trolling rod combos

I have been looking at trolling Rond combos. Any sugestions. What type baitcaster and what size rod? And does anyone use yellow birds and which rods can handle pulling a board? etc. Thanks

hi Fireflick, you can’t go wrong with a Basspro shop catalog, and look up the Diawa line counter reels, 27 LC, there will be that reel in the rod/reel combos that are available. the rod should be 8-8 1/2- 9 feet long. they have some good telescoping rods in these lengths, with long handles which make them easier to use. fireline would work great for trolling, no stretch, and you can put lures right back into the same place with the line counter reel. IF you want to use lead core, the 47 LC is necessary as it has more line capacity than the 27 LC. the 47 will hold 100 yeards of leadcore (no.18) which is all you need. James also has a very good leadcore article that you should read in the Article section. hope that helps.. Jack.

fireflick,

I’ve got a lot of trolling rods, but the one’s I’m likely to grab most of the time is a plain old Galyans store brand, 6 1/2 foot glass/graphite composite teamed up with a Abu-Garcia 5500 C-3. I bought 4 of the rods on sale for $9.99 each (50% off)and the reels were $55.00 after the rebate. These are my trolling rods. Both flat lining, 3-ways and pulling boards.

I don’t like the YellowBirds. Had a couple but they are in the junk pile now. Go with the basic “Off Shore” boards. I have a set that are 5 or 6 years old and still going. If you want to get fancy, you can add the “tattle tale flags” for another 15 bucks.

J.

Hello, I like the Abu Garcia 5600 series baitcasting reels and the Shamano Consair baitcasting reels. For rods I like 7ft. rods with St. Croix blanks [custom made at-60.00 ea] and Abu Garcia 6 1/2 ft. C3 Cardinal Series Graphite/Composite rods. I also have some shorter St. Croixs and some 8 1/2 ft. Black Beauties rods if I need to spread my lines out farther. For trolling boards I use the Willie brand ones as each board can be used on either side [works on both sides of the boat.] One of these days I will try the Off Shore ones as they are also good ones.

Is there a benefit to using 6 1/2 foot rods over 8 1/2 foot rods other than personal preference. I like the 8 1/2 foot rods but I see you guys are talking more about the shorter rods? Thanks for any information or opinions.

I’d say a 6 1/2 footer is a good “All Around” rod. Will do everything. I prefer to pull boards with my 8 1/2 footers. A lot of times I don’t have the 8 1/2 footers in the boat. I find it a bit more difficult to land a fish alone with a 8 1/2 foot rod….just can’t get the fish close to the net!

Bottom line….need a couple of both.

J.

I’ve been using 8 1/2′ Ugly Sticks for trolling cranks and for pulling 3-ways with stickbaits. I use Fireline so the fiberglass tip section of the Ugly Sticks work just like a shock absorber. I love the glass and superline combination.

Beav

I keep it simple. I use 18# lead core on a Penn reel. These reels wear like iron. I put the reel on a 6 1/2 foot graphite rod. I tie a 4 foot mono or fireline leader onto the lead core and pull away. Have caught a lot of fish pulling #5 raps with these rods in water up to 19ft. The lead core really gets these lures down there. A line counter is nice but I zig zag on my trolling pattern and vary depths often.

Yo Fire – Saw the post and thought I’d get my 2 cents worth in ! Having been a Pro Staffer for St Croix and now currently for Pure Fishing (Berkley and others) let me throw some stuff at ya. First ya need to decide where you do 80% of your fishing – Lake Erie or pool 4 thru 18, maybe Lake of the Woods or the Leech. If you fish real big water then 8′ to 81/2′ rods the best. 90% of the time a 61/2 ‘ to 7′ is the best plus they fit in a rod box ! We can’t spend to much money here, so look at Berkley Lightning Rods (Gary Roach signature) LRC661M which is 61/2′ , and the LSC6101M 7’ model. For a short rod StCroix ProGlass GC-60M it’s fiberglass and is excellent for casting and trolling.

Now the reel, I have 2 suggestions. First, the Abu Garcia C4 (blue finish) 5600 there are several advantages with this reel. It’s got the old fashioned clicker switch, you put the reel in free spool, engage the click and put it in your rod holder and wait for somethin to hit. Also the reel has a high retrieve ratio, 6.3 to 1. When you’re long line’n and the eye is pull’n, each crank is pulling more line than your neighbor is with his 4 – 5 to 1. Another “must have reel” is the Diawa SG27LC line counter reel. All the Pros run this reel ! Its compact and strong, and it counts ! You need to know how far out your crank or rigs running for optimum control. Fireline 8/20, rod holders and some Wille Sideliners and your set. Again, unless you fish really big water a set of these Wille’s are your best investment, and you can use ’em without be’n a one legged man in butt kickn contest.

Now here’s the best way to use the equipment, assuming your like the most of us and own a 16-17′ V hull boat. You run the 7′ rods in holders in front, then you and your buddy hold the 6’rs. Planners are optional, and the reel counters work real well up front so you know how much your running out. Sorry I get carried away !! Hope this helps !

Gofish

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