A popular way to fish for lake trout at Flaming Gorge Reservoir is to troll 80# steel line to get big lures down to the bottom. But, I'm having a hard time finding the right blank.

I was told by a former rod builder there that he used 7'6" E-Glass blanks from Seeker but that was 20 or 30 years ago and he didn't know what current blanks might be equivalent now. Snags are common so fast action rods are preferable.

I have looked through Seeker's current catalog and I can't find anything that really meets these specs. Though they didn't respond to my email, most of their heavy blanks seem to be shorter tuna blanks that won't work for trolling. I would prefer a 7'6" blank, though I could go as long as 8'.

Can anyone suggest a blank that might meet these specs? Thanks in advance.

Check the CLB series. I think they're available in 8 footers, certainly in 7 foot length. These are glass rods, with an outer wrap of carbon on the lower half which gives stiffness down low with a smaller diameter than all-glass models.

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Thanks for your help Tom.

As I look at the CLB series, they are available in 7' and 8' but the maximum line rating for any rod in that series is only 40#. The CLB 708 (7') and the CLB806H (8') both have a line rating of 15 (25) 40.

Are these blanks going to stand up to 80# wire when I get a snag or a 50 pound lake trout?

They'll easily stand up to a 50lb lake trout. They were made for much larger saltwater fish. As far as snags, that's hard to say - depends on how you set your drag and how fast you're trolling when you snag your lure.

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Thanks for all your help Tom.