Rod and reel help...

[MLmusky]

I generally only fish muskies, but after purchasing a shack on Mille Lacs, I have found myself being entertained by the walleyes in May and June, till the ski's start biting.. Anyhow, I would like to add a nice lindy rig rod to my boat this year.. What would be some suggestions for a great lindy rig rod and reel.. Quality is much more important than saving a few dollars, so I am willing to spend between $200 and $400... Any suggestions???? Also does anyone use braided no stretch line for lindy rigging, to be able to feel the fish bite better? Like I said, I am new to the walleye world, and I think the way the fish bit on Mille Lacs this year, that lake made anyone look like they knew what they were doing...

[schweady]

Here's a pairing I'm partial to:

G-Loomis IMX SJR782 6'6" medium fast action

Shimano Stradic 2500FH

[gunflint]

Perfect!

[MLmusky]

Thank you for the suggestion.. I am use to using long rods for musky fishing, 8'6" or laonger.. I also generally fish walleyes with longer rods.. With musky fishing there are many advantages to using longer rods.. The suggestion above is only 6'6", which seems very short.. Is there any advantages to using shorter rods? I guess I expected a med, fast action 8' rod, but I am not walleye expert by any means.. Just want to understand why such a short rod... Thanks for the input...

[big musk411]

I like a longer rod for lindy rigging because I hate it when the leader is too long for the rod to have it secured properly when not in the water. Same as reccomendation as above but in the 7-7.5ft range.

I prefer mono for lindy rigging, I feel the strech helpes you let the fish take the bait better. With a $200-400 combo sensitivity shouldn't be an issue.

[Team Otter]

You'll want the set-up described only I would go somewhere in the 7 - 8' range. For riggin', longer is better IMO.

[gunflint]

I like the 6.6 for a few reasons. I like the sensitivity of a shorter rod, It's less cumbersome in the boat, I don't like 2 piece rods so transport is easier, and the tips don't get broken as much. When rigging for slow hitting walleyes watching the rod is just as important as feeling the pick up. More often then not I'll see the hit before I feel it. As for line, it's strictly Fireline for me with a co-polymer snell.

[DinkADunk]

I've gone a little different route for Lindy rigging, bottom bouncers, and similar. I tried, and liked, a 7'6" x-fast hot shot, light, salmon rod (which handles 8-17lb test line which is fine for walleyes) so I built a couple of 7' rods on Rainshadow HS9000 and HS9001 blanks, the HS9000 (light) is a bit better on Lindy rigs and lighter walkers and the HS9001 (med-light) is a bit better with walkers and bottom bouncers. The tip on both blanks are very responsive and with braded lines you feel and see everything. For reels I went with 4600 size Abu C3's which work just fine; you're not casting Lindy rigs or bottom bouncers so I couldn't really justify a much more expensive reel.

[Northlander]

I also prefer a longer rod in the 7'-8.6' range depending on leader length etc.

[Mark13:33]

Any Leadcore users want to share rod information, what works best 6'...7'...8'? Stiffness, anything in particular about what pound test or brand of rod?

[Northlander]

I will be running 81/2' Diawa Heartlands only because I have them in the garage doing nothing and they are soft wich I think I will like trolling lead. The give when trolling boards and when fighting fish is a good thing to have with powerpro or superlines of any brand and Im thinking its the same for lead. This will be my 1st year with lead.

Im running 12# trilene Xt with it. For reels Ill be using some older Diawa Sealine 47LC's.

[Mike Walerak]

I like the Cabela's Troll master rods. They are economical and perform well. They have a leadcore model that seems okay but I prefer the 9' planer board rod for leadcore. Where I fish you are allowed 2 rods, so this 9' rod in combination with the short 5' leadcore rod from Sheel's is an excellent package when fishing 2 or more people in the boat.

I like the 18lb leadcore it seems to be the best for walleye applications.

mw

mw

[Mike Walerak]

If you don't mind spending a little less money, Limit Creek rods seem to be great rods. Product Review They will be available in about 2 months and under 100 bucks! I have only used it one day and am impressed so far.

mw

[Mark13:33]

Thanks for the replies guys! I build rods and am looking at getting into the trolling scene by building some crankbait rods, which is why I was looking for specifics. From what I gather a fast tip is big, however I have read about moderate action glass rods helping on fish due to their give and the lack of stretch in lead core? Any thoughts on this? Also in taking a look at those Cabelas rods I don't know if I can beat the price on those things are they truly a quality purchase?

[DinkADunk]

If you're looking at casting crankbaits I would suggest the various St. Croix crankbait rods or blanks. The St. Croix Avid crankbait rod is one of my favorites so I'm building a couple of the SCIV (blue) blanks models (a lighter and a heavier one). The moderate action of these blanks when used with braids makes it very easy to see the running action of the crank when working it - you can easily see and feel when you hit rocks, bounce off wood, lightly hit a weed, or have a fish (pike, perch, walleye, bass) strike.

If you're looking at trolling cranks I really, really, really like the Shimano Talora ML and M rods. I run these with 10 lb mono and if I need to go deeper than 25' I use downriggers. My wife and I have boated a lot of walleye's and even a Muskie with these rods. I team them up with Diawa Sealine line counter reels. I;ve tried the similar Cabela's trolling rods but the tip response just isn't the same. The Shimano's acurately telegraph what your crank is doing, I found the Cabela's didn't. This year I'm building a couple of trolling rods based on the Rainshadow telescoping 8' blank. Based on the static tests I've done so far I think they'll perform well, but we'll see on the opener.

[Mark13:33]

I typically build St. Croixs as well, but these would be primarily for trolling. Have you used the rainshadow blanks before and what do you think of them? I have thought about trying those as my trolling rods. Spending the money on St. Croixs seems to be a bit much for rods I will seldom use (3-5 days per summer). Anyone out there on a glass vs. graphite comparrison?

[Mike Walerak]

I have an old St. Croix figerglass rod that I have on one of my leadcore rods. It works great and I wish I could find another one to match up to it.

mw

[DinkADunk]

I haven't finished building the trolling rods on Rainshadow blanks yet so I can't comment on how they will perform. I did install the tip tops, tied some line to them and dragged a couple of shad raps with them off of a dock when the lakes were open a few weeks back. The tip response has been pretty good and they seem similar to the Shimano Talora rods I have been using. The Rainshadow trolling blanks (RDR series) are an E-glass/graphite composite. The Shimano Talora rods are a glass/graphite composite also and they are inexpensive. The Shimano Talora's that work well for walleyes (M and ML) are $60, which is less expensive than you can build them for.

[croixeyes]

I started out trolling lead with St Croix proglass 8ft telescoping rods.A very good rod,since then I switched to the Cabelas 9ft planer board rods.Glass rods are the way to go for lead imo,Leadcore aint exactly a finese method and glass is very forgiving.I still use the St Croixs,but those are my long line sticks.Diawa sealines are my reels,spooled with 100yrds of 27lb leadcore and 12lb florocarbon leader.I like the 9ft rods and use those on the outside and 7ft rods on the inside rigged for threeway trolling.