Off Topic New here, looking for rod/reel recommendations

btsguitarguy

btsguitarguy

Member
Cheers to all.
I've been lurking this page for awhile now, and all of your info and insight has been much appreciated.

My father and I started fishing Erie and LSC 2 years ago when we bought our first boat, a 15' Lowe with a 40HP Yamaha. We've been fishing our entire lives so we know our way around the sport to a certain degree, but had never got onto the great lakes until we got this boat. It has been good to us, but we've decided we want something that's more sturdy, spacious, and safer on the great lakes so we can also fish Huron and Ontario.

We just purchased a 1992 23' Seaswirl Striper with a 4.3L Volvo Penta. Needless to say, I think this boat will handle worse weather than I'd ever feel comfortable being on the water in.
We're really looking forward to getting this thing out on the water and getting into some walleye. We have fished walleye out of Port Burwell the past 2 years and done a very basic setup just trolling deep diving lures. However, this new boat has downriggers and all the gear necessary to get a bit more serious about fishing for not just walleye, but trout and salmon as well.

So, I'm looking for some insight into what I should be purchasing for our new trolling and downrigging rods and reels.

Currently, we have some light spinning rods and 2 heavy rods for Muskie. This is all we've been using so far for walleye and it has had mixed results.
The 2 heavy rods are Ugly Stik Tiger's with Daiwa Millionaire reels, running 50lb test with a 6' (75lb) mono leader.

I look online and there are "trolling" rods, "dipsy" rods, "downrigger" rods, etc...

My question for you guys: is there a rod and reel combo I can buy that will perform adequately for all these applications? We would like to try everything out a little bit and see what method we enjoy fishing the most, but at the same time I don't want to have to buy a dozen rods to find the right one.
I'm going to assume that having a multi-purpose rod for muskie, trout, salmon and walleye is a bit far fetched, but I would like to buy 4-6 rods that we can use for walleye and trout at the very least.

Sorry for the long-winded leadup to the question, your feedback will be much appreciated though!
 
I like okuma stuff for the quality and reasonable price. I also have some of the Cabela’s depth master combos which are cheaper, but show it. There are lots of existing threads that break down rod selection for each style you are mentioning. I try and “cross train” my gear with the exception of my lead core sets and have found I prefer the 9’ okuma salmon rods for how I have my stuff set up. I have used those for everything from early season bottom bouncing, dispsys, prop wash mounts for Muskie, planner board sets, jet divers, torpedo divers, everything except rigers as I don’t use them. Good luck and congrats on the new boat.
 
I bought a Great Lakes okuma combo from sail in Cambridge for 136$ works awesome love it use it with lead core but it would great set up with braid and a dipsy I’m sure
 
okuma product is pretty solid. I stay away from the lower end line counter reels as they tend to have drag problems. I have mostly coldwater on my set ups. if you are planning on doing some lake O salmon fishing as well the dipsey rods are pretty good set ups for everything.....a bit heavy for downriggers and specifically for DR walleye but doable for salmon....it will take some time to figure out what you really want/need but I am sure you will get lots of good feedback from this post. The community is really active and supportive
 
welcome aboard guitar man?..I run okuma glt salmon rods equipped with okuma convector 30's 20lb mono backing with 30lb power pro braid and 20lb floro leads...With my spread I use #1 dipsys and jets...I'm not a fan of lead core setups but they do produce alot of fish..you mentioned you have down riggers okuma also has the glt's for downriggers as well but i see no real difference between the 2 other than length of pole and flexibility.. .I use these setups for salmon trout walleye ...they have handled 20 plus lb salmon and have the sensitivity to pick up small eyes . 5 years running now with no issues knock wood lol..at a reasonable price. I live n hamilton so I go to Bill's bait and tackle good guys very knowledgeable and great prices. I've heard alot of good things about angler outfitters in the central basin area I'm sure they'd fix you up with all your needs...good luck out there ??
 
Thanks everyone, looks like Okuma is the way to go I guess! I did look into the Cabela's combo rods but they seem to be hit and miss when it comes to quality. I don't think we'll be bothering with lead-core since the downrigger seems to be an easier way to get to the desired depth.
 
For rods I like the Diawa wilderness rods, I have a bunch and I have never broke one or had any problems, they are $25-35. IMO save some money on the rods and spend more on the reels. I use Okuma convectors and penn 310 & 320 gt2 lc’s.
 
I’ve always been okuma but the jos guys at angling outfitters convinced me to try the new penn rival reels at only $99 each you can’t go wrong. I like them better than my okumas and the drags are metal instead of plastic which may interest you if you intend to use these reels for trout/salmon. I could notice the difference this spring catching lakers at the end of the point
 
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The 9' okuma dipsey rods will do it all and they are actually my preferred rods on St Clair for Musky as well.....they are a little heavy to be 'fun' downrigging or flat lining Eyes but they will work just fine.

Josh
 
Josh Roelofsen said:
The 9' okuma dipsey rods will do it all and they are actually my preferred rods on St Clair for Musky as well.....they are a little heavy to be 'fun' downrigging or flat lining Eyes but they will work just fine.

Josh
Click to expand...
Thanks Josh. What line setup do you use on these if you're using them for both muskie and walleye?
 
Shimano and Okuma rods
Okuma reels cold water
But I got 2 rods medium ligth with smaller size Okume reels for the riggers for Erie walleye as my other rods more towards Salmon fishing , Its more fun to play the fish
I started with el- chipo stuff and then slowly got more and better gear
Best is to buy combos better bang for your buck
Depending where you are you can pick up good deals from local shops or the big box fishing stores
Welcome to the board ,this is the only site that I follow and post on
 
btsguitarguy said:
Cheers to all.
I've been lurking this page for awhile now, and all of your info and insight has been much appreciated.

My father and I started fishing Erie and LSC 2 years ago when we bought our first boat, a 15' Lowe with a 40HP Yamaha. We've been fishing our entire lives so we know our way around the sport to a certain degree, but had never got onto the great lakes until we got this boat. It has been good to us, but we've decided we want something that's more sturdy, spacious, and safer on the great lakes so we can also fish Huron and Ontario.

We just purchased a 1992 23' Seaswirl Striper with a 4.3L Volvo Penta. Needless to say, I think this boat will handle worse weather than I'd ever feel comfortable being on the water in.
We're really looking forward to getting this thing out on the water and getting into some walleye. We have fished walleye out of Port Burwell the past 2 years and done a very basic setup just trolling deep diving lures. However, this new boat has downriggers and all the gear necessary to get a bit more serious about fishing for not just walleye, but trout and salmon as well.

So, I'm looking for some insight into what I should be purchasing for our new trolling and downrigging rods and reels.

Currently, we have some light spinning rods and 2 heavy rods for Muskie. This is all we've been using so far for walleye and it has had mixed results.
The 2 heavy rods are Ugly Stik Tiger's with Daiwa Millionaire reels, running 50lb test with a 6' (75lb) mono leader.

I look online and there are "trolling" rods, "dipsy" rods, "downrigger" rods, etc...

My question for you guys: is there a rod and reel combo I can buy that will perform adequately for all these applications? We would like to try everything out a little bit and see what method we enjoy fishing the most, but at the same time I don't want to have to buy a dozen rods to find the right one.
I'm going to assume that having a multi-purpose rod for muskie, trout, salmon and walleye is a bit far fetched, but I would like to buy 4-6 rods that we can use for walleye and trout at the very least.

Sorry for the long-winded leadup to the question, your feedback will be much appreciated though!
Click to expand...

Okuma Salmon Trolling Rod/Reel Combo (8-Feet 6-Inch 2-Piece Rod Magda 30 Line Counter), Rod & Reel Combos - Amazon Canada

Okuma Salmon Trolling Rod/Reel Combo (8-Feet 6-Inch 2-Piece Rod Magda 30 Line Counter) in Rod & Reel Combos.
www.amazon.ca
 
I know everyone has their own opinion and preference. I like okuma but will never buy another Magda reel. The convectors are solid and coldwaters are good. Haven’t tried the penn but suspect if the AO crew are promoting it must be solid as well and 90 is good price if solid reel.
 
Maestrolaker said:
I know everyone has their own opinion and preference. I like okuma but will never buy another Magda reel. The convectors are solid and coldwaters are good. Haven’t tried the penn but suspect if the AO crew are promoting it must be solid as well and 90 is good price if solid reel.
Click to expand...
I have 2 convectors and no magdas. Looked like a good entry level deal. Maybe better spend a little more.
 
I'm pretty new and still have a lot to learn, so take this with a grain of salt...

My penny-pinching attitude is to acquire used gear cheaply, and I'll be the first to admit this isn't always the best idea!! My gear is a mish mash of whatever I could get my hands on, and it works once you figure it out, but I'm finding out that some of the stuff that I've got isn't necessarily what I like.

Rods:

Jos told me that a dipsy rod should have "dipsy" written on it. I've run dipsies off of other stiff "trolling" rods without any problems, so I'm not sure what the concern is. My rule is to make sure the rod is rated for the line. If you're planning on running a spread with 4 dipsies, make sure you get some longer rods for your outside dipsies and shorter rods for your inside dipsies.

A rod suitable for a downrigger should have a ton of flex. You want to be able to bend it in half, so that you can load up tension on your clip. When the clip releases, the rod will spring up and take a bunch of slack out of the line. When I started, I had a downrigger rod spooled up with lead. It looked like a wet noodle pulling 5 colours. It had very little backbone left for fighting a fish. I quickly replaced it with a stiffer rod.

Reels:

For me, I find that a smooth even drag is very important, and this is what cheap reels lack. Line counters are essential for dipseys, but for me they aren't essential for leadcore or downriggers (nice to have but not essential). Calibrate your line counters for dipseys. If you're looking at used gear, I'd take my old Penn 209's (with no line counter) over my newer cheap gear (with line counter) any day.

The Penn Rival reels are a great value for the money right now. I bought the 30 size, which are great for lead but I'd prefer a smaller reel for my dipsies. Easier to get your hand around them.

Rod Holders:

You didn't mention rod holders in your post, but it is a very important piece of the puzzle. If you are new to dipsies, they have a ton of pull. Dipsey rods should be near horizontal and held in something metal. Avoid plastic!

That's all I've learned so far.
 
anonymoose said:
Rod Holders:

You didn't mention rod holders in your post, but it is a very important piece of the puzzle. If you are new to dipsies, they have a ton of pull. Dipsey rods should be near horizontal and held in something metal. Avoid plastic!

That's all I've learned so far.
Click to expand...

Good points @anonymoose but I will suggest this one thing.

Don't dismiss all plastic, I have 2 Scotty Orca mounts and everyone who uses them including me on the boat love them.

direct-400-bk.jpg

Very, very solid and simple to open when you need to get the rod out.

I bought 2 less expensive ones for the front rails and regret doing it. Should have spent the little extra and added 2 more Orcas. :(

Then I went and added a mast and boards and don't use anything on those rails now. LOL :LOL:
 
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