i cant add much but the Daiwa wilderness trolling rod is a good choice. if you want to go with a little longer rod check out fishusa.com for the rods. i like rods that have some give with braided line so I go with med/light.

there are a ton of reels to choose from. I use Daiwa sg17lc3b reels because they are small and light. but you don't really need anything any larger on Erie. I have used Daiwa accudepth plus 17 reels and they were still working after a few yrs when I upgraded to the 17lc3b. if you go with Okuma the converter 20 is a great reel to go with. I was using the older Daiwa sg17lca reels on one side of my boat that had passed their useful life. I upgraded to the Okuma coldwater 203 reels. so far I just love the smoothness and the drags on them. and the 203 is plenty reel for Erie. on the Daiwa 17 reels, I went to power handles on them. I could have went with the 27 that are standard on them. but I fish younger people and ladies and the daiwa 17 or okuma 203 or the Okuma convector 20 reels just fit better.