Trolling Rods....Medium Light or Medium?

[IceIceBaby]

I'm looking at buying trolling rods for walleyes. I'd like to use them for flat lining and lead core. I've settled on 8'6" but am not sure which power. The medium lights I'm looking at are rated for 8-20 lb. line. The mediums are 10-20 lb. The ones I'm looking at are the C store Depthmaster rods. Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks!

Al

[John Mickish]

Get the medium or medium heavy Cabelas Depthmaster rods if you are going to run leadcore. Leadcore has alot of drag all on it's own so you will need the extra power. I own a couple of those rods and they are pretty soft. They are not to bad for the price, but there are definitly better options out there.

[harvey lee]

+1 John.

[Myrt]

I had the same question awhile ago and a friend of mine suggested an 8'6"

telescoping rod from BP, I think it was designed by Gary Parsons and Keith K., I can't remember their actual name, something like walleye trolling classic?, but the telescoping part is the feature I like for storage. I know guys that use these on the Bay of Quinte lead coring for big girls and love them. Around $90 I think. I went with discontinued Tactix 7'6" telescoping rods on a closeout sale and they have worked fine for my situation.

[TrollnDrift]

We run the dpethmaster rods on planer boards and downriggers, we like the rods, but would suggest a better reel than the one that comes with the combo. They just arent as smooth as could be, however they do work fine, and will get the job done. I know they have more than one model of depthmaster reel tho and i think we have the lower one. However a great way to get in cheap as they go on sale for $50 quite often.

[IceIceBaby]

What are those better options, John?

Thanks,

Al

Get the medium or medium heavy Cabelas Depthmaster rods if you are going to run leadcore. Leadcore has alot of drag all on it's own so you will need the extra power. I own a couple of those rods and they are pretty soft. They are not to bad for the price, but there are definitly better options out there.

[John Mickish]

The better options are the Limit Creek, St. Croix Eyecon and Shimano Compre trolling rods, along with the Scheels and Bass Pro Shops Walleye Angler trolling rods. All of the above rods won't break the bank but they are all around $100. Keep in mind the warranty and ease of replacement if needed.

As mentioned above, stay away from the entry level reels if you plan on being a serious troller. I personally use the Cabelas Depthmaster Gold reels and love them, but the Shimano Tekota is the cream of the linecounter field. The Diawa Sealine will get some votes as well.

[Jarrod32]

The better options are the Limit Creek, St. Croix Eyecon and Shimano Compre trolling rods, along with the Scheels and Bass Pro Shops Walleye Angler trolling rods. All of the above rods won't break the bank but they are all around $100. Keep in mind the warranty and ease of replacement if needed.

As mentioned above, stay away from the entry level reels if you plan on being a serious troller. I personally use the Cabelas Depthmaster Gold reels and love them, but the Shimano Tekota is the cream of the linecounter field. The Diawa Sealine will get some votes as well.

+1 to the Eyecon bounce-n-troll.

[John Mickish]

The bounce-n-troll is not the rod I was talking about. I am talking the trolling rods. The BnT rod does not have the backbone for leadcore, but is a heck of a great bottom bouncer/longline rod!

[IceIceBaby]

I went with two of the 9' Medium telescoping Cabela's Depthmaster planer board rod. They're on sale for $35 ($45 in store, but they gave me the online price). I figured you can't go wrong for that price. It won't break the bank if I don't like them. I also have two Depthmaster 5' shorties, that I only paid $20 each for, as part of a package deal with the reels and shorties. Cabelas matched prices with FF for the Daiwa reels, after all of that. So, they only cost me $54 each.

Bottom line? I got the 2 5'rod and reel combos for a grand total of $80 per combo. And, the 2 9' rods for $35 each.

So, now I have 2 Daiwa 27LCW's and 2 Cabelas Depthmaster line counters, (that I already had) spooled with 12 lb. Suffix Advanced Lead Core. They will hold 6 colors or more. I went with 6. I do have one Okuma line counter with 8 colors on it, and it's about the same size as the Daiwa 27's and the Cabelas reels.

Thanks to all of you for the advice.

Al