lake trout rod

[Tyler D]

I am going to start ice fishing lake trout this year, and I have a good bait casting reel I plan to use. Problem is I can't find any decent baitcasting style ice fishing rods. Anyone have any suggetions as to where to find one?

[Paul Waldowski]

Tyler,

I had Bill and Al from Midwest Rod and Reel build me one, as I couldn't find a rod suitable for Lakers either. They do them all of the time. Check them out and give them a call and let them know what you want. Nothing like a custom rod They are located in Prior Lake.

[Animal]

Most of the laker rods I've found that are designed for bait casters are like cue sticks. I went away from a baitcaster and began using a spinning rod about 5 years ago. I use a 34 inch First Ice medium heavy with a Shamano Stradic 2000 with 12# mono. I've had lakers up to 15# on the ice with that outfit. For this season I had a 42 inch medium heavy fast tip tied with a Loomis blank. I'm looking forward to using it. The First Ice rod works well, but it tends to bounch around when a bigger fish is on. It is priced right.

[Captain B.R.K]

Look no further than THORNE BROS. ice rods! Never keep them out of the fray. They do a spectacular job on their rods and customer service is outstanding!

The one particular rod I have for icin' trout is their Professional Series Rod . I've had it for 3 years now and have enjoyed every thumpin, hard nose run those lakers give on any given hook set!

Definately do NOT rule out these rods as well!

[Northlander]

Im with Paul on this one. I had Bill make me a Laker Rod with a spiral wrap and I love it. Make sure you know what ya want. Myself I needed one like Pauls that is longer and stiffer due to using baits up to 4oz. at times on Lake Superior.

On inland lakes I like a 36" med/heavy spinning rod and at times my walleye rods will work. Figure out what ya want and call Bill and Al at Midwest and they will treat ya right.

Nothing like a one of a kind custom rod to fish with.

www.midwestrodandreel.com

[Jim Hudson]

A good laker rod is going to depend on where you are going to be fishing for these trout... Lure weight for the depth of water you will be fishing in will determine what type of rod is best for you. As it has been mentioned, for inland waters you can get away with a good medium heavy action rod that has either baitcasting or spinning reel seats... This set up will work here, as at max you are only working baits up to one ounce, but typically your lure weight is much less as you do not have to fight with big current situations in inland water systems... Both Thorne Bros and Midwest make awesome set-ups for this type of fishing, but I would not rule out the Berkley Genz baitcasting set up (if you can still find a few). It's a 36" rod that has really nice action and can land a big trout (I have personally landed upper teen size fish on this rod). A note here too, is Nature Vision will be carrying Genz made rods this year (the Genz Stix) and there will be a rod such as this offered shortly.

For the type of laker fishing I do, here on Lake Superior. I look for a stout rod, but with a fairly forgiving tip. My personal favorite set-ups are custom 32" solid graphite Thorne Bros Professional Rods along with a Abu C4 5600 spooled with 50lB power pro. These rods are able to handle big baits we use in current situations along with heavy headshakes a big lake trout will put on a rod at depths of over 100FOW. And 32" is about right for jigging in an ice shack. One thing I did this year was have Thorne Bro extend the butt sections on my rods for more leverage on fish.. something to think about too as a lot of time with big weight and hard fighting fish the rod tip seems to want to pull towards the hole. With a longer butt section, I will be able to seat the rod into my forearm better keeping my rod perpindicular to the hole...

And I have seen the Midwest rods spoken about for fishing out here on the big lake, they are quality set-ups also but a bit too long for my liking. Personal choice is what it boils down too... Oh and I have used the Genz rod out here on the big lake... And for the money it works great!!

[Deitz Dittrich]

Deffinatly give Midwest Rod a look. The best part about Midwest rods are that they will make exactly what you want!... No matter what you are looking for they can have it for you. I bought a couple from them last year and will be getting quite a few more this year. I was that impressed! As a matter of fact, I am having Midwest build me a new panfish rod as I type this. I wanted a 26" ultra light with a very small handle... Bill said no prob...

Also Tyler.. WELCOME TO FISHINGMINNESOTA.COM... great to have you with us!

[Pete Riola]

Check out Thorne Bros. Best rods money can buy. That big muskie on the front of the ice leaders site was caught on a Thorne Bros Laker Breaker. Ask for Bill.

[castmaster]

another vote for thorne bros professional series. i have a 36" with the pro glass blank and love it! i've got a calcutta ct 50 on it and it makes a great laker rod and can even double as a walleye rod if need be. i run 10 lb trilene tournament on it.

i also run a couple home built spinning rods ( g loomis blanks) with stradic 1000's and 8lb line.

unless your fishing waters with a legitimate shot at big fish, lean to the lighter side of things. seems alot of people seem to think lake trout through the ice requires heavy rods, heavy line and big lures. in the palces i fish them most of the fish i catch are caught in 40' of water or less, and most run 3-6lbs or so with an occasional fish pushing 10. i've never been broke off using even 8 lb line.

a reel with a good drag is a necessity though!!

[Tyler D]

Thanks for all the input, how much do you guys think a thorne bros rod would cost? If only ice fising wasn't so far away!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hanson]

Your going to be looking in the $50-65 range for a Thorne rod. The Professional Plus rods will be on the upper end of that.

I would also suggest to match your rod to the size of the lure you will be fishing rather than the size of the fish you hope to catch.

Having a balanced set-up (rod, reel, line, lure) is more important in my opinion.

For fishing heavier lures, you are going to need a stiffer rod to get the right action out of the lure while jigging.

I don't fish lakers that much so didn't really have a need to get a rod 'specifically' for lake trout fishing. What I did buy was a Thorne Bros Walleye Sweetheart. It is a much stiffer rod than what I normally fish with and does a very good job jigging heavier spoons, jigging raps, etc.

For fishing outside, the longer rods are nice as well as the larger diameter eyelets. They eyelets don't ice up as easily.

Just a few other things to consider.

[Matt Johnson]

I will typically run with a Thorne Bros Professional Plus, Solid Graphite in the 36 inch. I like this rod mostly because of it's versatility. I'll use it for lakers, pike and catfish and even out on the big bay for smallies on occasion. I like the longer rod for fighting the fish outside of a portable, and when hole hopping. You have a lot of control with the rod, and when matched with the proper reel you have yourself a well-balanced rig. I equip my 36 inch Professional Plus with a Shimano Sedona 1500. The reel preference is up to you though.

Another option for a strickly laker/big fish rod, would be the Thorne Bros Laker Breaker like Pete mentioned. An outstanding lake trout rod, and they will handle big fish, like the monster muskie on the IceLeaders.com homepage

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Chris_Wallace]

You guys summed it up, when I went to the BWCAW last winter, I went with Glass rod Pete had mentioned to me from thorne and a 32 inch St. Croix, both tipped with a Tica Cetus and Power Pro, did the trick for me.

[Pete Riola]

If the rod is mainly for Lakers get the Laker Breaker. You won't regret having some extra power. If you need something for multi-species then I agree with Matt. For line I recommend 12 lb P-Line Florice. I may try some Gamma this winter too.

[JP Z]

Quote:

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A good laker rod is going to depend on where you are going to be fishing for these trout... Lure weight for the depth of water you will be fishing in will determine what type of rod is best for you. As it has been mentioned, for inland waters you can get away with a good medium heavy action rod that has either baitcasting or spinning reel seats... This set up will work here, as at max you are only working baits up to one ounce, but typically your lure weight is much less as you do not have to fight with big current situations in inland water systems... Both Thorne Bros and Midwest make awesome set-ups for this type of fishing, but I would not rule out the Berkley Genz baitcasting set up (if you can still find a few). It's a 36" rod that has really nice action and can land a big trout (I have personally landed upper teen size fish on this rod). A note here too, is Nature Vision will be carrying Genz made rods this year (the Genz Stix) and there will be a rod such as this offered shortly.

For the type of laker fishing I do, here on Lake Superior. I look for a stout rod, but with a fairly forgiving tip. My personal favorite set-ups are custom 32" solid graphite Thorne Bros Professional Rods along with a Abu C4 5600 spooled with 50lB power pro. These rods are able to handle big baits we use in current situations along with heavy headshakes a big lake trout will put on a rod at depths of over 100FOW. And 32" is about right for jigging in an ice shack. One thing I did this year was have Thorne Bro extend the butt sections on my rods for more leverage on fish.. something to think about too as a lot of time with big weight and hard fighting fish the rod tip seems to want to pull towards the hole. With a longer butt section, I will be able to seat the rod into my forearm better keeping my rod perpindicular to the hole...

And I have seen the Midwest rods spoken about for fishing out here on the big lake, they are quality set-ups also but a bit too long for my liking. Personal choice is what it boils down too... Oh and I have used the Genz rod out here on the big lake... And for the money it works great!!

---

The Genz Stix are made by Nature Vision, Not Berkely. Genz is no longer working with Berkely on Rods and Reels.

[Captain B.R.K]

Interesting....why not do you suppose?

[Jim Hudson]

jpz

Yup, I added that little bit of tid bit on my post, but thanks for pointing it out more clearly for someone. I just thought if the guy was out there looking now, there could be some left over Berkley Genz rods on the shelves.. I have still seen some around...

I havent seen any of the Genz Stix, offered by Nature Vision, on the shelf yet (But I did happen to have a sneak peak a while ago). These rods will definately offer an ice angler a quality rod and a good price. They will be offered in rod/reel combos as well.

[JP Z]

Dave just wanted a little more control on the rod designs. So he came to us and we listened and it was a great deal. All the Genz Stix were designed by Dave.

So now There will be 8 different Silver Series rods....which are a Fiberglass Blank. These are also offered in a combo with a 1 ball bearing reel. Rods are $14.99 Combos are $19.99

The Gold Series, which are a graphite blank will have 14 rod choices. These also have combos with 12 of them being either a 3 ball bearing spinning reel. Or also some have an underspin reel for panfish. And the above mentioned Predator combo which has a Very nice baitcasting reel.

The Genz Gold rods are $19.99, Combos are $29.99....with the exception of the Predator combo running $59.99

Also should note that on the Silver Combos there is a $12.00 Free Offer And with the Gold combos there is a $25 free offer.

[Captain B.R.K]

Thanks for the information!