Trolling rods

Hey I want to get more into trolling cranks for walleye. I’m thinking mostly flat lines and leadcore. I will need to spread out 4 lines. What rods do you guys use for flat lines and leadcore? Does anybody use the jointed flicker shads? How do they work?

You’re going to get varied opinions. There are many trolling rods on the market that’ll work well for you. My wife and I troll four rods whenever we can. We don’t use flat lines very often, but instead we run leadcore on two 10’6″ outside rods that are pointed straight out the sides and two 8’6″ snapweight rods that point almost straight back on each side of the transom. Unless a crankbait is not running correctly, lines rarely tangle and cover a wide swath when trolling. We prefer trolling cranks with leadcore and snapweights in shallow water too because they allow cranks to follow contours much better than flatlining. The only time we may troll flatlines is if trolling large, deep running cranks such as Reef Runner 800s or #11 Tail Dancers.
We use both Jason Mitchell and Scheels 10’6″ rods and Jason Mitchell, Scheels and Cabela’s 8’6″ rods. We like them all and can easily see the vibrations of the lures while trolling with all of them. You don’t have to break the bank when buying trolling rods to catch as many walleyes as the next guy.

Jointed Flicker Shads can work really well but like every other crank, they have their time and place. I have a box full of them in my tackle bag and use them whenever I find that the walleyes want them.

Karry Kyllo wrote:

You’re going to get varied opinions. There are many trolling rods on the market that’ll work well for you. My wife and I troll four rods whenever we can. We don’t use flat lines very often, but instead we run leadcore on two 10’6″ outside rods that are pointed straight out the sides and two 8’6″ snapweight rods that point almost straight back on each side of the transom. Unless a crankbait is not running correctly, lines rarely tangle and cover a wide swath when trolling. We prefer trolling cranks with leadcore and snapweights in shallow water too because they allow cranks to follow contours much better than flatlining. The only time we may troll flatlines is if trolling large, deep running cranks such as Reef Runner 800s or #11 Tail Dancers.
We use both Jason Mitchell and Scheels 10’6″ rods and Jason Mitchell, Scheels and Cabela’s 8’6″ rods. We like them all and can easily see the vibrations of the lures while trolling with all of them. You don’t have to break the bank when buying trolling rods to catch as many walleyes as the next guy.

Jointed Flicker Shads can work really well but like every other crank, they have their time and place. I have a box full of them in my tackle bag and use them whenever I find that the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes want them.

Wow thank you for the detailed response. Just curious how shallow you fish the leadcore and snap weights? I can fish some 5-10 ft of water sometimes.

Jason M., Cabelas and Scheels are good choices. I started with Cabelas Combos. Now I run Taloras with Tekota line counters. Had a JM shorty I always regret letting get away from me. If you have a little extra to spend. I would spend it on the reels if you go line counters.

I’ve been using Tekota line counter reels for over 10 years. Well worth the investment.

Lots of good options out there for trolling rods. I personally run the Tuned Up Custom Rods Eclipes model in various lengths. Few reason I have stuck with these is that they’re built really well, great action with almost all baits I use, and the Alps handles are worth the extra cost. The reason I like the handles is because in and out of rod holders my cork handles eventually get beat up. I am hard on stuff. These things are stout and show no signs of wear at all in 3 years. I have tried a few different brands on the market. Denali Rods has a trolling rod that has a really good blank, but the micro guides on a trolling rod is a complete sin especially if you’re pulling lead core. I refuse to even use them anymore just because of that.

Scheels trolling rods are what you see a lot of guys using. Really good action with most baits. Tough trolling rods to beat.

As far as Jointed Flicker shads, quite honestly one of the best baits on the market. Cashed me a few checks that’s for sure. It has become a confidence bait for me. They’re something I normally didn’t use but have started to do better and better using them so it’s one of the first baits to always go out for me.

I like the Okuma Deadeye 7’10s. They’re telescoping so I can get them in rod lockers, work fine for boards, but are also light enough that I can long line with them and still see if the bait is running true. Also they’re on the cheaper side of the options out there, can get em at Fleet Farm for $40-50, and I’ve actually seen them showing up as combos with Magda Pro reels for $100, which would be fine if you’re just doing walleye.

I’d also recommend telescoping rods once you get over 7′ to 7’6”, don’t need to spend a fortune. Cheaper reels are good starters. But we had a lights out day on big fish a couple years ago. 2 cheap reels went down. There were parts on the floor of the boat. Went with the Tekotas. Not a problem since.

boos1906 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Karry Kyllo wrote:</div>
You’re going to get varied opinions. There are many trolling rods on the market that’ll work well for you. My wife and I troll four rods whenever we can. We don’t use flat lines very often, but instead we run leadcore on two 10’6″ outside rods that are pointed straight out the sides and two 8’6″ snapweight rods that point almost straight back on each side of the transom. Unless a crankbait is not running correctly, lines rarely tangle and cover a wide swath when trolling. We prefer trolling cranks with leadcore and snapweights in shallow water too because they allow cranks to follow contours much better than flatlining. The only time we may troll flatlines is if trolling large, deep running cranks such as Reef Runner 800s or #11 Tail Dancers.
We use both Jason Mitchell and Scheels 10’6″ rods and Jason Mitchell, Scheels and Cabela’s 8’6″ rods. We like them all and can easily see the vibrations of the lures while trolling with all of them. You don’t have to break the bank when buying trolling rods to catch as many walleyes as the next guy.

Jointed Flicker Shads can work really well but like every other crank, they have their time and place. I have a box full of them in my tackle bag and use them whenever I find that the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes want them.

Wow thank you for the detailed response. Just curious how shallow you fish the leadcore and snap weights? I can fish some 5-10 ft of water sometimes.

We troll with leadcore and snapweights in 8′ to 10′ whenever we are fishing that shallow. While snapweights and leadcore are definitely not needed to get cranks deeper at those depths, cranks will follow contours much much better than longlining. I think that it means more walleyes in the boat at the end of the day because the cranks stay in the strike zone even when following contours around sharp points.