Decided that I am going to put a few rod holders on my boat for trolling lakes and rivers focusing on Northerns and Muskie....walleye would be in there too but have never done this before.  What do I need to be looking for in a trolling rod.....length, power?

Could I go with the Shimano TDR 8'6"?  Seems that there are very few if any issues with this and I like the price for something that I will not be using that often but want to give it a shot.

 

Also, I also have a 6'3" heavy action muskie rod that I picked up 7 years ago to toss heavy lures but really don't know what to use it for.....haven't in 3 years at least.

 

Thanks 

 

-Lewi

If it were me I would prefer my rods to be 7' for the majority of uses in a boat, especially trolling.  I'm not familiar with that particular Shimano except to see that it's fairly inexpensive, which would not be a deterrent just to see if you like trolling or not.  I haven't done any freshwater trolling in many years, I'd be concerned about the water depth and vegetation when selecting rod power.  I personally think a 30 lb class rod is more than adequate.

The 8' St Croix Premier glass rod is a pretty popular trolling rod for musky. The TDR that you mentioned is another highly suggested rod.  

 

It's all going to boil down to what you plan on trolling.  Try looking through Musky Hunters forum. That would be your best source of information.

_{I have 10 of those Shimano TDR rods (3 for salmon, 3 for steelhead, and 4 for musky).  I don't troll all that much, but the times I have used these rods, they worked fine.  My only grips would be the weight (which since they are mostly in the holder, this isn't all that detrimental) and that the big musky lures (14"+) seem to really put a bend on these rods.  Other than that, I would say get those rods, get out there, and stick a 50 incher.}