I would like to build both a spinning and a casting rod for my five Minnesota cousins to use on their yearly walleye fishing trip to Canada. Being a west coast trout, yellowtail and tuna kind of guy, I have no idea which rods are best suited for walleye. It is my understanding they troll to locate the fish and then use jigs (and Lindy rigs?) and crawlers to put fish in the boat. I am not concerned with trolling-specific rods and haven’t asked too many questions as this will be a surprise Christmas present. OK, it’s a bribe to get them to invite me. It is understandable this may be difficult to answer without more information regarding desired length, action and such, but any input and advice to get me in the ball park with a proper, AFORDABLE walleye rod will be greatly and graciously appreciated.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

The Batson SP842 or 843 make nice affordable blanks for that type of fishing.
RX6 standard graphite is a very durable material too.
Here is a link;
[www.schneidersrods.com]

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

Ron, thank you for the prompt reply. The rods you suggested are certainly within my price range. I should have mentioned in my original post that, due to traveling, the rods would have to be 2-piece for easier, more compact transporting. A tip-over-butt is certainly desired and inherently better over having to fabricate CF or FG sleeves. Do you offer similar, 2-piece rods?

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

The 2 pc blank that comes to mind, that is also a world class walleye blank, is pretty small. The St. Croix 2S60MLF2 is a great pick. I wouldn't think of building a casting rod for walleye as they fish them in Canada. The jig weights are pretty light, 1/8 oz. is pretty popular.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2016 08:31PM by Spencer Phipps.

You may want to look at American tackles travel series of blanks . 3 piece blanks at a very competitive price. I would look at AT841-3 or the AT842-3 with my preference being the 842

Rolly Beenen
Rovic Custom Rods

As a gift each of my 3 sons spent a weekend at our home building their own rods. We used the SJ782-2-MHX and they are quite happy with them!

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

St. Croix lives walleye, are built in walleye country, their action and power is nothing like the Batson blanks recommended. Give them a call for a great recommendation. The 6 ft. ML jig spinning rod is the most important walleye rod in your arsenal.

The MHX SJ 782-2 is a very good blank for the money, I have built them for myself and others and everyone has been quite happy with them.
Norm
PS - Should mention these rods were not used as walleye rods, but rather as light bass spinning and casting rods and also for specked sea trout. We do not have walleye here in the South, but I suspect they should work for walleye.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2016 09:31PM by Norman Miller.

A sincere thanks to all responding to assist someone clueless regarding walleye rods. I sincerely appreciate your input and wisdom. One thing I have noticed throughout the replies is a preference toward somewhat shorter rods, most in the 6ft range. While certainly not disputing but rather eager to learn, does anyone care to elaborate?

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Mark,
I am in the middle of Walleye country and generally build only walleye rods.

By far, the most popular rod is a 6'6" medium light rod built on a light sensitive blank.

For value, I find it tough to beat the Batson blanks.

But, no question about it, the St. Croix blanks are all very good as well. For my personal rods, I like the St. Croix SCV or SCVI rods. They are more expensive, but really let you have great results on the water.

The Batson Immortal make a really great walleye rod. For jigging I prefer to build on the Immortal 7'2" blank that I trim from the butt down to 6'6" or 6'8" for a really great all round walleye spinning rod.

[www.rainshadowrodblanks.com]

or for a lower priced blank the Batson ISP842F makes a very good 2 piece rod:

[www.rainshadowrodblanks.com]

However, you will find that there is a difference between the Rx7 blanks and the Immortal blanks with a very significant nod to the Immortal blanks for the better all round rod.

Good luck

Shorter rods are inherently lighter, better balanced, and more sensitive. Walleye aren't bass, the presentations are done with smaller, lighter exposed hooks, lighter sided Summer steelhead sized stuff for us west coasters. Walleye aren't known for being a hard fighting fish and the dinks we catch all day in the Columbia River are the average sized shield lake walleye. Add fins to the average stick you pull off the bottom during summer flows and you have a walleye.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2016 10:17AM by Spencer Phipps.

Mark,
The SB781-3 might be the one then.
Or, in a lighter power and more moderate action, the SP781-2.
They are both on this page;
[www.schneidersrods.com]

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

For Canadian walleye fishing I prefer longer rods (7-7.5') and 2-piece rods. The length gets the bait further from the boat while trolling and it's much easier to travel with 2 piece rods. I've been using the MHX blanks with lots of success this past summer while on a fly-in trip. Build for sensitivity as walleye nibble rather than bite. A drop shot blank or 2 power blank works great for jigging while a heavier rod may be needed for trolling especially if you are using 1oz+ bottom bouncers to get the bait down to the bottom.

I have had good results with the Rod Geeks blanks. In the travel series, c266mlf4, c266mf4 and c266mh4. My personal preference is the C266MLF or C266MF, but the guide for when I fish walleye uses a c266MH, and he out fishes me :) In the non-travel, but multi-piece, I like the C266MLF2 and C266MF2. 7 footers as well, C70MLF2 and C70MF2.

Chris

Chris Richer
Iroquois ON

The original poster says that the "affordable" rods are to be used on their annual trip to Canada. Personally, I wouldn't want too light a rod. The SJ782-2-MHX is long enough for rigging and short enough for vertical jigging. And when the snakes bite it has enough power to give you a chance.

My sons used theirs on Lake of the Woods and in the Boundary Waters. It's a great blank for $54 retail!

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2016 01:17PM by Chuck Mills.

You should be plenty confused by now. For the jigging, it is done vertically or close to that, with very light jigs, generally. The walleye bite is often not aggressive, and they don't like to feel resistance when they bite. This leads to a light tip action. It can quickly firm up, but you don't want anything powerful for the tip. OK, the guide did fine with a heavier rod, but he's a pro. Most often the water is not clogged with weeds, most often the jigging is done over gravel or rocks, so you don't need even a medium power, in my opinion. A medium light is fine, but be sure to keep the light, soft, tip in mind. Multiple pieces complicates the issue. If you can find a St Croix med light multiple piece rod, don't worry about the length, just do it.

Michael,
x10
When fishing in Canada for walleyes - I always have a medium light and a medium action rod - of a 6 1/2 foot length in the boat.
For shallow fishing I generally use the medium light rod. For deeper fishing or vertically jigging, I will have the medium action on hand in case I find that I need it.

However, my go to rod is always the medium light rod - unless I find that it is a problem.

Yes, you can land 20 lb northern's with a medium light rod if one happens on your bait. When you catch a fish that is overloading the rod, just point the rod straight toward the fish and use the reel to land the fish, as well as your arms.

When this happens you are essentially hand lining the fish - but you will never damage a light action rod that is under powered for the fish being caught.

Had a friend that was ice fishing with a noodle stick crappie rod with 4 lb line and he brought a 20 lb sturgeon through the hole in the ice. It took him two hours to get the fish up, but it worked. Just pointed the rod straight down the hole and kept enough pressure on the fish until the fish swam up to the hole where he could gaff the fish through the hole.

Take care

Thank you to all for the numerous responses with invaluable information. I sincerely appreciate all of you taking the time to help me. Most of the suggestions were quite consistent and I can now feel comfortable purchasing a suitable walleye blank for my cousins. I’m just waiting for it all to digest.
YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.