when fishing for Lakers, mainly due to the unnatural presentation you get on the drop. I normally use 20-25lb floro leader and 40-50lb braid for my main.. I just know this works for me but there are a million other ways out there to set up your laker rods…

Like Johnny, I like a good 20# fluoro leader, but as I am typically running smaller weight baits to match the profile of the smelt forage in my primary stomping grounds, I run 10# mono on one rod and 10# 832 Ice Braid on the other. I run Sedona reels on my LTPs, if you’re getting a rod under 38″ and fishing in 100 feet deep or less, I would run a 1000 series. If you will be fishing deeper than 100 feet, or using a longer rod, a 2500 series would be an option as well.

Johnny Laker wrote:

About 90% of my laker rigs are main lined with braid and run about a 4-5ft leader of heavy florocarbon. I target bigger fish and thats the reason for the heavier florocaron.. Im not a fan of wire leaders when fishing for Lakers, mainly due to the unnatural presentation you get on the drop. I normally use 20-25lb floro leader and 40-50lb braid for my main.. I just know this works for me but there are a million other ways out there to set up your laker rods…

Ben Putnam wrote:

Like Johnny, I like a good 20# fluoro leader, but as I am typically running smaller weight baits to match the profile of the smelt forage in my primary stomping grounds, I run 10# mono on one rod and 10# 832 Ice Braid on the other. I run Sedona reels on my LTPs, if you’re getting a rod under 38″ and fishing in 100 feet deep or less, I would run a 1000 series. If you will be fishing deeper than 100 feet, or using a longer rod, a 2500 series would be an option as well.

Thanks guys, thats excellent advice. Around my neck of the woods i think the 28″ rod, sedona 500, and #10 suffix braid paired with a flouro leader should meet my needs for the fishing depth and fish size in my area. I fish from 6′-150′ here in MI. Our lakers on the inland lakes can be large, but nothing like what you guys catch NW of me.