which rod glass or graphite

[sinkingboat]

I have a Shimano Tekota 500LC. Would like to put a Glass rod say St. Croix, but i dont like the telescoping part of the rod. G-loominis would be my second choice, shimano being third. I will be trolling cranks, and pulling planer boards 50/50. Please help!!! I can get the St. Croix for 80.00.

[Shawn 3]

That's pretty pricey stuff (especially the rods). I use the Diawa reels with do fine for around $85-90 a pop but suspect the Tekota is an even better quality reel. You can do pretty good for $30-50 rods. Some of the decent trolling rods are Ugly Sticks (1103), Diawa Heartland, Browning, and Okuma.

Whatever you decide, get the same rod and reel combination for all your trolling rods. That way you can read the bend in the rods better when you are running 2-5 rods on each side of the boat.

>I have a Shimano Tekota 500LC. Would like to put a Glass rod
>say St. Croix, but i dont like the telescoping part of the
>rod. G-loominis would be my second choice, shimano being
>third. I will be trolling cranks, and pulling planer boards
>50/50. Please help!!! I can get the St. Croix for 80.00.

[Captdoug]

I have a bunch of the St. Croix PGT80MM rods and they do a great job. Had the G. loomis rods and their walleye trolling rods don't run boards as well as the St. Croix. If you don't like the telescopic handles try St. Croix's WC80MXF. I tried this rod two years ago and liked it a lot, but went with the PGT80MM for storage purposes and I liked the handle better on the PGT80MM. Doug

[Den]

For the trolling, a decent glass rod with the action that you want is all you need, there are many brands out there that will do fine. some were already mentioned, okuma, shimano, berkley, ugly sticks, all will work great. get the action that you want, if using boards you want a flexable tip, if for dipsys and boards a little stiffer tip. you dont have to go pricy on trolling rods, just be sure to get all the same length. good luck and good fishin.
Den

[Koldfront Kraig]

I was tailking to one of the custom rod builders at Thorn Bros. last week about trolling rods.

He thinks Loomis and St Croix trolling rods are overkill. The cheaper glass rods work better for pulling boards.

People still want the more expensive ones, so he still makes them.


Kraig

[FreeByrd]

>For the trolling, a decent glass rod with the action that you
>want is all you need, there are many brands out there that
>will do fine. some were already mentioned, okuma, shimano,
>berkley, ugly sticks, all will work great. get the action that
>you want, if using boards you want a flexable tip, if for
>dipsys and boards a little stiffer tip. you dont have to go
>pricy on trolling rods, just be sure to get all the same
>length. good luck and good fishin.
>Den

Den absolutely nailed this one - there isn't much need to spend high dollars on a trolling rod. Several good ones have been mentioned - and most of them well under $40. If you feel like you want a more expensive rod to go with your Shimano Tekota 500 Line Counter - I'd highly recommend the Shimano Talora TLA-80M2. I've used these for exactly what you describe with the same reel on Erie and they are a great fit. For anyone that doesn't know - Den is the owner of The Sportsman's Outpost in Vermillion, OH - and he sells rods / reels - including the higher priced ones, you can see what he recommended. Call him at the shop 888 855 9032 for excellent straight shooting advice on what to buy.
Steve Carlson

[FreeByrd]

>For the trolling, a decent glass rod with the action that you
>want is all you need, there are many brands out there that
>will do fine. some were already mentioned, okuma, shimano,
>berkley, ugly sticks, all will work great. get the action that
>you want, if using boards you want a flexable tip, if for
>dipsys and boards a little stiffer tip. you dont have to go
>pricy on trolling rods, just be sure to get all the same
>length. good luck and good fishin.
>Den

Den absolutely nailed this one - there isn't much need to spend high dollars on a trolling rod. Several good ones have been mentioned - and most of them well under $40. If you feel like you want a more expensive rod to go with your Shimano Tekota 500 Line Counter - I'd highly recommend the Shimano Talora TLA-80M2. I've used these for exactly what you describe with the same reel on Erie and they are a great fit. For anyone that doesn't know - Den is the owner of The Sportsman's Outpost in Vermillion, OH - and he sells rods / reels - including the higher priced ones, you can see what he recommended. Call him at the shop 888 855 9032 for excellent straight shooting advice on what to buy.
Steve Carlson

[Captdoug]

You get what you buy for and I haven't seen a rod worth using that is less than $69.99 now-a-days. Trolling rods don't have to be sensitive, but they have to be durable. A cheap rod using cheap components means it is more likely to breakdown at the most inconveint time. Good Luck, Capt. Doug

[bob oh]

I need to tell that to my 7 year old $27 Berkley Reflexes. They been pulling big dipsies for 6 years without a hitch.

rod bender bob

[ERIE REBEL]

I agree with the others. You do not need to spend a lot of dollars on a rod that spends most of the time either in a rod locker or in a rod holder. I use Bass Pro Shop's walleye series 7.5 ft.rods. Been using the same ones for seven years.These are 7.5 ft.,foam handles, and telescope. They will handle inline boards,jets,fish seekers and smaller disc divers with no problem. Put your dollars in the reels and baits noy the rods as long as they all match. TIGHT LINES AND COLD BUD ERIE REBEL

[egcg1]

I agree that you dont need to spend alot of money on a rod but from past experiences on rough water that a long fiberglass rod say over eight foot seemed to keep my planer boards from jumping out of the water due to waves

[ChadM]

The only downside to a glass trolling rod is that it is heavier than graphite. This would be the only reason to not use glass. If it was stuck in the holder all day no problem but if you like to hold the rod I would go graphite.

[sinkingboat]

Thanks so much. I will go with Shimano Talora TLA-80M2.