Dipsey Diver - Need Rod Recommendation!!!

[TyeeTanic]

I tried a size 1 and size 3 dipsey diver for the first time tonight - hooked into a steelhead within 10 mins of trolling at 60 - 70 ft.

Anyhow, I could not believe the force the dipsey diver was putting on my rods!!! My medium action 6 foot rods were almost a full circle!!! One of my rods fibreglass actually started splitting at the top (thin) lenght.

I have 40lb braid as a backing line on abu garcia reels, and 20lb floro as a lead.

What the heck size and spec of rod would you recommend????

[tangler]

For salmon, the rods we run range from 7 to 12 feet, i use 8's. They have a faster action meaning the mid to tip flexes more than the base. They have some serius backbone too. Also most guys run 30# wire with the divers, this requires super hardened guides so the rods are specific application rods. If you think it pulls hard now, wait till you see a king smoke it. I've seen guys not be able to get them out of the rodholder.

[chowder]

You got 2 things that a dipsy rod needs to be able to do; 1.) It's got to have backbone & strength to handle normal loading from the diver & also be able to work in and then lift a big fish in tight quarters to the net man. 2.) At the same time this rod needs to have fast action so it can respond to the tremendous surge of force that is created by a savage hit and furious head shake following the hit without tearing the hook from the fish's mouth due to the lack of 'give' in either superbraid or wire. I use the Shimano Talora 7' downrigger rod a lot of the time (7' TLAF 70M) . I run only Mag divers (less wire out= less problems all the way around) and this rod will handle a nasty King too, remember the longer the rod the more advantage you give the fish cuz it's like giving the fish a wrench with a longer handle! When I'm running 4 riggers, and or when the diver bite is really hot I will usually use a pair of Talora 8' roller rods (8' TLA80 MRG2).

Ask these guy's about these rods, they helped design them.http://www.howiestackle.com/index.php?categoryID=10

I do believe that if you fish out of a wide beamed large boat with an experienced crew then diver rod choice is far less critical than in a small boat w/ a greener crew situation. A hot King on wire shooting thru the maze of rods tightly packed on a little boat can humble you in a hurry and the right rod will really help give you the leverage and maneuverability to 'close the deal'. -Andy

[Big Dave]

Fish Dr. 7' roller rods for me . Much easier to handle than the others, flat out whup a king.

[Jammer]

I use 9'6" Daiwa Heartlands and 8' Shimano TDR MH. You can run both off one side.

They're inexpensize ( $30-40 range ) and definitely get the job done.

JAM

[dewey123]

I'm with jammer. I use 9'6" diawa heartlands mh action with power pro. If you want to use wire you can put a twilly tip on or go with a roller rod. I never ran roller rods but am looking at the okuma blue diamond roller rods they seem affordable

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[TyeeTanic]

Okay - well you guys just cost me more money!! Haha, not too much.

I ended up buying 2 Rapala Magnum 2 Dipsey Trolling Rods 8 ft, Medium to Heavy Action. The rods came with some heavy duty Rapala baitcast reels with built in counters and plastic line on it. The plastic line will need to come off.

Now I have to take all my braid off my Abu Garcia's and put them onto the Rapala's before fishing tomorrow morning. I want to put 12 lb floro on the Abu's and keep that rod set for bass fishing or something.

I run a small power boat 20 foot Tahoe, so the most I'm comfortable with is putting 3 lines in the water. I like the fact that I can push my two side lines out with the swivel on the dipsey - cool concept!!

I honestly can't wait for tomorrow morning - I'm trusting there will be some good action on the North Shore!!!

Have fun guys, tight lines...

[TyeeTanic]

Oh, by the way - I forgot to mention Canadian Tire has the 8ft Rapala rod and reel (w/ counters) combos on special right now - they are normally $100 and now marked down to $50 or so - which is why I took two!!

[Fish Hunter]

We use 10' Shakespear Ugly Stick Dipsy Rods/Okuma reels with Power Pro braid.

The have no problem handeling those fish.

[bluewater]

I got some 10' okuma blue diamond medium heavy dipsy rods and I love them, I highly recommend them. They have a fairly sensitive tip that gets stiffer the closer you get to the handle, they have a fiberglass core with a carbon fiber sleeve.