I'm building a trolling rod for walleye, and the reel my buddy plans to use is a Penn Warfare size 30. The reel is pretty beefy compared to my baitcasters, so I could use some help choosing a reel seat. I know he'll never be throwing casts with it, and he holds the fore grip and bellies the butt when retieving. Should I still use a casting seat with a trigger, or a size 18 or so spinning seat?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

20 mm pipe style reel seat like you see on a spinning rod, the trigger will get in the way.

I thought as much...thanks!

A lot of the newer designs that have the rear pocket cast into the seat like the Fuji NPS the reel foot doesn't fit deep enough, the foot like the DPS seats in 18 mm just might as the nut side on the threaded portion seats deeper. Go 20 mm and they all fit nice and deep.

I like the trigger on a trolling rod. Really helps in those times when I'm holding the rod rather than having it in a holder. And I've never found a trigger in the way in a holder. I used to spend a lot of time flatline trolling for king salmon and used holders that oriented the rod mostly horizontal off the boat.

Something to consider. Different strokes.

It really depends what kind of rod holders he is using. I build a lot of muskie rods for trolling and the Down Easts and other claw style holders are popular with us and having a trigger on a trolling rod is a huge PIA.

I usually just ask what they prefer. Typically the answer is a spinning seat. I go with an 18 or 20 seat. A size 30 reel will work fine in those seats.

If he's using pipe style holders(typical for walleye on big water) , as long as the butt of the rod is long enough, trigger or no trigger is just preference.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2018 02:16PM by Anthony Holstein.