Downrigger rods

[Drop Tine]

Whats your downrigger rod of choice been shopping for one thought about cabellas 8-6 depthmaster but reviews dont seem to be real good. thanks   

[Antlershed]

Cabelas sells a lot of them, and they get quite a few back broken. They are a good "disposable" DR rod. If you are looking at something without breaking the bank, I would look into some of the Shimano Convergence rods. I would normally say GL2's, but those have even gone way up in price.

[Hohriverrunner]

Lami E-glass are awesome

[huntnphool]

I have been using these for the last few years and are quite happy with them, I have also been using them for sturgeon on the Columbia.

http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0022933118423a.shtml

[Skyvalhunter]

Hey thats a picture pre broken arm days. Nice looking setup you got there.

[Antlershed]

I have been using these for the last few years and are quite happy with them, I have also been using them for sturgeon on the Columbia.

http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0022933118423a.shtml

What length are you using? I generally prefer a longer rod 9' - 10'6" for the rigger, and I like my 7' Ugly Sticks for the bottom feeders, but I'm also anxious to test out my new 10'6" on Sturgeon. 

Those pics are making me get anxious for May/June to hurry up and get here. 

[huntnphool]

The big guy weighing down the back of my boat in the top pic is Bone, all four of the guys I took out that day could look over the top of my canvas

Those rods are 9' medium/heavy, but as you can tell still have plenty of bend in them to take the stress off the line and good feel in your hands.

[Drop Tine]

Spoke with a guide that does his thing on the upper columbia he suggested a okuma sst 10.5 ft. ya,ll know of it.

[kingsalmonkllr77]

Ugly stick 9 footer.  I don't use one myself but a few of my fishing buddy's do and they have a great backbone for good hooksets.  Gl2's and Lamiglas are my choice.

[cohoho]

I broke several Lamiglass, I liked them but any nick, scratch or anything -  pop they go, good thing they got a killer replacement policy, just return it and get a new one, or at least used to.  I got tired of replacing them (4) and went straight to Ugly Stick Lites in Medium Heavy and Heavy.  I like them and they last and are pretty decent rods, not top of the line but good heavy use rods....  59 dollars versus 180 plus....

[Drop Tine]

thanks gang good info keep em comming. 

[TeacherMan]

8' 6" Medium/heavy stealhead ugly stik be any good? 10 - 12 pound line?

thanks

[cohoho]

Absolutely, just because it isn't a $180+ stick doesn't mean it doesn't catch fish....  As posted before, I used Ugly Sticks everywhere, mainly cause I am rough on gear and never had a problem catching fish due to not having a $180+ stick...  I got almost all my rods from ultralight to Heavy Sturgeon rods in Ugly Stick and even have some cheap Whooping Sticks that are indestructible...

Used to fish with a bunch of high fluten pilots and CEO's my wife worked with in AK, on shore they were all decked out in Sims waders, Sage Rods, 400 dollars reels on the sound they had all the top of the line custom ordered rods and Avet reels and they couldn't catch a cold....  My trusty Ugly Sticks destroyed them every trip we made....  

[TeacherMan]

Thanks, the woopin stick is a great idea too...

Two more questions about downrigger rods:

1 - how long of rod can or should you use?

2 - does it have to be a levelwind?

I have a 10' medium woopin stick with a 6000 series spinning real on it that is a blast on anything from 8" brook trout to 15 pound silvers. I like using it in lakes because you can cast half way across with an ounce of lead. 

[cohoho]

Length- 8-9 foot plus to get the rod to take up some of the stress the line gives it.  Depends upon person and what your after, Reds would use a lighter weight rods, Springers and Silvers maybe something mid range and big kings (AK) a heavy weight rod.

I only use bait casters, so ain't much help on that side of it.  But I guess the rod holder could be slide up to allow use of a spinning rod, but how much line will most spinning reels hold without going to a surf type reel?