Salmon trolling Rod with Downrigger

[potbuilder]

you guys might want to check out this rod company, they have a good following back east.

Fishing Rod Company | Black Hole USA | United States

Black Hole USA: Advanced Fishing Technology. Exclusive Distributor of Black Hole USA Rods and Blanks worldwide. We mainly design rods/blanks for inshore, offshore, and big game fishing.

www.blackholeusa.com

 

[iofthetaiga]

you guys might want to check out this rod company, they have a good following back east.

Fishing Rod Company | Black Hole USA | United States

Black Hole USA: Advanced Fishing Technology. Exclusive Distributor of Black Hole USA Rods and Blanks worldwide. We mainly design rods/blanks for inshore, offshore, and big game fishing.

www.blackholeusa.com

$$ Uff da!

 

[4merguide]

$$ Uff da!

Ya, for those that are just "made-o-money."

 

[kobuk]

I guess I’m still trying out how I’ve been able to catch all of those salmon on sub 300$ rods! Sheesh! Haha. It’s been a minute since I’ve bought a new fishing pole.

 

[bkbaker]

I have been using this style for about 10 years now. Canadian style mooching rig. They are generally ran with right hand retrieve, opposite of fly fishing, with a 10ft rod. You can find reels for as a little as about 90$ or as much as 700$. Rods generally run about 100-120$ for what I buy. The long rod is super fun for coho and smaller kings as well as a great match for biiiig kings. The reels have a drag and are really fun when the kings make big runs or charge the boat. Never had anyone fish with me not love them.

 

[mtnman47]

I'm right handed and grew up spin fishing. Right handed spin fishing: hold rod in right hand, crank with left. It bugs the crap out of me that traditional style reels are the opposite. I prefer the rod in my right hand, so I buy "left" handed traditional reels.

Would I be correct in assuming that you are right handed? I too will only use left crank reels on both spin and level wind reels. Why?, because I am right hand dominant. I'll tell a little story about this issue to illustrate the point.

I was fishing on a friends boat and noticed that all his level wind reels were right crank - which of course is "traditional" for level wind reels, yet his spin reels were all left crank which is traditional for spin reels. I asked him why he does this. His answer was because that is how "it is supposed to be." Rather than argue the point, I waited until he hooked a fish and then started video recording him as he fought the fish to the boat. He was using a right crank level wind reel. After the fish was landed, I showed him the video. He was a little embarrassed when he realized how many times he subconsciously switched the rod from his left to his right. While reeling, the rod was in his left hand of course but almost ever single time he stopped reeling he would instinctively and immediately switch the rod to his right hand while the fish was running, then back to his left hand again when he needed to reel. He never even realized this was occurring. He did this because he is right handed. As a result, his brain was making him (subconsciously) place the rod in the hand that has the most strength and control. We had another friend fishing with us and when he hooked a fish, he didn't switch hands. I asked him if he was left handed. He said, "how did you know?"

Regarding the OP's question; Many years ago, I switched out my trolling rods from graphite blend to pure fiberglass when a guide explained how he noticed that he would get more solid hook ups on his fiberglass rods and he claimed they also worked better in downriggers. His preference was Lamiglas Classic Glass model rods and that is what I use but only because I purchased them relatively cheaply at their annual warehouse sale many years ago. I would guess that any inexpensive pure fiberglass rod would work well for tolling.

 

[Charlie U]

I like the softer fiberglass rods for downrigger use. They soak up the hard pulls and less hooks are ripped out, salmon have a soft mouth when compaired to bottom fish. I been using these 8' mediums for several years now and they are awesome salmon rods. The other rods have a longer rear grip, moving the reel away from you. Smaller people will notice the difference for sure. This place just raised their prices on the rods but they have decent shipping rates. Ive ordered rods from this place a couple times.
https://www.fishusa.com/Okuma-Classic-Pro-GLT-Trolling-Rods/