Braided diver rod suggestions

[troutman10]

I'm planning on getting some diver rods for braid. I mainly fish the finger lakes and lake ontario occasionally. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance

[whaler1]

80 or 100 lb braid is what I run. Similar diameter to 30lb mono. Keeps the sea fleas at bay. 

[finsntins]

i run 9' medium okuma white diamonds for braid diver rods for browns on ontario and all the adirondack lakes,plenty of back bone to pull the divers and light enough to make it fun on small fish

[troutman10]

I've been looking at a few different ones...daiwa wilderness, daiwa great lakes, okuma classic pro glt. Trying not to spend a bunch as I most likely won't be using them during flea season. 

[Roys Boys]

I charter with the 9’ glts on Seneca with wire and they’re great rods fun fights

[sherman brown]

the Daiwa wilderness trolling m/l rods I got from fishusa.com have been working great. for running the small diver, I recommend the m/l 8'. but if you are going to use the magnum divers you might want to get the medium. I run the 8' m/l on Erie for walleye with lite bite slide divers with the small rings without using the slide on them. they are about the same size as a regular dipsey. most use 30# but I started with 65# and haven't found a reason to change.

[Sk8man]

Any of the rods mentioned should work OK on the Fingers. You may wish to consider using a 1,000 ft. of 30 lb stranded wire instead of braid and therefore if you do run into fleas it should not be much of a problem. The only modification would be using twilli's on the tips (they are only a few bucks). I've used them on each of the rods you mentioned on the Fingers and they aren't much of a problem to put on. The wire will last a long time if you take care of it. A lot of the braid e.g. Power Pro loses its color (fades) and coating dissipates over time and especially when subjected to prolonged sunlight while you can get years from the wire. The wire will probably be about tjhe same price or cheaper for the same amount (e.g. 1,000 ft.).

[whaler1]

I get 5 or 6 years out of my braid. Not sure why the color fading with time is a factor?  
Really boils down to personal preference I guess. 

[whaler1]

I think another consideration for your setup is how often you’ll be on lake O. 
Big difference between finger lake lakers and small bows than of the big lake. 

[Sk8man]

You're right Bill and I was trying to give an option as I use both in both places. Nothing wrong with either of them but I still have some wire on Seth Greens that is 40 years old and it is still fine, but again you have to take care of it to prevent kinks etc.  The fading of the braid isn't the real concern but the slickness of the braid diminishing over time amy be more of an issue with the lighter pound test such as 30 or 40 lb in accruing fleas.

[troutman10]

I appreciate all of your help. I currently have two 1000' wire dipsy setups with twilitips. My main reason asking about braid is that I want something for early spring and late fall that is lighter than and not as bulky as my wire setups. I'd most likely use the braid when the fleas aren't around and the wire when they are around. They work great but it would also be nice to have 2 braid setups as well. 

[Sk8man]

Ah. If fleas aren't a concern you could get away with lighter braid for less resistance in the water I use 40 lb on my Finger Lakes rigs and occasionally use them on Lake O but mostly use wire there. No twilli necessary with the braid.

[Knotlost Charters]

I prefer the wire myself and I get the from torpedo as it doesn’t kink as much if at all.  Twill tips are very important, as far as rods You need enough flex so in rough sea your not tripping them all the time but stiff enough so you can still manage the “big one”. There are many that will work good.   

[Ecto2]

For smaller divers (dive to 35') on braid on Cayuga, I'm running long, medium downrigger rods.  I run my wire rods when i go deeper and use the full size divers, but i have run a reg dipsy with reg ring on those rigger rods and it works fine.  The size of the fish in fingerlakes gives you a little more flexibility.  Glad you got that November trip in when it was nice...get that deer hunting stuff out of the way early and you get to fish!!!