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Hey guys,
I am looking to buy a pair of Magda Pro 15s and trolling rods for crappies and white (sand) bass and hybrids (whipers). Can someone please provide a recommendation on rods for this application? I would prefer to keep the rod/reel cost under $100 each.
Thank you!
Joel
diawa wilderness, shimano tdr, cabalas depthmaster or trolling whippin stick.
Northwood outlets use to have great prices on the okuma.
Thank you for the head's up. Any significant functional difference between the Okuma DX and DXT? The DXT looks to be somewhat smaller profile.
Also, in addition to the models you mentioned, is the BnM pro staff trolling rod series any good?
B&M PST rods work fine. The Okumas are okay reels but I like the new Shakespeare linecounter reels better. They are also quite a bit cheaper than the okumas.
Thank you sir, and you have a model number on the Shakespeare?
https://grizzlyjig.com/p-485-ats-crankbait-reel.aspx
I have found it cheaper other places.....
Is this the one you are referring to https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-A...t_top?ie=UTF8?
Yes.... they have it with and without a line counter, so be aware what you are ordering.Quote:
Originally Posted by CRIA1576
Thank you for the link Feelay and that is a good price! Between your review and several of the others online this looks like a good one. My wife and I mostly cast or use slip floats, but I have been wanting to expand our tactics for late morning and afternoons before the fish get more active. We were fishing whites the other day and caught a few on flicker shads trolling, but we were just getting lucky casting what we thought was the right distance to get them down. Really looking forward to added precision of dedicated trolling rods.
THank you again!
B&M pro staff trolling rods
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Best deal out there on the Shakesper reel
https://northwoodsoutlet.com/product...trolling-reel/
Look through there. They have some pretty cheap 7 and 8 ft trolling rods.
For a versatile and cheap 7' trolling rod look no further than the Ugly Stik USCA701M medium action. I highly recommend BnM PSTs for anything longer but always have two of these in the spread for my short rods. Popular with the walleye trolling crowd and have a nice action for either longline pulling or small planer board use.
I haven't had a chance to take one of the Shakespeare reels apart yet but they felt solid in the Grizzly Jig store.
I have 4 of the ATS15 Shakespeare LC reels and I am satisfied with them so far. I like my B'n'M' PST rods as well. I ordered my reels from Northwoods (crays link) had them in hand in 3 days. You go with that reel then you can choose any rod you like and be within your $100 per r&r budget..
I am at Northwoods about once a month or so as they are located in the area I fish for walleye.
For what it is worth, I have owned Okuma reels for a long time. Unfortunatley, I have never been happy with their line counter technologies. The button resides on the top of the reel causing it to get bumped around and not function properly. I currently own about 15 different Okuma reels in all sizes and shapes. Of them, only 2 or 3 counters function properly at all times. That isn't to say the reels don't function properly. Just the counter.
I've also had the Shakespeare LC reels (for about 5 minutes). I never like they way they acted. The drag isn't that great and you could never really torque it down to fight big king salmon and Steelhead.
For the money right now, the best line counter reels are the Daiwa Accudepth series reels. For walleye, we really like the size 17. The only issue however with the 17 (and the reason I do not own any) is that you can only get the handle in a "double handle" configuration. Because of that, I own the size 27 reels (I don't like the double handle). My dad owns the 17's as he likes them. My tournament partner also owns the 27's.
What I like about Daiwa counters is the button is on the side of the counter. You do not push in on the button but down. As a result, you don't have the button issues and jamming associated with others that have a top button that pushes in.
I can tell you that, with the Daiwa 27, it takes 1500 ft of 10lb test trileneXt to properly calibrate the counter reel (yes, they need to be calibrated). We normally put a really heavy backer line on (30lb test Ande line) to fill the reel. We then put on 500 feet of 10lb xt. Every year, we change out the 500ft only. The 17's take less line to calibrate but still right around 1000ft
Northwoods sells the Daiwa Accudepth and does have the best prices I have found anywhere.
As for rods. It really depends on what you are trying to achieve. Are you pulling planner boards? are you long lining? What length are you trying to achieve?
By and large, the biggest mistake people make when selecting trolling rods is purchasing rods that are way bigger than what they need. Sure, you can purchase the Okuma series rods sold for 9 bucks (yes, that is the cheap model sold at Northwoods) and they will work for you. The problem is that no one really likes to fight a fish with a broom handle or a tent pole. They are stiff, and the handle is as big around as a broom handle. Trolling rods get beat around a lot so spending a fortune isn't always in the cards. On the flip side, I think you get what you pay for. Not knocking what others have recommended, but purchasing a "Trolling" rod, with the words "Trolling" written on the rod blank is a better bet.
Rods built for trolling are designed with a specific action to make the bait do what is intended. In my tournament boat, I use Gander Mountain "Angler Series" 7.5 and 8.5 rods with trigger handles (aids in letting out line with line counter reels). My rods are specifically built for planner board applications and it is written directly on the handle. I do NOT like the telescopic rods for planer boards and most rods designed for this are like that now days. These are two peice rods. I Always purchase a warrenty with them as well.
If You want more information on "Calibrating reels" or "Choosing the correct trolling rod" shoot me a PM. I wrote two articles for two different magazines on both topics.
I agree wick, that's my only complaint with the shakespeare-ats-trolling-reel's. They are fine for crappie, every now and then I get a bigger cat or drum on and have to torque the drag to bring them in. I have forgot to loosen drag before afterwards and almost snapped a rod getting hungup. Thank goodness I use 6lb mono..