Steelhead rod for walleyes

[curleytail]

Hey Ty, a while back you posted that you got a St. Croix Steelhead rod for throwing Rapalas. I was wondering what length you got and how it's been working for the Rapalas. Is it fast/stiff enough in the tip to snap weeds off the bait if you need to, or impart some twitches into Husky Jerks?

I would like something that casts Rapalas a little better than my 6'6" Bionic Blade, and don't know if a 7' rod with moderate tip would be much better than what I have, or if I should go to 7'6" or even longer. I wondered about steelhead rods too... I imagine they really fling Husky Jerks and Shad Raps.

curleytail

[Ty Sennett]

I bought the 8'6" med Avid steelhead series rod. I flat out love it for most applications for walleye crankbaits. Some of the really light crankbaits are tough in the wind but the larger cranks for walleyes are a blast. It's so easy to whip them out there. It loads a lot different than a casting rod normally does. You feel like you are going to hook the side of the boat on a cast. Also, if you plan on rip twitching husky jerks it might not be the rod for you but for slow pulling husky jerks it is fine. It is soft so you can't get the hard twitches like a standard baitcasting rod. For throwing beetle spins it is insanely fun. I caught a bunch of bass on it and about half the walleye for the year so far. It's fun to use.

Pair it up with a Pflueger President wide spool or a Curado 200e and you'll have a blast.

The guy I had out this weekend used it a little and is going to buy one.

[curleytail]

Thanks Ty! I imagine that you can get some great distance with that rod. I'm a little surprised that other fisherman/rod companies haven't started going to longer rods with more regularity since the musky guys have shown many of the benefits of fishing with 8+ foot long rods.

curleytail

[Ty Sennett]

I agree. Rachel threw rattle traps with it all weekend and loved it. That thing can really whip them out there. For the record not one backlash either. I can't say the same for my performance.