I have a friend who trolls for trout using lead core line, 8 lb mono leader and small rapala minnows. His problem is losing fish. His rod he uses is a 5' ugly stick. My thoughts are the rod is too short and does not have enough flex once the fish is hooked. The other problem I see is the lead core line must put a good deal of flex into the rod? Is there a rod that could handle the lead core line, while having enough flex to prevent the treble hooks from pulling out from a hooked trout? Thanks for any suggestions!

Chuck

Chuck,

Lead core lines are a staple of great lakes trout and salmon trolling. A typical leadcore rod will be about 7' and have a moderate action. Power of the rod can vary but should be matched to the amount of lead typically deployed and fish targeted. Another consideration is whether or not the line will be flatline trolled (or off a planer board system using a separate tow line) vs using inline planer boards that attach to the fishing line.

I've been waiting for RodGeeks to come out with the new line of blanks designed by Billy Vivona. I've handled the prototypes and I plan to make the #3 in the series my go-to copper rod blank for great lakes fish (which can routinely go 5-25lb). If your friend is targeting smaller fish, then the #2 in the new RodGeeks series might suit his needs well.

The construction is composite with graphite and glass both running the full length of the blank in various amounts. The action is ideal for this use. I believe they were just made available or will be in the next week or so.

If your friend works the rod in hand while trolling, you can cut the length down to about 6'6" +/- to suit his needs. If he trolls them in rod holders, i'd keep it closer to 7'. Since these are 1-piece blanks, you can locate/trim the tip to get the ideal power that feels right to him, then cut from the butt to get the length he wants.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2015 01:22PM by John E Powell.

John, Thanks for the details! Are you referring to the S-glass blanks from Rodgeeks?

Chuck

Chuck,

If you'd like additional info, send me an e-mail - click on my blue name in one of my posts to show my e-mail. I don't have the final specifications of each blank, but I can give you more general info on the range of blanks.

Chuck,
For this type fishing, use a line snubber.

I had the same issue, until I started using a line snubber to tame the runs and head shakes of the fish. Basically, it is a rubber band that is hooked at the end of the lead core to absorb the head shakes of the fish and keeps from losing fish.

Any time that I use lead core or Lake Trolls for trout, I use the line snubber. The issue is not the rod. The issue is the lead core line. The lead core line tends to act as an anchor for the fish to pull against and throw the hook.

But if you put a line snubber at the end of the line, you are putting stretch back into the system where it does good to prevent the fish from throwing the hook.

[www.kokaneetackle.com]

Basically, these line snubbers are lengths of surgical tubing with a slack line inside the tubing. The slack line protects the snubber against excessive stretching or keeps the fish on, if the rubber would happen to break.

Try one, they work very well for any sort of fishing for fish that make big runs and have big head shakes when trolling with a heavy line or lake troll.

Be safe

p.s.
The rod that you are using with lead core really has very little effect on fish loss or not when one uses lead core or a heavy lake troll. The heavy line or lake troll act as an anchor and isolates the rod from the fish. So, you need the stretch in the system, after the line or lake troll. Hence the use of the snubber is very effective.

thanks Roger, will pass along to my friend!

Chuck

Chuck,

Rodgeeks has finally listed the blanks on their site for purchase, I'm recommending the XC732 or XC733 for your consideration depending on target fish size:

[www.rodgeeks.com]

thanks John!