If you could only have one trolling rod and reel...

[RenegadeBassin]

I've really only ever bass fished my whole life, but trolling is also really popular around here and I want to try getting into it a little bit. I know zero about it other than that I probably would be using lead core or maybe a downrigger once in a while. What would you guys suggest for a rod and reel that would work for most situations, like trolling for salmon, lake trout, and pike? There are no walleye around here so I wouldn't be doing that. A friend I went to school with suggested an 8'6 rod, so I was thinking the shimano talora, and then the shimano tekota to top it off. Thoughts? Thanks

[Dwight Hottle]

Excellent idea. The Tekota line counter 300 or 500 will serve you well. The 300 series holds enough line using braid to work well for all your mention species. You would need the 500 series if you want to run lead core in 10 colors or 100 yards plus backing. The 300 holds 5 or 6 colors plus backing as I remember. 

The 8.5’ rod works well to help absorb shock as well as moving the lines further away from the boat. Look at 2 piece rods like St Croix’s steelhead rod lineup or other manufacturers. The croix’s are lighter & smaller in diameter than the shimano talora I believe. 

Good luck with your trolling adventures. 

[tkunk]

Shimano TDRs and Okuma Convectors are cheap and sturdy. I use them for salmon and musky, and they've held up well. Salmon are much harder on gear despite being smaller than muskies. If I were guiding for salmon, I'd probably upgrade the Convectors to Tekotas.

 

For salmon, I only use dipseys and lead core. You might need a different rod for downriggers. The good news is that you don't need to pay more than $30 for a trolling rod, because rod weight and sensitivity are irrelevant when trolling.

[Mbirdsley]

Okuma basically owns the market in the lower to medium end line counter/non line counter trolling reels. The convectors are where it is at in my opinion if you don’t want to mortagage the house for Gear.

With that said, I wouldn’t go any cheaper than okuma.  The Shakespeare reels suck everything is made of plastic 

 

 Honestly for trolling rods they don’t have to be all that special.  They don’t have to be sensitive. Any Okuma,diawa, whoppin stick, ugly sticks etc.

 

We are still running grandpas Diawa sealine reels and rods from mid 80’s when he was chartering out of Frankfort on Lake Michigan. He had a couple st.croix I think he was running for high lines for mr. Steelie. They do not make parts for the sealines any more so as they fail on us they are getting replaced by convectors.

 

dipsie rods will probably be longer and more stout than trolling rods. the lead core and copper rods will be longer than the trolling and dipsie rods. the trolling game is so much more advanced than what it once was.  when grandpa was doing it there was no such things as lead core and copper which, has basically changed the game.  When he was doing it you ran 2 dipsies and 5 down riggers with the lure 5-10 feet off the ball.  Now you might run three down riggers with the lure 30-50 from the ball.  running A high diver with a low diver the rest of the rod holders being used for lead core or copper attached to boards

[Looch]

Shimano Tekota 500lc

 

The brand of rod doesn't really matter as long as it ticks all the boxes you need for trolling, you really dont need anything over 8ft

 

 

[Arcs&sparks]

I checked your profile,  you’re also in Maine? I do quite a bit of trout and salmon trolling here in the spring time and normally catch my target species.  I would be more than happy to discuss the topic further.  What lake/s do you want to target?  One rod for salmon, pike, and lake trout doesn’t seem like a good choice in my opinion.  They are very different species. With downriggers you can just use your heavier bass tackle and do just fine for lake trout if you so choose.  I have very few lakes with pike near me and have not specifically targeted them,  but I would recommend lighter tackle for salmon.  Traditional Maine salmon gear is simply trolling a (5-6wieght) fly rod with sinking line with a smelt imitation streamer fly or a sewn on shiner/smelt(live bait) in the springtime.  You can use the same fly rod spooled up with some leadcore do get down a bit deeper on a sunny day or when the water is warmer.   There’s a lot of other factors that I am more than willing to discuss.  What you need to keep in mind is talking about salmon trolling to a guy from the Great Lakes is like talking to a bass fisherman in Florida.  It’s not the same game here in Maine.  These target species(bass, salmon, Lakers) will run typically smaller and different techniques are typically used. 

[RenegadeBassin]

9 hours ago, Arcs&sparks said:

I checked your profile,  you’re also in Maine? I do quite a bit of trout and salmon trolling here in the spring time and normally catch my target species.  I would be more than happy to discuss the topic further.  What lake/s do you want to target?  One rod for salmon, pike, and lake trout doesn’t seem like a good choice in my opinion.  They are very different species. With downriggers you can just use your heavier bass tackle and do just fine for lake trout if you so choose.  I have very few lakes with pike near me and have not specifically targeted them,  but I would recommend lighter tackle for salmon.  Traditional Maine salmon gear is simply trolling a (5-6wieght) fly rod with sinking line with a smelt imitation streamer fly or a sewn on shiner/smelt(live bait) in the springtime.  You can use the same fly rod spooled up with some leadcore do get down a bit deeper on a sunny day or when the water is warmer.   There’s a lot of other factors that I am more than willing to discuss.  What you need to keep in mind is talking about salmon trolling to a guy from the Great Lakes is like talking to a bass fisherman in Florida.  It’s not the same game here in Maine.  These target species(bass, salmon, Lakers) will run typically smaller and different techniques are typically used. 

I see. That makes a lot of sense. I don't really know anything about trolling and definitely want to learn more! There are salmon and lake trout in the lake I live on, Donnell Pond, but I've never fished for them and I want to try. Then I'd also like to take a few trips to the Belgrade Lakes Region and try some spots like North Pond and Messolonskee for Pike because I think it would be a blast to catch one. I don't own a fly rod, can you use the same fly rod and reel for regular fly fishing as you would for trolling? The reason I ask is it seems like line capacity on a fly reel isn't very much...but like I said, I don't know much at all about any type of fishing outside of bass. Thanks for your help!

[Arcs&sparks]

Don’t get me wrong with the Great Lakes comment,  trolling is trolling, and the guys who commented definitely give good advice, and hopefully continue to chime in,  especially about how you don’t need expensive gear. but they have much bigger fish than we have, and in general, different species of salmon. We’re (probably) not going to catch 30lb lake trout and 12lb salmon. 

 

I checked out the lake survey,  last revised in 2001,  if you don’t already know of this; https://www.maine.gov/ifw/docs/lake-survey-maps/hancock/donnell_pond.pdf

 

This ^ information can be misleading since it’s normally outdated,  but it suggests a good wild salmon population +++,  but also suggests a low lake trout population, which can be good or bad. 

 

Instead of typing a Novel,  I have a few questions;  

 

I guess the the first one would be;

 

 Have you heard that your lake has a good salmon/trout fishery?

 

Do you have a bait&tackle shop in your area? Any pawn shops? Any Mardens!?

 

Do you see boats out on the lake trolling frequently?

 

Do you see fish rising, out in open water?

 

Do you own any crankbait rods or swimbait rods? Med Lights?

 

Instead of spending $180 on just a  reel alone,  I would suggest getting at least a couple combos with the money,  along with using some of the rods you already own,  since trolling ONE rod can be tough.  With more than one you can try different depths/lures at the same time to find a pattern and adjust from there. 

 

You didn’t bring up line counters, but the reel you are looking at comes with that option.  I would add that a line counter reel is kind of pointless with a downrigger, since the downrigger has a gauge, and leadcore changes color every 10yds.

This is valuable for trolling weights and dipsy divers and such.. 

 

 

Also, to answer your question about fly reels,  most modern fly reels,  especially “large arbor” hold a lot more line than you might think.  130’ of fly line plus at least 100yd of Dacron backing.