i am building a freshwater trolling blank as a suprise for a co-worker and need some help with blank selection. His fishing buddy tells me that their typical set up is a 7 ft, 1 pc, moderate action rod using up to 20 lb test line. They use a downrigger and rod holders, and are targeting landlocked salmon around 5 lbs. he told me that the lure weight is around 5-6 0z. I want to use a bumper wrap for the set up. I have searched the sponsors some, but I am not too familiar with this type of fishing so any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Carrington Tate
Durango, CO

We use the Batson Forecast Glass Saltwater blanks, either the SWB70-L or SWB70-ML.
These are very durable, have a moderate action with good back-bone.
They are popular in this area for downrigger trolling or live bait rigging for landlocked Striped Bass, using 12 to 15 Lb line, fish up to 30#.
Here is a link;
[www.schneidersrods.com]

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

We do a lot of trolling for un-landlocked salmon here in the northwest. I spoke with Kerry Batson at our West coast rod building show and he recommended the DR series blanks for salmon trolling.

These are composite blanks and take to downriggers well with a moderate action. 8 1/2 to 10 1/2 ft. models in the line class you are using. I'm sure Ron can get these for you as well. Most of us like the longer sticks for downriggers as you need the tip action to help set the hook when a fish hits. 7' seems a bit short for this type of fishing.

Check these out. They work really well for this application and are very durable.

Terry

Thanks Terry and Ron, appreciate the response. Terry, this guy is pretty much stuck on the 7 ft length, even though the longer length makes perfect sense. Actually i am focusing on a couple of Rainshadows that may fit the bill. Have a great weekend

Carrington

Many people in the Great Lakes area have been moving to the shorter rods for downrigging over the last couple years.