Long Rods For Walleyes

[gbin]

Originally Posted by Gary Korsgaden

Does anyone else use and find long rods appealing for walleye fishing?...

We're kindred spirits, Gary. I love long rods and light/ultralight line.

Gerry

[Gary Korsgaden]

Originally Posted by Snowking

I use 12 foot rods to get lures away from the boat. Nice not use a planer board all the time. I mostly use crankbaits not live bait. Might be a pain to keep checking live bait rigs with long rods. From the side of the boat slowly sweep the rod toward the front of the boat. That swings the fish in close to the boat for netting.

Picked up some 12 and 14 foot rods for trolling small crankbaits love it. Landing fish like to lift the rod straight back, when fishing alone, seems to work well

[Gary Korsgaden]

[QUOTE=gbin;6398882]We're kindred spirits, Gary. I love long rods and light/ultralight line.

Gerry[/QUOTE

Gerry with your experience what rods do you like, lengths etc. 12'6" rods may be too long for live bait but could it not be a advantage on clear lakes?

Have you found a monoline you like? Do you find stretch is good when fishing with long rods and getting the small hooks into the fishes mouth? I do.

For me Gerry fishing is a sport, long rods add so much to that.

Here is a series I am looking at.

http://www.fenwickfishing.com/fenwic...2.html#start=8

This is a decent rod too... https://stcroixrods.com/collections/...lleye-spinning
at 8'6"

Weighs slightly over 7 ounces in the 10-12' lengths.

I have a number of rods made with Batson blanks, Tennessee handles to keep them light allowing me to put the reel forward on handle. Love these rods.

Appreciate your thoughts.

[Snowking]

I like these scheels rods. The are available in many different lengths.

https://www.scheels.com/p/scheels-ou...topnav&start=1

[gbin]

Originally Posted by Gary Korsgaden

For me Gerry fishing is a sport, long rods add so much to that.

My feeling exactly, Gary!

I'm afraid my experience level is WAY too insufficient as of yet to advise others on such a matter, though. I used to fish a lot when I was young, and gravitated toward ultralight - and absolutely loved it - before marriage and work pushed fishing aside for a few decades(!). (Even went mostly barbless hooks right at the end.) I'm really only now getting back into fishing - but in a big way: Just ordered my first boat a couple of weeks ago (a 2020 620FS Cup - woo hoo!) and am currently taking inventory on old gear, buying new.

The last rod I bought before the big hiatus was an ultralight 5 ft Fenwick which I bought for panfishing but ended up using for almost everything. (Didn't troll much at that point! ) Its 1-piece graphite construction was near the front of the technology at the time (as near as I could afford, anyway), and its size was chosen for portability as I was quite the traveling man in those days. Paired it with a tiny Shakespeare spinning reel with a relatively high gear ratio (again, for the day) and back-reel capability. The setup balanced perfectly, and came to seem like an extension of my arm. I could feel absolutely everything! Loved it then, and bet I'll love it again.

The only long, sensitive rods I've used so far were borrowed for the occasion back in the day, but I could already tell that I loved them even more than my little ultralight rig, and I'm planning to get a couple for live bait fishing this spring. That 8 1/2 ft St. Croix rod you linked is so far at the top of my short list, in fact. (Now I'm going to look closely at the Fenwick you linked, too.)

And in fact, I too am hoping your thread turns up lots of good advice on such rods!

Gerry

[Gary Korsgaden]

Originally Posted by gbin

My feeling exactly, Gary!

I'm afraid my experience level is WAY too insufficient as of yet to advise others on such a matter, though. I used to fish a lot when I was young, and gravitated toward ultralight - and absolutely loved it - before marriage and work pushed fishing aside for a few decades(!). (Even went mostly barbless hooks right at the end.) I'm really only now getting back into fishing - but in a big way: Just ordered my first boat a couple of weeks ago (a 2020 620FS Cup - woo hoo!) and am currently taking inventory on old gear, buying new.

The last rod I bought before the big hiatus was an ultralight 5 ft Fenwick which I bought for panfishing but ended up using for almost everything. (Didn't troll much at that point! ) Its 1-piece graphite construction was near the front of the technology at the time (as near as I could afford, anyway), and its size was chosen for portability as I was quite the traveling man in those days. Paired it with a tiny Shakespeare spinning reel with a relatively high gear ratio (again, for the day) and back-reel capability. The setup balanced perfectly, and came to seem like an extension of my arm. I could feel absolutely everything! Loved it then, and bet I'll love it again.

The only long, sensitive rods I've used so far were borrowed for the occasion back in the day, but I could already tell that I loved them even more than my little ultralight rig, and I'm planning to get a couple for live bait fishing this spring. That 8 1/2 ft St. Croix rod you linked is so far at the top of my short list, in fact. (Now I'm going to look closely at the Fenwick you linked, too.)

And in fact, I too am hoping your thread turns up lots of good advice on such rods!

Gerry

Gerry,

The St. Croix is nice and light 3.18 ounces with the Fenwick 2 ounces heavier, around 5.5 ounces, long rods balance and weight so important , lighter more sensitive. The 9' Sage I have is balanced in the handle may look to make one with todays "better blanks". Would like to get my hands on these rods....G.Loomis has some nice ones too. Will see hope others can chime in....good to hear other comments

Gary

[Wyo-eye]

My tournament partner and I put a 14 footer out on each side of the boat when pulling bait rigs and have for many years.
We like the spread that it provides, w/o the hassle of planer boards.

[Gary Korsgaden]

Originally Posted by Wyo-eye

My tournament partner and I put a 14 footer out on each side of the boat when pulling bait rigs and have for many years.
We like the spread that it provides, w/o the hassle of planer boards.

Care to share which 14' rod. Some are bulky and out of balance

[Gary Korsgaden]

Found that Elliot has a very nice set of 7'6" rods

https://www.elliottfishingrods.com/open-water/

[gbin]

Originally Posted by Gary Korsgaden

Found that Elliot has a very nice set of 7'6" rods

https://www.elliottfishingrods.com/open-water/

Interesting!

Visited for a good while with a walleye pro at the St. Croix Rods booth at an outdoors expo in Suffern, NY yesterday. He doesn't share our special enthusiasm for long rods and light lines - and he says he doesn't really ever fish with live bait, anymore (he's big on Jigging Raps and Shiver Minnows nowadays) - but he did show me some rods including a few Legend Tournament Walleye Spinning rods (they didn't bring an 8'6"-er, unfortunately). They're gorgeous!

Gerry