Trolling Rod with "Feel" for light tackle trolling??

[ErieBuck]

I picked up some smaller Tekota A 500s that I want to use for smaller, lighter tackle trolling situations - walleye, smallmouth, fall steelhead on Lake Erie.  I have a whole bunch of Shimano TDR 8'6" rods but it just seems they don't do the smoothness and precision of the Tekota any justice as they can be a bit heavy and stiff.  Are there any trolling rods out there that would provide feel more similar to a spinning rod to pair with the smaller Tekota?   Thanks in advance for your recommendations.  

[VooDoo]

The 8'6" Daiwa ft at Fish USA have nice lite action. I use them for walleye. I have landed salmon on them as well but they are a little flimsy for that. Nice price too

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[ErieBuck]

thanks, will check them out

[gonefishing71]

i'm a big fan of the Okuma blue diamond rods, they're Inexpensive and really built well for the money

https://www.fishusa.com/Okuma-Blue-Diamond-Trolling-Rods-a-Series

 

 

 

[Tail Spin]

I just paired up two of the New Tek 500s for the same purposes with shimano  Talora  2pc 7’0 ultra light down-rigger Model:TLA70UL2A  

 

very nice action in comparison vs theTDRs which I also run.  

[ErieBuck]

I just paired up two of the New Tek 500s for the same purposes with shimano  Talora  2pc 7’0 ultra light down-rigger Model:TLA70UL2A  
 
very nice action in comparison vs theTDRs which I also run.  

Nice, I actually just looked at those today at fish usa — seems to fit that beautiful reel better than a TDR! Let me know how that works out for you por favor!


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[chowder]

Okuma ML GLT rod- nice price point, use them for almost all my walleye presentations except longer cores and 300 walleye copper. For browns setups I have gone to Okuma STS Kokanee rods ( I like em but quality control seems mediocre, give em all a real good bend after you take them out of the plastic bag, send back whatever breaks)

[justtracytrolling]

If you want a great walleye trolling rod go with the Denali 8'6" leadcore rod.  They also have a braid/mono trolling rod and a 12' leadcore rod. There is nothing that compares to this rod in forgiveness and landing walleye. These rods easily handle big fish as well.  I tested the 12' rod tiger musky trolling on rod rod length setbacks at near 3 gps speed and it performed very well on a 45" tiger!   Paired with a tekota and I don't think you can do any better... I have 2 dozen and wouldn't consider using anything else!  If someone wants to demo them contact me.

[chowder]

7 hours ago, justtracytrolling said:

If you want a great walleye trolling rod go with the Denali 8'6" leadcore rod.  They also have a braid/mono trolling rod and a 12' leadcore rod. There is nothing that compares to this rod in forgiveness and landing walleye. These rods easily handle big fish as well.  I tested the 12' rod tiger musky trolling on rod rod length setbacks at near 3 gps speed and it performed very well on a 45" tiger!   Paired with a tekota and I don't think you can do any better... I have 2 dozen and wouldn't consider using anything else!  If someone wants to demo them contact 

Edited June 19, 2021 by chowder

[ErieBuck]

If you want a great walleye trolling rod go with the Denali 8'6" leadcore rod.  They also have a braid/mono trolling rod and a 12' leadcore rod. There is nothing that compares to this rod in forgiveness and landing walleye. These rods easily handle big fish as well.  I tested the 12' rod tiger musky trolling on rod rod length setbacks at near 3 gps speed and it performed very well on a 45" tiger!   Paired with a tekota and I don't think you can do any better... I have 2 dozen and wouldn't consider using anything else!  If someone wants to demo them contact me.

How does the telescopic feature work on the Denali? Any issues with storage/transport?

Early and late season lake trout, steelhead and smallmouth make a more expensive rod worth it for me. I caught 2, 7lb walleye this week and neither was able to pull off the Scotty planer board clip. 4lb sheephead, no problem!

[justtracytrolling]

the rod collapses into the handle so it will store better.  I like the feature for my storage area and have had no issues. 

[minion]

If you can find them the okuma convector rods in 7.5 or 8 ft ml are pretty nice I use them for browns and kings all year


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[Jomat]

On 6/19/2021 at 5:24 PM, ErieBuck said:

How does the telescopic feature work on the Denali? Any issues with storage/transport?

Early and late season lake trout, steelhead and smallmouth make a more expensive rod worth it for me. I caught 2, 7lb walleye this week and neither was able to pull off the Scotty planer board clip. 4lb sheephead, no problem!

Ive also got some of the Denali telescoping leadcore rods and they are sweet and would pair very well with your tekotas….tho much pricier than other options listed.  If you have a rod locker beware tho….they don’t quite fit in the 7’ lockers on my boat even when collapsed.  Not sure how you lake trout fish but I wouldn’t try a telescoping rod on a downrigger….jmo.