New Lake Trout Combo!!

[MN BassFisher]

I realized I needed to get a rod with more backbone for my Lake Trout fishing here in CO, as well as Pike fishing. So I purchased a St. Croix Premier Ice 32" Heavy Action Rod and then got a Shimano Sedona 1000 reel. This combo should have the backbone, line capacity, and good drag system to tame any fish I'm lucky enough to hook into. What do you guys use??

[Steve Foss]

It just depends on line test, what depths you are fishing and the size of your lakers, when it comes to reel size. For lakers on all my ice rods, I run 12 mono (12-14 lbs are the biggest we usually find where I guide).

We fish from 20 to 80 FOW, and good sized lakers can make some strong runs. All my reels are Shimano 2000/2500 series reels. The larger line capacity and spool diameter are the right combo for what we do. You are over deep water but maybe fising with finer line, where a 1000 series reel will be enough.