Planning an early August BW trip fishing for smallies and walleye. Would like to bring no more than two rods.

First rod will likely be M/ML spinning rod for eyes when using slip bobbers or jigging. The other rod would (or could) be a baitcaster for heavier applications like trolling deep, casting topwaters, or throwing spinnerbaits or chatterbaits near weeds or the shore. I prefer to go straight braid to topwater lure to help manage buoyancy, but that’s not ideal for deep trolling a crankbait.

I’m open to ideas on that second rod’s line (braid to mono or flouro leader, straight mono, straight flouro, etc.).

Would love to hear your ideas and endorsements for what you would use and why. On the other hand, maybe you recommend just going with two spinning rods. If so, how would I spool for casting topwater/trolling cranks in this scenario?

Thanks, much appreciated!

Braid excels trolling cranks. That is the only time I use it, really.

I like to use braid exclusively on my baitcaster when I bring it. Use it for heavy cranking, top water, and t-rig structure targeting. I like my spinner for jigging or bobber setups with fluro. I usually bring 3 rods and 2 reels. 2 casting rods(one fast action med, one moderate action hvy)and one spinner fast action med.

I love my bait caster, but I quit bringing them to the BW. I just take spinning now as I don't want to have to deal with untangling anything and my bait casters seem to always have at least one issue with a birds nest per trip. Just my two cents.

I like having two rod and reel set ups that are identical. Same rod, same reel, same line. Issue with one, pick up the other and continue fishing. If my spinning rod failed and my backup was a baitcaster, that would suck.

Thanks for this. So then what are you tying on?

Thanks for this. So then what are you tying on?

bobbernumber3: "I like having two rod and reel set ups that are identical. Same rod, same reel, same line. Issue with one, pick up the other and continue fishing. If my spinning rod failed and my backup was a baitcaster, that would suck."

Cheap. Straight. Mono. 8lb.

Roundtripper3416: "Thanks for this. So then what are you tying on?"

Do you ever troll cranks on this setup? Do you ever throw topwaters with this setup?

Roundtripper3416: "

Roundtripper3416: "Thanks for this. So then what are you tying on?"

Do you ever troll cranks on this setup? Do you ever throw topwaters with this setup?
"

Most of my trolling is with keel sinkers and a flutter spoon for lake trout. We spend one day bass fishing each year and throw some topwater plugs. So, yes to trolling and topwater. But most of my fishing is throwing jigs at walleyes.

29" walleye, 43.5" Northern, 34.5" Lake Trout
8lb mono on a spinning rod

Nice fish, bobbernumber3!

Pretty hard to beat the versatility of a spinning reel loaded with 8-10 pound mono on a 7'6" Medium or ML rod. If I know I'm going to be mostly targeting deep summertime lake trout I'll bring a trolling setup with heavy braid and a linecounting reel along as #2, otherwise #2 is a Light or UL with 6# mono. I caught my biggest pike and my biggest lake trout of the summer last year on the light. Steel leaders do just fine on the end of 6# line if you've set the drag properly.

I always bring 2 rods. Wish I could bring more, but just can’t justify the hassle. Braid poundage has little to do with size of fish I expect to catch, it’s mainly what I’ve found throws the best for me on each setup. If I could only bring one, it would definitely be the ML spinning rod.

#1 ML Spinnig - 12lb braid to 8lb flouro leader. Leader is 8ft or longer. Use for jigging and finesse presentations. Also I prefer a spinning rod for jerkbaits and light weight cranks like shad raps.

#2 M or MH bait caster. 30lb braid to 12lb flouro leader. Leader length anywhere from 2ft to 8ft. Usually run a 6in pike leader at the end too. Use for any presentation with good weight to it: chatterbaits, spinners, cranks, spoons, top waters, sinkos, etc.

I usually bring just one rod, a medium 7' Fenwick HMG 4 piece spinning rod. I don't think they make that model anymore. I did get my son a 6'6" Fenwick Eagle medium 3 piece spinning rod that worked great. If i was going to be trolling heavier crankbaits i might consider a heavier baitcast rod. We troll crank baits or spoons between spots but mostly cast. I use braid with good results. If I bring a second rod, it's a flyrod. After breaking a bail on a spinning rod, i bring an extra reel now.

Have a good one,

Plaidwool

I’m a three rod guy. I like having one set up with a plug of choice. One set up with a soft plastic. One for bigger blades. But…fishing is our number one and number two reasons for going.

I stay away from braid on the baitcaster…backlash too difficult to fix for me. And I will always whack the side of the canoe at some point on a cast and have a nest big enough for an eagle.

Us southern boys always seem to need more rods to get the job done. >insert poor humor here< hahaha

Two 7’ ML spinning with size 2000 reel. 15 braid to 8-10lb fluoro leader.
One 6’8 M baitcaster. 12lb co-poly.

I brought two rods on my first trip last September. Will repeat. One 7' medium fast action with 6lbs fluorocarbon for slip bobber and light baits. Other 7' medium heavy with 8 lbs flouro for anything else, cranks and trolling. Anyone else bring way too much fishing tackle? LOL

i usually bring 3 i like to have 1 with a slip sinker set up so when i'm at camp or just getting back to camp i have a bottom set up ready to go #12 or #14 mono as the line will be going in and out of rocky areas. my motto is "keep your line wet good things will happen" my other 2 , love the #15 power pro braid can cast anything a country mile and a stronger braid for trolling.

I typically bring 3 rods. One I leave broke down in a rod case as a backup. I sometimes bring a 3rd reel. All my reels will have 20lb braid with a 6lb diameter. If I want to jig fish, I tie on 8lb mono.

Rods are alway 7ft medium action rods. My reels are spinning reels.

As another guy mentioned, having the same setup for both your rods makes switching a lot easier.

2 rods, 2 spinning reels, and 4 spools of line loaded with both braid and mono, the line weight I use is dependent on season, species, and conditions. One rod is 6’ for jigging, the other is 7’ for trolling and casting.

Right now, I have 2 basically identical setups. 8lb mono on both. I like to be able to set them up for similar applications but a different presentation or depth. If one isn't working, I might switch to the other. When set up for different depths, I'll go back and forth depending on location. This works great when casting while drifting or working a shoreline. If we get too shallow, swap to the shallow or top water lure, if it gets deep again, back to the deeper diver.

Ideally, I would like one of my setups to be light weight for jigging and light baits. The reason I don't is just because I haven't bought one yet. I have my old cheaper setup as my second/backup, and just haven't been able to justify spending the money on a nice fast action smaller reel setup. Maybe now that the kids are a little older I can justify it to fish with them...