I'm looking to build a rod for lake sturgeon fishing. In MN and WI downrigger rods are popular with some due to length and soft action working well with bottom rigging circle hooks.

I'm looking at the following Batson / Rainshadow blanks:

RDR86M
RDR86MH

My question is what lure weight will work with these blanks?

Since they are trolling rods I can't seem to find any information in this regards.

Thanks!

Tony,
Actually for this use, a $20 fiberglass 10 foot surf rod works really well.
It has the tip to see the bite, and plenty of butt power to land a big sturgeon.
Lots of the folks who fish the rainy river in spring on the Canadian boundary use just such a rod. Simple and effective.


Note: the word fiberglass for this application. With the bend of a down rigger, and the need for the soft tip, the use of the fiberglass rod is the perfect solution.

Take care

Roger

p.s.
Another rod blank that works very well for this application is any of the many blanks that one would use for Cat fishing. Many of the cat fish caught on these rods are the same size as the sturgeon that you may catch.

Take care
Roger

p.p.s.
In the following video - do some pauses from time to time and you can see some of the rods being used for the big Sturgeon fishing on the Columbia river in Oregon.
These fish - on average run quite a bit bigger than those found in Mn /Wi.
Most of the Sturgeon caught in the MN/Wi area will be in the 20-35 lb range. However, from time to time one may catch one up to a 100 lbs.

[www.fishingoregon.net]

Notice the long handles on the rods, both for use in the rod holders as also the length to provide better bracing and leverage for the big fight.

Take care
Roger