Trolling Rod?

Hey guys,

Feel free to skip the whole story and go to the second paragraph if just wish to see my question.

Back in the day when I was a kid my old man would just troll. 25hp Merc running shorelines with original floating minnow Rapalas. Once the fish moved out of the 6-8' range it would be jig and minnow for the rest of summer. Nothing wrong with these techniques and over the years I kinda developed the same kind of style. Trolling the shallows in may then Jig and minnow, jig and leech. When I moved back south I started researching and trying all kinds of techniques I've never tried. Bottom bouncers with spinners, Slip floats with live bait, Lindy rigging, Slow death, top water, drop shot, Ned rigs and every type of plastic I can get my hands on. I got so much into plastics I rarely use bait anymore. Anyways where I'm going with this is until the last couple years I didn't troll cranks any deeper than like 6' - 8' first few weeks of the season. I started fishing up in The Pas area and got some tips of trolling deeper 12'-20' and once I bought myself some lures that'll get into that range it was gang busters. I took what worked up there and became confident in it down south and boom same deal!

So to the question. All my rods are pretty much jigging rods. Work fine for pulling original rap minnows or husky jerks in the spring but I'm looking for a rod for pulling the 15'-20' divers that really pull. Maybe even something that can be used with a dipsy or jet diver. I see a lot of guys pulling deep divers like Reef runners are using rods with a full bend through the rod, not just the tip like my jigging rods. I'm looking for some answers with what you guys have used, liked, feel worked well, feel was junk, action, weight etc.

Long post I know for a quick question but with my name being Mike I'm sure I'm sure it's expected.
(Sorry Mike B)

Have a great day guys

Mike

 

@Frank_NK28

 

Either the Cabelas Depthmaster or Shimano TDR will fit the bill. The good news is for this type of rod you don’t have to shell out much $$.

My crankbait trolling rods are the cheapest rods in my boat by far, and they do exactly what they’re supposed to!

 

Quantum iron and controller downrigging rods work well... Essentially what you want is a longer 7-9’ rod, with a decently soft tip and a slower action, your not looking for something to drive hooks with nor does it need to be super sensitive...

 

Also, a reel with a line counter combined with lure speed and depth charts will make for more precise depth control.

 

I love Eagle telescopic casting rods in 8' + with a line counter reel.

The Eagle rods avg around $80. Great bang for the buck. I use them for bottom bouncing (no line counter) mostly.

I also own a few Cabelas Depthmaster rods and reels. Also a great bang for the buck, but far less feel than the Fenwick Eagle rods, so I use the Depthmasters for planer boards and Dipsy Diving

With longlining deep diving cranks, you need or want some amount of feel, but you still don't need to break the bank. You'll find it easier to feel if there's debris/clay in the lip or a fouled hook if you use a rod with more feel, as opposed to a glass rod like a Cabelas Depthmaster.

 

I do not believe the depth master rods are being made anymore unfortunately. They were really good for the price

 

Thanks for the tips guys. I have an old Shakespeare line counter reel. I'll have to see how accurate it is along side a 100' tape. Maybe an upgrade is in order. I'll look around for a rod too. Everything I have at home has a stiff back bone except my fenwick river runner but that's my light little crappie rod.

I very much appreciate the advice.

 

Just picked up 2 depthmaster trolling combos in the 20 size reel for exactly this reason(they were in stock on line) for $90 each. Just gotta figure out what line to put on there

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

 

I just sold a set of three Fenwick Eagle 9' MH trolling rods. IMO they were nowhere near heavy enough for pulling deep diving big lipped crankbaits. They were loaded up to the point there was no flex left for a fish hitting. They would never be able to pull a dipsey diver or deeper diver type rig. If you want to pull deep diving crankbaits and have lots of leftover power for pulling dipseys or leadcore my suggestion is stick to a set of Shimano TDR rods. I have a set of TDR 9' M trolling rods that have twice the backbone of those Fenwick Eagles I had without being overpowering on fish. I am running Shimano Tekota 300LC reels loaded with 20# mono on them. If I weren't using them on my downriggers too I would go to braid but braid is absolute HELL on downrigger releases. It tears the pads to shreds. You can pick up Shimano TDR rods for $45-$50 and even cheaper if you watch for sales. I paid $29 for mine on sale. I have had a set of 9'-6"MH TDR's in my arsenal for over 30 years and they still perform as good as the day I bought them. I only added the 9'M two years ago as I am not pounding salmon on the great lakes any longer and the MH were a bit heavy for the size of Lake Trout I am chasing around here. Whatever you decide stay away from anything E glass. They are absolute shit and shatter with heavy fish or pulling dipseys.

 

What cranks were you pulling that were maxing those rods out?

 

I've made this suggestion previously, but that's the beauty of the Chamberlain downrigger releases. There are no pads.

No doubt the TDR has more backbone than the Eagles, but I've pulled deep Taildancers on an 8'6" M Eagle and had no issues..?

 

Eagles are not meant as dipsy rods. For dipsys, honestly, I wouldn't spend more than $40 on a rod.

I've pulled many a down deep Taildancer on my Eagles with plenty of load to spare.

I honestly bought the two of the 4 Fenwick Eagles I have, specifically for pulling 4-8oz bottom bouncers in heavy heavy Wpg R current, with a hard bait behind it, sometimes with an aggressive lip on top of the 8oz...doesn't get much heavier for cranking (aside from Musky or Lake trout) than that.

 

I found the rods very soft and not much backbone. You had to reef on them as hard as you could to get them to release from the downrigger releases too and often times several times and quite often they just wouldn't release and I had to bring the ball up to free them from the release to swap lures. 95% of the hits from a laker they would not break free. I just found them to be very soft right to the handle for my type of fishing. They were ok for pulling big spoons though. I tried a magnum dipsey once and from the amount of pull I could feel the handle flexing substantially in my hand. To be honest I think the rating is overrated. I think the models I had should be rated as ML not MH. My Shimano rods are the same length and only M rated and are a much beefier rod. I know @Mike B. you are sponsored by Fenwick and my post is in no way a shot at their quality I was just disappointed in the rating performance based on the criteria they are recommended for. They would make a nice handheld bottom bouncer rod or heavy spoon pulling rod but they are lacking for BIG deep diving cranks, dipseys or downrigging. Their are much better options available for those applications.
I found these loaded them up big time. But then I am not trolling at 1.0 mph or less like you would for walleye pulling bottom bouncers. I was trolling 2.4-2.9 mph.

https://livetargetlures.ca/collections/yellowperch/products/yellow-perch-crankbait-deep-dive

 

I'm using the new style Scotty releases so no pads on them either but the old ones with pads, braid was hell on. I haven't tried braid in the new style as I think it would cut into the rubbery material that covers the end of the jaws?

 

Just those cranks or those cranks behind dipsy’s or riggers?

 

Just the cranks alone. I don't run deep driving cranks off my riggers or dipseys.

 

Interesting…..

 

Here you go @manitoba450es ......on sale!!

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/65474/cabelas-depthmaster-iiidepthmaster-trolling-combo