anders Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Looking for a decent bottom bouncing rod to pair up with a bait caster for walters. Anybody have any suggestions as to what type of rod. Leaving the Gloomis price tags out of the equation. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raf Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 i would think any 7' mh you'd also use for bass & pike would be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troutologist Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 I like longer rods. The new St Croix EYECON rods are pretty sweet, I will be using the 8'models this year. Last year I used 8'6M St Croix Wild River. The long rods, allow more quick up/down depth control without letting out more line. They also allow you to use long leaders and easily land fish. Plus they add spread to your rig and will easily pull double duty for trolling cranks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickingfrog Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Lots of brands now have technique specific rods and at different price points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fang Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 definitely look at the Eyecons. My bottom bouncer rod for the last several years has been a BPS Extreme Flipping stick 10-20lb MH action. Handles right up to 2 ounce easily. Based on other store flyers the BPS Spring sale looks like they might have the Extreme's on sale for $69. Look at the New York store flyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gman Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 For something a little more budget minded which would allow you to have several for the various techniques I would also recommend taking a look at the new Okuma Dead Eye series walleye rods that are being introduced this spring, 23 rods in the new series. Hope this helps. Cheers G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrison Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) For something a little more budget minded which would allow you to have several for the various techniques I would also recommend taking a look at the new Okuma Dead Eye series walleye rods that are being introduced this spring, 23 rods in the new series. Hope this helps. Cheers G. x2 very impressed with these rods. There are two specific bottom bounce rods, one is 7'10 the other 8'6 both telescopic I think. Both 3/4 oz to 3oz. About $100 bucks or so. Edited February 22, 2012 by Harrison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiel Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 I like longer rods. The new St Croix EYECON rods are pretty sweet, I will be using the 8'models this year. Last year I used 8'6M St Croix Wild River. The long rods, allow more quick up/down depth control without letting out more line. They also allow you to use long leaders and easily land fish. Plus they add spread to your rig and will easily pull double duty for trolling cranks. Couldn't agree more Jay. One of my fave rods for bottom bouncing eyes is an 8' 6" Berkley Series One Steelhead rod (bait caster) that I modified to 8' 2" (shortened the rear grip many years ago). A medium action rod, rated for 8-12lb, soft enough in the tip to know what's going on down below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troutologist Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Couldn't agree more Jay. One of my fave rods for bottom bouncing eyes is an 8' 6" Berkley Series one Steelhead rod (bait caster) that I modified to 8' 2" (shortened the rear grip many years ago). A medium action rod, rated for 8-12lb, soft enough in the tip to know what's going on down below. Spiel, I use braid as a mainline for bouncers and cranks and find that alot of the "walleye" rods don't offer enough flex to prevent the hooks from ripping out. The Eyecons have this figured out better I feel. With braid I think there still needs to be alot of reworking of rod action/power. Edited February 22, 2012 by Jay Hamilton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiel Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Spiel, I use braid as a mainline for bouncers and cranks and find that alot of the "walleye" rods don't offer enough flex to prevent the hooks from ripping out. The Eyecons have this figured out better I feel. With braid I think there still needs to be alot of reworking of rod action/power. I'm running some old Fireline on mine Jay, 6lb diameter if I remember right on a Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 5 (nice reel!), plus mono at the working end, also doubles as a great set up for flat lining steel! Always run it in free spool with thumb on when bottom bouncing walleye, the extra length and medium action are an asset for dragging bottom rigs, soft enough in the tip to drop back on hits without missing 'em, release thumb pressure for a few seconds, lock the spool and set the hook. It's also a great rod for trolling walleye divers and what not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMc Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 St Croix ECC70MHM would be my first choice with the Okuma DE-CBR-710M-T bringing in a close second, you should have no trouble finding them between $100 and $150 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NANUK Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I have been using a 7' BPS Walleye Angler, Signature Series bottom bouncer rod for a few years and really like it, they come in different size/lengths, I like to use it with Quantum Accurist PT reel, the flipping switch is a handy feature to drop the bouncer when trolling over quick changing depths. I think those rods retail for around $80 these days, but they do go on sale every year. Its an excellent rod for throwing crank baits as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDunn Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) .... replied thinking your looking for a bouncing rod for steelhead! Ignore this! LOL TDunn Edited February 23, 2012 by TDunn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckrb2007 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I love the Eyecon I got last year. I paired it with a Pflueger Supreme reel and it is one of my fav set-ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krixxer Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I use a one pc 7tf MH BSP Carbon Black. For bottom bouncing it's all about feel and this rod is my best. I can feel the blade thump of a #1 mepps 50 feet out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I love the idea of using a longer rod to keep your presentations spread out when you're running multiple rods, and for raising/lowering your bouncer. Makes total sense. The standard used by many seems to be a med heavy baitcaster and a light reel with a flipping switch. I run spinner rigs all the time, usually in 20' of water or less. Speaking in generalities, I've gotten away from the med/hvy baitcasters unless I'm fishing water 30' or deeper. I run braid now on all my reels and find a rod rated somewhere in the range of 6-12lb's works best for me with the lighter bouncers. Mind you a rod with a fast action in the bottom 2/3 and a softish tip. Many times the fish just mouth the worm and I find myself dropping back to them to induce a hit. The softer tip gives me a couple of extra seconds. Plus as Jay mentioned the softer rod gives you more of a cushion when you're running braid. I know it's not a cheap rod and not what you're looking for, but the St. Croix Legend Elite in the 4-10lb rating is a remarkable rod for this application. I recently had a 7' version built and it's going to be killer for the way I fish. Super light and sensitive, tons of power in the bottom, fast overall action with a nice soft sensitive tip. I've yet to look at the Eyecon rods but based on the feedback here I will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scugpg Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 They also make a legend tournament version exactly for that purpose. Does anyone know if the eyecon or LT can hold a trolling reel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMc Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 They also make a legend tournament version exactly for that purpose. Does anyone know if the eyecon or LT can hold a trolling reel? i wont know 100% till mid april but i doubt it. The eyecon line has a series of trolling rods though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12footspringbok Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Great topic thanks for starting it anders! I'm glad to read I'm not the only one crazy enough to try a longer steelhead rod for walleyes. I brought my 9' steelhead casting rod up north last fall to fish the afternoons while up hunting on the french. My friends thought I was crazy, but the longer rod really worked well for the deep points we were fishing. I'm going to be looking for something in the 8' range but not quite as heavy for my spring trip up north. Sound like I'll have to check out some of the rods mentioned here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anders Posted February 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 thanks for all the info, lots to think about and look at. Definitly going to look at the croix's. Looking forward to to the soft water! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scugpg Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 i wont know 100% till mid april but i doubt it. The eyecon line has a series of trolling rods though. They look to have the same line/weight rating as the eyecons so hopefully at least one of them can handle something like a convector/tekota etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMc Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 They look to have the same line/weight rating as the eyecons so hopefully at least one of them can handle something like a convector/tekota etc. the trolling eyecon rods have a reel seat that can handle the larger reels, and the handles are different. the reel seat on the bounce and troll model is made for the low profile bait casters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troutologist Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Yup...just got my 8' Eyecons today. My Diawa LC 27 and 47 both fit the handle fine. I'm pretty fired up about trolling bouncers now, only another month of icefishing, a month of pike and crappie, then a month of rigging in the way!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubleheader Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) I am a huge proponent of soft rods when running bouncers. Many many times walleyes will drop a bait when they feel resistence, I've seen it time and time again where a soft tipped rod will outfish a fast action rod 3 to 1. The problem is it does take a little bit of skill as feeling the bottom is more difficult. I've used everything from steelhead rods to noodle rods, and my rod of choice now is the dumb 7' WhuppnStick from Cabelas for about $25.00/rod in a med action. Match this up with 8lb braided line and a 1 oz bb and you can easily get down to 20' @ speed up to 1.2 mph. At home I usally run 6 rods, 3/person. I run two on planer boards, use two 9' noodle rods, and 2 of these Whuppn sticks inboard, but when in Ontario I run the Whuppn Stiks amost exclusively. BTW, in short water I shelve the braid in favor of mono, and use in line weight. Edited February 23, 2012 by doubleheader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scugpg Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 I took a look at the 7' eyeconn bouncer rods today. For 3oz rated it seems pretty flexible. Anyone have experience with this rod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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