wilderness or tdrs?

[Line Dancin]

I am looking for two new rods. They are going to be for walleye fishing but pulling slide diver lite bites on braid. They are not going to be salmon rods so i am not looking for an overly expensive rod. they'll get maybe two months of use on the weekends. My salmon braids are on taloras. I am looking at 8 6 MH. which would be the better rod to use a wilderness or a tdr. i can get the wilderness for 15 ea and the tdrs are about 30 ea. they are both glass rods. but which is the better for what i want to do with them for the money and longevity.

[RedRider]

I like the tdr's but my .02 the mh is a bit stiff

[Pioneer]

TDR are nice

[SeaCatMich]

Personally either rod in a 8.5' MH action is too heavy for walleye... even if using divers. I would go with medium action. As for the two different lines of rods, I have had the TDRs in the past and they are nice and very durable. The Wilderness rods seem okay but I just don't like them... it may be the color I'm not thrilled with or just that I think you get what you pay for and they are too cheap to be worth buying.

If you're going to the Flint Steelheaders show, Franks Great Outdoors always seems to have some good buys on rods and might be well worth waiting to see. Another real good source and worth at least one trip a year is to go up to Northwoods in Pinconning -- always lots of good rods at good prices in bulk.

[Line Dancin]

you guys think a med is heavy enough for pulling slide divers?

Ryan i was going to wait till the GR show when franks is there they had the wilderness rods the cheapest. Other wise i was going to get the tdrs from outdoorsman. I will be there all four days running the MUCC booth.

[Paulywood]

I don't like the Wilderness rods because they don't bend smooth. Just a preference but it drives me nuts. I have TDR's for leadcore and braid divers and like them.

[1mainiac]

I have the Wilderness in 8'6" MH and yes I agree too heavy Mag divers would be ok with them. The TDR's are a better rod but for the money the Wilderness rods have stacked a lot of fish in my coolers over the years and I have never broken one. Get the medium or even the ML my MH rods with a 2 color are like pool cues with eyelets. I bought a bunch of the Wilderness rods 7 years ago for 14 bucks ea and matched them with a bunch of Madga 45 reels. They were dirt cheap I have 8 of them and they all still work reels and all. However Since I started buying better gear they don't see much time in the rod holders any more.

[Leafybug]

I usually buy fairly cheap rods for walleye trolling. I don't think I've ever caught one that really fights good enough to justify an expensive rod. Actually, all my rigger rods are wilderness too. I haven't broke one yet, but I have noticed the reel seats and threads on the lock nut seem to be exceptionally cheap and I've been thinking of starting an upgrade for both salmon and walleye setups. Franks in Linwood and at shows, will in my opinion, be your best bet, those guys are great! Good luck.

[SteelEyes]

I've never used the Wilderness rods, but I do use the TDRs and I primarily walleye fish. The TDRs work just fine for me. I have some MH that I use for my big dipsey divers, but once they trip the rod is too stiff to leave much fun in bringing in the fish, to stiff for walleye. I think you would be better off with a Medium action.

[mattmishler]

I know of a few of charters that use the wilderness rods for their spring browns rods. They use them for a month every year and that's only at the max of 5-8 trips. If they have a double purpose, personally I would get TDRs, if not, wilderness would be fine personally.

[picman]

As an offshoot to the original question, would the M action also be good for spring browns and walleyes on inline boards?

[Line Dancin]

Yes when we used to pull inlines we used 7 ft m shimano fx rods. Now i have 8 ft ml for my big boards. I wanted 7 ft but got such a good deal on the 8s i couldnt pass them up.

[Shark Attack]

I use 8' med Tdr's for pulling inline boards and some old Daiwa black widows 8' med for #1 braid slide diver with stnd ring and they pull just fine. I agree that the MH Wilderness are stiffer than you'd want on Erie for eye's. I have the Wilderness MH 8'6" for wire and 9'6" for braid slide diver for salmon. They are definately stout rods and I'm not sure you would know a walleye was on. I personally would try the wilderness M for the $ I dont think you can beat them.

Aaron, how soon before you will be ready to go?

Ice is clearing out and hope to be in Brest Bay area next wknd pulling DHJ12's Hope to report soon. PM me you're # when you get a chance. Washed my phone and lost most contacts.

Thanks, Nick

[Line Dancin]

I use 8' med Tdr's for pulling inline boards and some old Daiwa black widows 8' med for #1 braid slide diver with stnd ring and they pull just fine. I agree that the MH Wilderness are stiffer than you'd want on Erie for eye's. I have the Wilderness MH 8'6" for wire and 9'6" for braid slide diver for salmon. They are definately stout rods and I'm not sure you would know a walleye was on. I personally would try the wilderness M for the $ I dont think you can beat them.

Aaron, how soon before you will be ready to go?

Ice is clearing out and hope to be in Brest Bay area next wknd pulling DHJ12's Hope to report soon. PM me you're # when you get a chance. Washed my phone and lost most contacts.

Thanks, Nick

I am looking at moving to rose harbor marina this season because of the low water. I know i will be in the slip the last weekend in april. and there through the second week in july. Hopefully we'll be down there before then. just wont be able to get in the slip as they are planning on dredging the marina the second and third weeks of april. I am pming my cell to you.

[SeaCatMich]

...Ryan i was going to wait till the GR show when franks is there they had the wilderness rods the cheapest. Other wise i was going to get the tdrs from outdoorsman. I will be there all four days running the MUCC booth.

It has been a couple of years since I have gone to the GR show. Didn't realize that Frank's had started going to that one too. For you, that's a lot closer than Birch Run/Flint... even though BR/Flint is a great show too.

Another low priced rod that might be worth considering is the Okuma Classic Pro 8 or 8.5' medium action. Lots of guides and a no nonsense design. I don't have them personally, but do know quite a few people that swear by them. At around $20-22 each I think they are a good buy.