Trolling and other specialty Rods

Does anybody notice a difference using actual trolling rods to try to pull cranks or jigs, etc.? Do you catch more fish with a Bandit 300 on a trolling rod or just any rod of the same length? Just wondering if I want to make the investment.

Same goes for spider rigging rods? I have a set of rods I use (from 18-14 feet) and they seem to do what I need them to do. Is there a benefit to buying special types of rods for the different applications, or do you feel that as long as you get the correct bait presented at the right speed you are still catching a lot of fish?

Thanks for the input.

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.

Quote:

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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.

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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.

I just bought 4 $50 6'6" Med Ugly stix seeing I had 2 of the same. I paired them with low profile line counter reels that I found on Fb marketplace. I will be running Off shore tackle mini planner boards with them. I will be fishing central Florida in 2 weeks and as long as the fish arnt in the pads I will give them a work out. I do use 14ft Southerns for spider rigging and even with 6lb mono they handle big Channel cats no issues,