Thread: Trolling and other specialty Rods

As for trolling rods for pulling crankbaits, while I thought that my two 7' trolling rods that I use on the inside pair might be a little on the power side (medium-heavy, these were given to me and not purchased), I'm not sure how the 10' B&M Pro-staff that I use as the middle pair would have handled the 8lb catfish that my daughter caught in the fall on a Bandit 300--the trolling rod handled it like a champ. I don't think that I'm getting fewer fish on these compared to the pair of 10' B&M Pro-Staff or the 14' Southern Crappie Trolling rods that I use for the outer pair. One thing that I do know is that my kids do prefer the weight and feel of the Pro-Staff over the others two pairs; it's just what I could get at the time when I started pulling crankbaits this past summer.

As for spider rigging, I use a pair of 16' B&M BGJP, a pair of 14' B&M BGJP, and a pair of 14' Crappie Thunder jig/trolling rods, and this is based on what was either gifted or I could purchase at the time when I was upgrading from trolling with 10-12' rods. I typically net my fish instead of trying to jerk them into the boat, so I'm not really taking advantage of the stiffer action and extra power over the BGJP. I also don't think that I catch more fish with a particular set of rods in this case as long as my presentation and lure are what the fish want.

I prefer using trolling rods in the medium heavy running Offshore Boards. 1. I can use them trolling for multiple species. 2. Has backbone to handle cats and gaspergoo’s I occasionally hook into.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeCrappie

I prefer using trolling rods in the medium heavy running Offshore Boards. 1. I can use them trolling for multiple species. 2. Has backbone to handle cats and gaspergoo’s I occasionally hook into.

I agree that I'll probably want to upgrade the 10' PST rods to a heavier rod similar to the trollers and Southern Crappie Trolling rods if I start pulling planer boards as well. My daughter's 8lb cat is what changed my mind about trying to go lighter--while I know that it isn't too uncommon to get a 2-3lb catfish in the same spots that I normally fish for crappie and have a couple of spots for bigger cats, this one caught me off guard.