# 5 foot trolling rods



## nodakoutdoors.com

I picked up a pair of 5 foot trolling rods this spring and they are nothing short of sweet. They were some IM7 blanks at Scheels, I think around $60 if I remember right. Not only are they great for spreading out the lines without boards...they are really fun to catch fish on. I pulled up a 25" on Sunday on one and it was like fighting a fish on a spinning rod.

Just curious if anyone has used shorties and if you like them or not? Some people I talk to are skeptical but kind of like the folbe rod holders...once you start using them you can't fish without them.


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## Backwater Eddy

The *Jason Mitchell Elite Series #JMST50LC* is the original "Shorty", and in my opinion a fine stick for this application. I would highly recommend it.

The second key part to this trolling system is the *Jason Mitchell Elite Series #JMST14M*, this is a 14' 2-piece reach out and touch some walleye rod. It eliminates the need to run trolling boards in many situations and slips you into fish that often spook wide around the boat.

Jason has hit some home runs on his rod line. Be it trolling rods, baitcasting cranks, or jigging spinning rods, they are superior quality and design functional rods from start to finish.


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## nodakoutdoors.com

I used 14 footers the other week and I'll admit, I didn't care for them much. I used to own 10 footers and sold them too. It's just too awkward, in my opinion, to fish. Either you're standing at the front of the boat to net or you have to lift and swing into the boat....either way, not my thing. But the guy I was fishing with swears by them so I guess to each their own.


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## scottnd

With two people fishing in ND I use two 12' downrigger rods with 12lb power pro to the side and two 5' lead core out the back. The lead gets them down at a sharper angle and keeps them tangle free with the side lines. As far as the netting goes use this: Model: 3805 Frabill Tru-Trax Landing Net and then it isn't so bad with the long rods.


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## Traxion

I use 9.5' rods for my outside rods and the Scheels 5' shorty rods for the inside rods. The shorty rods are nice. I like the spread I have on my lines with this setup. Only thing I dislike is the lack of leverage you have over a fish. Seldom is it needed, but if for some reason the fish gets over another line you really can't give turn them easily like you can with a larger rod. I landed a nice fat 26" this last weekend on the shorty, it was a good fight.

Overall, I really like them. I want to try the 5' shorty that Cabelas came out with this year to see how it compares to the Scheels rod. I think they run about $35.


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## Traxion

Cabelas Shorty rods are on sale for $20-

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... ISO-8859-1


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## scottnd

Traxion said:


> Cabelas Shorty rods are on sale for $20-
> 
> http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... ISO-8859-1


I'm in for two! Thanks for the tip.


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## ruger1

I just looked at the Jason Mitchell page. His 5' shorties are only $50. I think I'd spend the extra $30 for a Jason Mitchell rod over the questionable quality of the cabelas rod. I read the reviews of the Cabela's depthmaster rods.


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## scottnd

ruger1 said:


> I just looked at the Jason Mitchell page. His 5' shorties are only $50. I think I'd spend the extra $30 for a Jason Mitchell rod over the questionable quality of the cabelas rod. I read the reviews of the Cabela's depthmaster rods.


Actually my 12' side rods were $15 a piece from the bargain cave and I've caught several hundred eyes and pike with them. For trolling I don't need anything but fiberglass.

Now my riggin and jiggin is a whole nother story. I NEED to feel those.


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## Traxion

Finally handled the 5' Cabelas rods. I actually like the action much better than my Scheels 5' rods. I picked up 2.


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## JIMC_ND

Backwater Eddy said:


> The *Jason Mitchell Elite Series #JMST50LC* is the original "Shorty", and in my opinion a fine stick for this application.
> 
> WHOA! That caught my attention! :eyeroll:
> 
> *For those of you who may not know, the 5' "Shorty" trolling rod was my original idea and creation.* I worked with a custom rod maker to come up with the original prototypes over 10 years ago, and then tweaked those rods several times to get them right. I spent a lot of time and resources developing these rods, and promoting the "long and short rod" trolling system.
> 
> Scheels brought my "Shorty" rod to a wider market than I could, and I sure appreciate all of you anglers who have purchased these rods from Scheels in the past, and all of your positive comments. The first commercially available short rod or "Shorty" as we called it was the *5' Scheels Pro Classic (PC-501LC)*. It's a fun rod to fish with!
> 
> I'm getting a chuckle out of all these "Shorty" knock-offs. I guess imitation _is_ the sincerest form of flattery, and it appears I've created an industry  Good ideas get copied, that's the nature of this business.
> 
> The other guys have all missed one key feature though, their blanks are all tubular from what I've seen. Mine is not, and for very good reasons. The Scheels Shorty is just about unbreakable. I broke plenty of prototype tubular blanks when I was developing these rods, and eventually abandoned them because there was no advantage in using them for a rod this short.
> 
> Designing a really good, short fishing rod for pulling leadcore or fishing with FireLine is a tricky business because of the properties of these lines. Leadcore is bulky and heavy, so the rod must be strong enough to deal with the extra weight and towing resistance of the line. Yet, both leadcore line and FireLine basically have no stretch, so the rod must have a flexible tip for dealing with hard fighting fish close to the boat. I've got pictures of stripers over 30 pounds and musky over 40 pounds landed on my rods. The Scheels Shorty is very tough and will get the job done on big fish!
> 
> It's not my intention to criticize other companies products here, or criticize anyone who has expressed an opinion on this topic. I'm just setting the record straight on the development and marketing of my original creation- the "Shorty" trolling rod.
> 
> :beer:
> 
> Jim Carroll NPAA #13


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## Maverick

You did one hell of a job Jim.......IMPO!

I love the shorty's!


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## Backwater Eddy

Jim..my bad..I stand corrected and apologize for the misleading information...I was under the impression that the JM rods were the first out...again...my bad.

I know the cut throat nature of the fishing tackle market, all too well, and can understand your history with the rods well.

Well done on a very solid systems specific rod. As you said, imitation often is the most common form of flattery..especially in the sporting world. 

As for the Scheel's trolling rods, the new rods I checked out impress me greatly. The slip stix they came out with have a lot of appeal to me in the way I fish and offer some good value and convenience.


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## Traxion

Just an update. I have ran the Scheels and Cabelas rods side by side. Finally put my lead reels on the Scheels rods and PowerPro reels on the Cabelas rods. I felt the Scheels rods showed the action of the smaller cranks on leadcore a bit better than the Cabelas rods. Otherwise, they seem similar. My Scheels rods have held up great for 2 years, we will see how the Cabelas rods work out.


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