Dipsy Divers and Dipsy Diver Rods

[spinnerspooner]

I have not yet trolled with Dipsy Divers but have bought a few used ones and would like to try them out next spring. Can someone tell me what constitutes a "Dipsy Diver Rod" ? I have so many, many fishing rods that I hate to have to go out and buy more sticks if the ones I have will suffice. It's understandable that the way a Dipsy is designed to dive while trolling that a little more force will be applied to the rod-tip, that's obvious.

I have 3 different rod types that I use while trolling. They are all heavy duty and cheap and have caught brown trout, lake trout and steelhead in L Erie and L Ontario while trolling with planar boards:

1. the Eagle Claw Star-Fire SF403-10 10' long, 20-30 lb line weight, marked "Diver/Trolling"

2. the Eagle Claw Water Eagle WE 504 8' long 10-25 lb line weight, Lure 1/2-3 oz.

3. the Shakespeare Ugly Stick CAL-1101 7' long 10-25 lb line weight, Action: Medium Heavy.

The Eagle Claws I'm pretty sure are fiberglass. Tips quite flexible. Both are 2-piece rods and the butt-end above the grips are quite substantial.

The Ugly Stick is a 1-piece rod, alot stiffer tips but with all the rugged characteristics that Ugly Sticks are famous for. I think it is the same kind of fiberglass-graphite hybrid as most Ugly Sticks.

All 3 rods are equipped with Penn 320GTI or 320GT2 reels usually with 25-30 lb test.

Which of these would be best suited for running Dipsy's ?

[traveling man]

Number 1 would be ok for pulling dipsies. I perfer a shorter rod than 10 ft but a lot of guys use rods in that length.

[BAZOOKAJOE]

I run my dipseys with wire line on the 10 ft starfires.

[bladenbullet]

a dipsy going off on wire line is a real thrill...i used to run em off the outriggers on the wire and it sounded like the side of the boat was gonna rip off when one hit...

the eagle claw 10' is the one you want for them...usually a pretty stout rod that can handle the hard pull of a dipsy in the water and the harsh release...

[chowder]

Something to remember is that the longer the fishing rod the more leverage you give to the fish and the harder it is to weave the rod thru other rigs that might get enmeshed with it. A 7' rod will work fine even with mag size dipsy divers and so will a 10' rod.

The important part of a wire diver combo is that entire setup has enough flex,elasticity, and overall give to accommodate the savage hit and instantaneous shock associated with a diver strike without allowing the fish to either gain slack line and shake the hooks or tear them out. You need a rod/reel/drag combo that will allow you to hook up,fight and finally control and lift that diver fish into the net's range. Needless to say some trial and error with your own specific equipment and boat situation will ultimately produce a happy outcome- just keep the whole package in mind.-Andy

[Skippers Trophy 01]

Finally ditched my roller tip after a big King destroyed it, and went with Twilli tips. Shoulda done that a long time ago, they work great. If your going with wire, its the way to go.