Hi All,

It's been a long time since I was on this forum. Funny how much time a couple of kids can take up! Really happy to see the conversations are still going strong!

I am taking my father-in-law on a fishing trip to Great Bear Lake in July. I wanted to build us a rod each for this trip. It would be used for trolling for very big Lake Trout (30-50lbs). I have no idea what type of Rod is used there. All I was told was that it should be something with fast action. I was hoping some of you on here have been there an know what I should be looking at.

I have experience building rods. I have built around 20. But just looking for guidance on this specific purpose built rod.

So excited to be back on here! I hope everyone is doing well!

Thank You,

Chris Tulk

I've used a few blank types to fish Lakers in the shield lakes, what kind of trolling are you doing? Wireline, downrigger, etc? Telescoping 7 1/2 ft. Flipping sticks were the first rods we took up there, we used them for wireline trolling, only difference from a standard build was we put a roller tip on them, the Aftco lightweight version.
We've also used G Loomis and now NFC 2 piece back bouncing blanks for large salmon in Alaska and Canada for Lakers. Both also work for jigging and casting from shore just after ice out. My personal favorites are two X Hvy 2 pc. Hot shot blanks built by Rogue for a very short time period. I bet some of the lighter powered 2 pc. Musky/saltwater blanks from St. Croix would also work.

Hi Spencer

Thanks for the info. A lot to take in. We are there the first week of July just after ice out. Trolling big spoons and and flat fish. No wire line. In fact the fish are looking for shallow warm water at that time of year. We will even sight fish for them casting in some of the bays. I think I am going to build a 7.5' Musky Rod. Fast action?

A paragraph from another site on Lake trout fishing:

"Equipment:
When jigging for lake trout, the preferred rods are 6’6” to 7’6”, medium to medium heavy, with a fast action. 30-40 lb braid with about a 12’ fluorocarbon or monofilament clear leader is the preferred line set up. 17-20 lb monofilament line throughout can also be substituted if preferred. The bait caster reels that are commonly used, are units equivalent in size to a Shimano Calcutta 300-400. Spinning reels are Shimano Stradic 4000-5000 or equivalent.

Jigging lures are often 1-2 oz jigs. Both Bucktails and tube jigs are used with white and chartreuse being popular colors.

When trolling for lake trout, the preferred rods are anywhere from 7’6” to 9’6”, medium heavy, with a fast action. Shimano Tekota 500 series or equivalent are excellent choices for reels. Most anglers have 60-80 braid on, tipped with an 80 lb mono leader. The most popular lures trolled would T-60 Flatfish, and Eppinger Husky Senior and Junior Lures. Bright colors are often used. Lucky Strike Half Wave spoons are also extremely successful."

These solid glass rods make for really tough excellent plug or trolling rods:

[www.rainshadowrodblanks.com]

In this series of blanks, I would go with the medium action blank.