My next rod building project will be trolling rods for lake erie walleye and steelhead.The shimmanno tellora seems to A good production rod does anyone know who makes their blanks or who sells blanks comparable to those.Id like 8 foot 6"to pull dipsy divers on probably 15 lb line.

Steve
Fish till you drop.

Which Talora were you looking at, they make 6 or so with different actions and line weights. None 8 1/2 ft long.

Spencer
From reading outdoor magazines and posts on this website it sounds like users are happy with these rods.I would not try to duplicate an exact model,rather custom build one on the same or similar blank to suit me. Any help Identifying the blank type or manufacturer would be appreciated.

Steve
Fish till you drop

I just finished building a local Salmon/Walleye guide 6 trolling rods. I am replacing his Talora rods. He has had an assortment of problems with the Telora rods ranging from broken guides, guide feet digging in(cutting the fibers), and reel seats coming loose. I believe that the blanks are ATC Matrix blanks, but not for sure on that. I used Batson Rainshadow Trolling blanks for his build. I had them custom finished in his color. These blanks are in my opinion a perfect combination of value and qaulity for a trolling application.

Tony
On a previous post, Mike Barkley said he built lake erie trolling rods on rainshadow RDR86MH blanks.Is this the same blank that you used.Did you use the simple spiral wrap? After reading the article in RM magazine about building great lakes trolling rods it sounds like the Fuji DPSH reel seat would be a good choice but i'm not sure witch eyes to use.Any info you could give me would help.

Steve
Fish till you drop

Steve,
I really like theFuji PSS Palm Support seat on those trolling rods

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Every dipsy diver rod I've seen looked like the red headed step child of the rods on the boat, and I later learned why, they got beat to death. For that reason I'd probably use a E glass blank like the Seeker SSA 853F or SSA896 salmon blanks.

Mike
Which supplier handles that reel seat .It looks like Acid rod and fishsticks carry the RDR blanks. What would be your choice of guides on rods like these.One more coat of polyurethane on my new hand wrapper and it will be done (what a bute).I,ll post some pic,s when I get It set up.Went through the photos on grips and came up with some Ideas for grips.Really like the look of natural cork ,accented with burnt rings,where do you get decent cork rings .They dont have to be perfect , just pretty good.
Steve
Fish till you drop

I have used the Rainshadow in 8.5' for Diver rods and the 7' RDR70(I think) for the rigger rods. I am at work, so I can't check the number for exact, they only offer 6 models I believe. I also use the Fuji premium graphite seets. I have been using PAC Bay SIC guides, they are holding up well on everything from mono to wire. I am using what I believe to be the simple spiral. I basically run the line guide all the way to right of spool, let the line do it's thing to get to the first 180 degree guide(around left side of blank). Then I just simply use my spiral to help the line stay off the blank with as little interference as possible. To be perfectly honest, the charter captains are just as happy with a couple of Gator Glass rods I built the same way. The abuse that charters put on these rods is unreal. I havn't had a Rainshadow fail, but a glass blank probably will withstand much more mistreatment from well meaning clients. That being said, I am using the Rainshadow blanks for my own trolling rods, as I tend to take pretty good care of them.

Tony
I will be using these rods on my own boat so they shouldn,t see too much abuse or misuse.Thanks for the recommendation on guides as the selection of guides is overwelming.I like the concept of the simple spiral but I,ll have to do more research as I have not done one yet.

Steve
Fish till you drop

Spencer
Thanks for the recommendation on the rod blanks the more options I have to look at the better choice I can make. These rods shouldn,t see too much rough treatment as I will be using them for my own personal use.My plan Is to troll till I find the fish then drift and cast .

Steve

Fish till you drop

Steve,

One other note, if you get them from Fisticks, talk to Rob Tignor about getting them custom finished. The guy that I have been using can do any color you want at a pretty reasonable price. They come black, not blue as the website may indicate. I think they got that changed though. I have been getting mine painted cobalt blue, using NCP Navy Blue thread and metallic gold trim bands. The look too nice to fish almost! If you are not going to see any wire line usage, I have built a couple using the Mudhole zirconia Blue insert guides, they look awesome with the blue blanks. Can't have too much blue.

Tony

Tony
when I saw the blanks came In blue It got me started on thread color combinations. After reading some previous post,s I realized they had changed the color to black. Blue would be a good color choice as I have A blue boot stripe on my boat. your color combo sounds like A good one.No wire line for me but I will use braided line. I,m also looking at seeker blanks, trying to figure out if they are all made in the U S or just their top of the line like other manufacturers.Fishsticks carry the seeker brand but not the SSA853F.I have A feeling when I get these rods done they are going to be some kick @%= looking rods.

Steve
Fish till you drop

You won't be disappointed. I put a blue feather inlay on one of my first ones. In the shop you can't even see it, but when it is in the sunlight on the boat, it glows, almost holographic. People at the dock will notice your rods, maybe even get you some business. Post a picture when you get done with them. I would post, except dial up would take til next year. When AT&T makes their way out to our place, I can post pictures. Good luck.

Tony

Steve,

I just picked up four Shakira 7'6" blanks from Mudhole for $27 each. They may be on the lighter side for salmon, but will make awesome walleye trolling rods. Still should work fine for salmon rigger rods, just won't be tournement jerking any salmon in the boat. These more than likely won't have the spine to handle large divers though. Worth a look anyways, don't wait too long, they are moving quickly.