I am looking to get a trolling rod and reel, but have no idea what type or set up I need to get. I am hoping to troll with my buddy on some deep lakes for trout and kokanee, but also want something that will work for trolling with a Church walleye board at Willard bay.
From what I understand my buddy has leaded line on his rig for fishing the trout and kokanee and uses some type of popgear or trolling set up. He then has a separate rig for the Wiper fishing at Willard, which I am not sure but I think is just mono line or something.
My situation is such that I can only afford to get one trolling rig, but would really like to fish with my buddy on all the locations he hits throughout the year. Is there some way of having my trolling rig set up to fish all these different ways? I have seen some Braided line that is colored like the leaded line, but I am not sure if I don’t have the leaded line how I can get my trolling gear down at the needed depths.
Hopefully this makes sense and all you fisherman who are familiar with trolling techniques can offer me some information and I can get out there on the water more and more this summer.
I believe there are a few different methods, I have used these two, If you are using a downigger Cabelas has a nice line counter rod and reel conbo for a good price, the reel uses mono and you run it deep on the downrigger using a dodger (or not) followed by a lure for whatever you are after. Or the other method I use is a trolling rod/reel combo loaded with lead line (preferred method I guess) if you don’t have a downrigger, use pop gear, dodgers and lure or bait. I guess this is the best all around rod/reel combo for trolling because not all people have downriggers and it will still get you fairly deep.
If you’re fishing without downriggers, then I would recomend a med-heavy action ugly-stick. They are very affordable, and in many opinions, the best rod for the money. This is a very good all around rod. as far as reels, you can use just about anything with in your budget. Lead line works ok for fish no deeper than 20 feet deep. heavy mono or braided is great ways to go when using plainer boards. Hope this helps.
I use an 8’6"-9’ medium action rod with a line counter reel. Okuma and Diawa both make relatively affordable line counter reels ($30-40) that will work. I run Berkely 10lb test monofilament and 10lb flourocarbon leaders. To get down as deep as 30-35ft I use snap weights. Mine our homemade, but Offshore makes a snap weight kit along with planer boards. There are dive charts in a book called “Precision Trolling” that will show you boat speed vs. the weight used, giving you how far the lure should dive. Hope it helps and good luck, Ryno
Ryno took the words right out of my mouth. Good advice. I use the same set ups myself for walleyes.
My trolling and cranking rods are heavy action 8 1/2 footers (I prefer the heavy action rods with planner boards), Garcia 5500 LC line counters , and 10 # Stren clear.
I make my own snap weights out of planner board clips and inline banana weights in various sizes.
Spend the extra $$.$$ and get the Precision trolling book. It’s worth every dime of the cost.
So a decent medium action rod with a decent reel with some mono on it can get down deep enough with those snap weights, thats sweet. Then it will also work for fishing the planner boards at Willard bay.
The book you mentioned sounds like a great resource. Do you own it and refer to it often or has it given you all its wisdom already? I imagine I can get that from Cabelas or find it online somewhere.
I checked out the snap weight system and it looks pretty sweet but for almost 40 bones I wouldn’t mind doing some of my own homemade weights.
You had mentioned that you used planner board clips and banana weights. Where have you found to be the best place to find the clips and any other info on how to create my own weight system?
my personal favorite for all around fishing is an 8’ shimano clarus med/fast. paired up with either a fluger president spinning reel or a daiwa bait caster. For dowrigging i use the bait caster. I like this setup because it has enough backbone to take on steel head or big stripers and I have even reeled in 11 lb channel cats with no problem whatsoever. With the fast tip paired up with a good bait caster I can also catch kokanee without ripping the hooks out of their soft mouths. Although a slow action is a little more ideal for kokes, the mod fast to fast works well for me with both kokes and other fish that I need to really set the hook on, just my 2 cents,
jed
Hey Jed, thanks for the new info. It actually opens up some other possibilities that I have not even thought about. I am new to fishing on most levels and very new to the trolling thing, but my understanding was that I must have a trolling rod and reel to troll the kokanee rigs and similar gear. What I believe your saying here is as long as I have a trolling reel or baitcasting type rod and reel that is sized well enough for what I am doing it sounds like I could do just fine. Is that correct thinking from what I am reading in your post?
I would like to get some more info from anyone on this subject and maybe even send Jed a PM to talk more specific about this type of setup. If I can get a baitcaster rod and reel that will troll for Kokanee, Trout, and Wipers then I could also use it for some catfishing and other applications and I would be a big fan of that.
i am more than happy to share any info I can. feel free to pm me any questions you have. Oh and by the way yes if you choose the right gear you can fish a lot of species with a few well chosen components. Although I do have to admit I would love to have a gagillion poles like TD has for every type of situation , but space and budget dictate that I choose a few well suited poles,
jed
Well spoken Jed, I am limited on resources for sure, so getting this next rod and reel is important to have it work for me on as many applications as possible. Thanks again and I will probably send you a PM and chat a bit more.
“Precision Trolling” is a worthy purchase. I use it a lot when trolling crankbaits and it’s worth it’s weight in gold. Most of today’s crankbaits are found in the book, and a new edition comes out every couple of years or so to keep up with the new releases. For each bait it gives you a dive curve, so you can figure out how much line to let out to get to a particular depth. If you’re targeting fish suspended at say 14ft, you can let out a 145 ft of line to put a 1/4oz Wally Diver crank in there face. It’s based on running 10lb test but also has correction factors for different lines and weights. There is a section in the book that goes into snap weighting and how much each ounce weight effects the lure depth. Lots of info, for a small price, that pays tons of dividends if you troll on Willard. Good luck, Ryno
Does your buddy have downriggers? If he does…this is what I believe to be the best all around combo. Go to Sportsmans and purchase the Lamiglas Kokanee Special Lt action 7’ rod ($59) and purchase the Ambassadeur 6600 series reel ($89). This rod is the best trout and Kokanee rod I’ve used. I’ve landed 8lb cutts as well as 1 lb soft mouth kokes. Rod has a very light tip action but decent backbone if you should hook into a bigger trout. Use sling blades (less drag than pop gear). You don’t need a line counter reel. Don’t use leadcore line, too heavy, and you’ll need a “tuna” rod to drag that stuff through the water, there will be no sport in catching small trout or Kokanee. Think light light light, 90% of the fish you catch trolling in Utah will be less than 5 lbs. I also use a Loomis 7’ med action rod for trolling, and this would be my pick for trout and walleye only, but the action is a little too big for kokes. Fishing all three types of fish, and throwing a planner board in the mix is asking alot of one rod but possible. However the only way to get accurate controlled depth fishing is with downriggers. BTW, don’t ever use spinning gear for trolling, it wasn’t designed for that.
i have to respectfully disagree. Although bait casting gear does work better I have used spinning gear to troll for years and it hasn’t given me even the slightest problem whatsoever. In fact the only bait casters I normally use are when i am fishing kokes or deep sea fishing (for deep sea a bait caster is a must, but I still even fish a lot of deep sea with nice spinning gear especially when I am taking someone who has not used bait casters). The only real difference I have ever noticed is the line goes out easier and the drag is a little smoother with bait caster or trolling reels. The advantage for using spinning gear that i have found is that if I want to stop and do some casting with the same crank bait I was trolling it is a lot easier to do with a spinning reel than a bait caster. I am no expert but I do a fair amount of trolling from my boat and have never had a problem. By the way I do normally use downriggers when trolling for kokes and trout,
Jed
I’ll have to agree with most all of what has been said in the previous posts. All I do is troll for the most part and 80%-90% of the time I use my spin-cast real on a med graphite rod. I like to go as little as I can and still get the job done. Trolling for Kokes is my favorite thing to do. Don’t waste money on pop-gear, it will catch fish but sling blades will do the same and you will be able to “fight the fish” not “drag in the pop-gear”[crazy]. I do have a 7.5’ rod with a big level-wind reel on it but use it mostly when fishing way deep for a mack. Spend your money on the best sonar you can afford. I fish with downriggers but have the dreaded lead line pole also. You will get a little more line twist when using a spin reel. Have a great time on the water man.
You have got some good responses so far. Here is my take.
I recently bought matching 7’ medium/heavy Ugly stick trolling rods and matched them with Okuma Magda Pro 20’s. I loaded each up with 15# P-Line flourocarbon and they have been excellent rods everywhere i have used them(Pineview, willard, East Canyon, etc). I have flatlined at willard, trolled deep diving cranks, used them on the downriggers and deep trolled at BL. No fish i have caught has given me any problems and i don’t see any in the future. That whole set-up cost around $100 with the line. Well worth the price.[;)]
Now for getting down deep without a rigger.
The easiest way to get down to about 15 or 20’ is to use heavy snap weights like mentioned but there is another more effective way to do it. It is called a Dipsy Diver or Pink Lady. They are really cheap. Less than $15 and you can get models that will go to 120’. It just takes a little practice with the amount of line to reach the desired depth. Something i haven’t been able to do. i like the riggers better, but when you have no choice, this is the way to imo. Good luck whatever you decide.
Sorry not so timely but ran accross this while looking back at some others.
A few years back I bought a medium action ugly stick and consistantly switch back to it despite having a variety of specialty poles as it is very durable and just plain feels right in most of the situations I run into for boat or bank.
I also bought a large capacity spinning reel (reliable brand moderate pricing-walmart special) with two spools. One I keep 8 lb. mono on that I use for long lining for the wipers/walleyes or casting out for catfish out at willard and many times for trout even with small pop gear or harnesses at some of the areas smaller lakes to get down to about 18’. One or two small egg or bullet sinkers leading 4 to 6’ in front of your small lures will get them to a reasonable depth and are cheap. The other spool I have 15 lb test mono followed by three colors of 18 lb lead core to run down to about 25’.
I have used the second one at Strawberry, Lake Mead, East Canyon, with as much success as my level wind trolling reels and trolling poles with full lead core (typically out only 3 to 4 colors anyway). I have bought some downriggers to get deeper when the summer heat pushes the fish down further but I don’t have a consistancey figured out for that set up yet.
I also got to tell you that I have this “charley brown looking” little 4’ stiff ice rod with bent up heavy duty steel guides that I often throw a lure on and long line out with 6 lb. mono and pick up fish on it. I keep it in the middle and forward of the other lines by about 10 to 20 feet. The hook ups on it are often the double or triple in the set of poles out so my theory is that the “slower thinking” fish in the frenzy just can’t stand to miss out on the action and beat up on the runt.. Talk about a ton of fun and a spectacle when reeling in fish. It always reminds me of what I have to look forward to in Ice Fishing. I have caught a 17" wiper at Willard, and a 27" cut up to Strawberry on the runt pole. The reel on it is a “Cheapanzo” brand that has a classic sand in gears action when reeling in.
Let me know what you end up with and how it works out.
Don’t waste money on pop-gear, it will catch fish but sling blades will do the same and you will be able to “fight the fish” not “drag in the pop-gear”[crazy]. I do have a 7.5’ rod with a big level-wind reel on it but use it mostly when fishing way deep for a mack. Spend your money on the best sonar you can afford. I fish with downriggers but have the dreaded lead line pole also. You will get a little more line twist when using a spin reel. Have a great time on the water man.