Choosing a king rigger rod

[Mayb4]

Hey guys I'm trying to put together a couple new 30lb rigger flasher meat rig rods. I have 2 daiwa great lakes 8'6" mediums 12-20 rods but I'm wondering if they may be a little lacking in power and beef to not get beat bad by 20lbers. Does anyone have experience using this rod? 

I also have a few accudepth rods. 2 are the med heavy 15-25s but they feel pretty cheap and I'm anticipating them breaking. Please let me know your input or ideas on what I should do. Thanks

[shawn393]

I like a flexible rod for riggers.you can load them up without the line pulling out of the release 

[Legacy]

8 hours ago, Mayb4 said:

Hey guys I'm trying to put together a couple new 30lb rigger flasher meat rig rods. I have 2 daiwa great lakes 8'6" mediums 12-20 rods but I'm wondering if they may be a little lacking in power and beef to not get beat bad by 20lbers. Does anyone have experience using this rod? 

I also have a few accudepth rods. 2 are the med heavy 15-25s but they feel pretty cheap and I'm anticipating them breaking. Please let me know your input or ideas on what I should do. Thanks

 

Im using the Okuma White Diamond (model # WD-DR-862M). They are 8'6" and medium action. Great rod for heavy mono and flasher fishing.

[Gator]

Rigger rods tend to be tough, to stand up to abuse and being constantly bent over on the riggers. That's why we use glass rather than carbon blanks. IMHO, you don't need a high-priced rod to whup a king. I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer short 7' rigger rods; I find that they're easier to handle, Kids have an easier time with them, too, and I've never had an issue with getting them around other rods or equipment in the spread. We use Shimano Talora TLAF70M for all of our downrigger applications. In the past, we've used a variety of different rods, generally 8 to 8 1/2 foot medium to medium-heavy, including the Daiwa great lakes model you mentioned, and honestly I can't say that I've ever felt a need to go bigger or beefier. In fact, I much prefer fighting fish off the riggers on the short rods than the 9' Dipsy rig. My 2 cents is to save your money and use what you have, unless you're just itching for a change.

[Mayb4]

1 hour ago, Legacy said:

 

Im using the Okuma White Diamond (model # WD-DR-862M). They are 8'6" and medium action. Great rod for heavy mono and flasher fishing.

i have those rods also. currently using them for chinook divers. i noticed they were a little softer also

1 hour ago, Gator said:

Rigger rods tend to be tough, to stand up to abuse and being constantly bent over on the riggers. That's why we use glass rather than carbon blanks. IMHO, you don't need a high-priced rod to whup a king. I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer short 7' rigger rods; I find that they're easier to handle, Kids have an easier time with them, too, and I've never had an issue with getting them around other rods or equipment in the spread. We use Shimano Talora TLAF70M for all of our downrigger applications. In the past, we've used a variety of different rods, generally 8 to 8 1/2 foot medium to medium-heavy, including the Daiwa great lakes model you mentioned, and honestly I can't say that I've ever felt a need to go bigger or beefier. In fact, I much prefer fighting fish off the riggers on the short rods than the 9' Dipsy rig. My 2 cents is to save your money and use what you have, unless you're just itching for a change.

its not that i want to switch things up, more of i dont want to be undergunned in the small boat. you never felt like you needed more backbone with a big paddle and big fish on? 

[rdebadts]

I’ve been very pleased with 8’6” ml ugly stick. Tough, but not too stiff. In 10 years only one issue, and they replaced it no questions asked


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[Gator]

I personally haven't, but if you're concerned about it then you might feel differently than me. How do you react when a raging king lunges through the lines and starts screaming sideways toward the copper? I just giggled madly and hold on . I think it's a matter of perception. What's your tolerance for crap getting out of control? And remember, sometimes there's no rod in the world that's going to let you put the brakes on a fish.

 

Most of the fish we lose are due to issues that have nothing to do with the rod. For example, there's a moment when big paddles break to the surface that's dangerous no matter what, but I don't think the rod matters at that point so much as simply keeping it tight. 

 

The only concern that I've ever had is being undergunned and exhausting a fish beyond where you could ethically release it. That's why I don't fish noodle rods on the tribs. But again, I've seen long protracted battles on pool cues and short, efficient fights on much smaller rods. A shorter rod lets you really lean on a fish. I think that's just angler savvy and experience. And I think that on a small boat in particular a short rod might be advantageous. But what do I know?

[hookedupf7]

I know I probably will get booed of stage but I have quite a few cabelas rods and think they do alright. I have a lot of there reels also. I am slowly farming the reels out of my salmon rods.

[RD9]

I use the new Great Lakes medium light 8fters. Use them for spring kings and eyes on Erie. Pairing them with a quality real with a nice smooth drag is important. I fish pretty light for Kings in spring 20lb mainline to 15lb leader with spoons. 

[Ready or Knot]

Buy and use what you feel comfortable with. Over the years i have had Eagle Claws , Shimanos , Diawas , Etc...  And yes i now use Cabelas rods and have had 0 issues with them. Had way more problems with Shimanos that were pricey ( reel seats coming loose from blanks) . I dont know of a fish yet that has come over the rail of any boat on the water that knew if he was caught on a 30 dollar rod or a 100 dollar one. I think all will agree that its about how the fish is fought and mostly how they get hooked up . When they have a treble buried in there face i feel that we all loose very few of these.  The ones that get off are generally not hooked up good to begin with. I also agree with the others that stated short rods are much easier for women and kids to handle so keep that in mind also. 

May we all have a hot bite and bent rods !👍☺