Trolling Rods--What Kind and Size to Use

[starbuc]

Can I get some input on what would be good rods to use for trolling. Name brand, length, action (medium or light), Line poundage. I will be using them in a bass boat for now until I get my crappie boat sometime in Dec. of this year.

[crap-king]

the wally marshal trollers are good for the money also you can stagger there lenght for spider rigging

[Pulln]

I like BnM rods. I use 9,10,11 and 12ft rods Here is a pic.

[starbuc]

Is it best to troll from the back or the sides as seen in pic. Nice set up Pullin. Did you make that rod holder or buy it. I bought 2 from crappiekiller that holds 4 rods each but have yet to set them up because I have not figured out to put them on the back or side of the boat for trolliing. I have a 1977 ranger 17ft.

[bearclaw]

Starbuc. Tackle Plus makes a good graphite crappie rod and its about half the price of the other big name rods,,from 6 to 14 ft all are close to $20.00.here is a place that deals in a LOT of crappie stuff that carries them,,he ships ups,,,cedarcreektackle.com,,,got all u need plus some

[Pulln]

Starbuck these are Driftmasters I got from BPS thair is a link on the main page for crappie.com I also have Tite-Lok holders on the back of the boat I prefer to fish from the back of the boat but it does not work well in my boat with the decks so I usualy sit in the front I prefer Driftmasters If you look at the Tite-Lok rod holders I would recommend black widow ultra these are much more stable than the spidder-rigging holders. Hope this helps GOOD LUCK

[Allen42]

I Really really Like Wally Mashall rads, BUT one thing i have Noticed about them that i DONT like , at least with the 1st , older models, seems the Clear Coat wants to "pop" off , but it never has , its almost like it has an air pocket under the whole lenth of the rod, this is on the 12& 10 foot rods, that are 4-5 years old now & this started when they were less than a year old, NONE of the clear coat has EVER poped off though , it just LOOKS BAD , I also bought some 9 footers since then because , well I LOVE the way they feel ! and they dont seem to have this Problem, SO "they " must have fixed this slight flaw since he 1st started putting his name on the Rods

I Used to use B&M all the time , Maybe it is just ME being to rough on them BUT i cant tell you how many B&M upper section i have broken over the years & have YET to berak the 1st Wally Marshall .

[crappiefarmer]

I've broke one WM. It just broke like the BnMs when I was least expecting it. It is something you do to those rods when you are not paying attention. Bang a tip or joust a tree and that little bit of trauma can be all it takes for when the next time you pull a little drag by hand to get alittle more line to tie or something, SNAP. It pops right off and you wonder what the heck went wrong or if the rods are crap. Have a buddy that bought 12 WM rods and had 3 tips break on one outing. He said they just snaped off. No severe treatment on his part. It can happen with any of them. But I will say this, I have had 3 out of 7 BnM poles break and 1 out of 3 WM poles to break. CF

[Allen42]

The TOUGHEST rod of all though is made BY B&M ,, At least I THINK thats who makes it ,, called a WEST POINT , HEAVY as the Devil , BUT I have one that the glass has started to show through & it still has never been broke & I use to use it to fish for Black Bass useing Night Crawlers no lead #6 hook around stumps in the back water , with 17-20 pound test line lol when they hit , give em the line till they stop & started back again , which meant most times they had swallowed it , then TRY to Pull the fish all they way too th etop of the water , at least it head so it could NOT fight , NEVER ever Broke a West Point , BUT Gawd they are HEAVY to jig with , and no Glass Eyes either , so if it is Raining, forget casting with em !!

[starbuc]

I want to say thanks to all for their input. There are a great bunch of guys here, always, willing to help someone. One of the members has offered me a change to go trolling and using the spider method. I did not know there was that much difference between the two methods.
Not to get off the subject but me and (my son in law to be) are building our first crappie condo out of 3/4 pvc pipe. It's going to be a little unusall to say the least and a little costly. When we get it done I will post a pic of it on the fourms. Due to our time frame it will tale a few weeks. It ought to be interesting so stand by.