Slide divers

[MrPike]

Question for guys running slide divers for stripers. What rods do you use/recommend?

[Rob1678]

I use ugly sticks. 7' heavy. I get them for $30 from Dicks
on sale and use a $10 off when u buy $50
purchase. Those coupons are on most
high school sporting events tickets.

[Duayne]

7' Medium heavy ugly sticks for me.

[MrPike]

Thanks for the replies guys. Would this be the "Catfish" ugly stik? Or are they just Med-Heavy action 7' white ugly stiks?

The "striper" one which I believe is Med-light and I use them for down rods but figured I needed a stiffer action for the hard pull of the diver.

[waterdog101]

SHIMANO TDR 8'6 MEDIUM HEAVY 2PC TROLLING RODS on ebay for 30.00 each..

[Duayne]

Thanks for the replies guys. Would this be the "Catfish" ugly stik? Or are they just Med-Heavy action 7' white ugly stiks?

The "striper" one which I believe is Med-light and I use them for down rods but figured I needed a stiffer action for the hard pull of the diver.

Stiffer isn't better. Downrigger rods are longer with a lot of bend to them. The idea is, if a fish pops the line off there is a bunch of slack. Having a rod that snaps up can help take that slack out faster. I tried downrigger rods but there was too much flopping with the heavier slide divers on them. Using a med heavy or even a med light (haven't tried them as I've used what I have) would allow at least some bend and would allow them to snap up. Probably going with those 8'6" rods would be a good idea if you have room. I've had a LOT of hits and misses with bucktails. I know some of that has to do with the slack in the line that is there after the strike and slide diver release. I don't have as many misses with plugs but those are thinner wire trebles versus a #3 single on a bucktail.

[MrPike]

Stiffer isn't better. Downrigger rods are longer with a lot of bend to them. The idea is, if a fish pops the line off there is a bunch of slack. Having a rod that snaps up can help take that slack out faster. I tried downrigger rods but there was too much flopping with the heavier slide divers on them. Using a med heavy or even a med light (haven't tried them as I've used what I have) would allow at least some bend and would allow them to snap up. Probably going with those 8'6" rods would be a good idea if you have room. I've had a LOT of hits and misses with bucktails. I know some of that has to do with the slack in the line that is there after the strike and slide diver release. I don't have as many misses with plugs but those are thinner wire trebles versus a #3 single on a bucktail.

I use the 7' Ugly Stik "Striper" rods for "down rods" off the side of the boat, not downrigger rods. I will be adding downriggers as well but right now I am trying to buy 4 rods that are ideal for use with "slide diver lite bite". Would a MED-HEAVY be the ideal choice for Slide Divers? WHat about ideal length in your opinion/experience?

[Duayne]

Those 8'6" rods waterdog101 wrote about may be ideal. The rods WILL bend over with the divers engaged. The rods WILL stand up when released. The more distance they cover when released the better so the longer the rod the better. But I use 7' striper down rods now and catch fish with them. Those will work but you will probably miss some fish. Longer ones would probably work better. You may still miss fish. Ha!

The downrigger rods I tried did great once the divers were deployed. But dealing with the divers for storage, at rest on the boat when travelling and during the deploy process was a pain. The tips were too flimsy and the divers were jumping all over the place. I had to take the rods apart (two sections) just to move with them.

Having a longer rod but with a tad more back bone would be the best option, in my opinion.

[stripernut1]

Take a look at the okuma 8'6" medium action "great lakes trolling rods". All my live bait trolling rigs are 7'6" med lt ugly stik striper rods. My livebait bottom rigs are 7 ft med lt ugly stik striper rods. But ive been using the okuma great lakes 8'6" trolling rods for some time now to try amd get the down lines spread out and away from the boat to keep fish from getting tangled in them once the fish is close to the boat. Last year i wanted to try the slide divers on some deep fish i saw on the graph so i re-rigged the okumas with the slide divers and we caught 6 fish in 30 minutes and only had one trip w/o a hook up and lost one fish at the net. I will say this though, with the 8'6" rods you will need a sturdy extendable handle landing net as you have to be able to reach out a little farther than with conventio al length rods. I also had to play with the drag a little as the hit and trip on the slide diver is a little different than the downrigger, it seems like the time from hit to full load is almost instantaneous with the diver

[Duayne]

So those Okuma rods have a little more backbone than standard downrigger rods? I notice between a half a second to just under a second and a half delay after my rod stands up before I see the rod bend back over again. The longer delay comes on the deeper runs of course. I am usually going at 2.8 MPH. The delay is a little less since going to braid, now that I think of it, and I do have better hook up rates. There is a difference with a strike between down riggers and slide divers. I used to see a much more profound pop with down riggers. It's much less pronounced with the slidediver light bite. I am thinking of forgoing the lightbite arm some this season so there is a little more force on the initial hit. It isn't like there is a huge ball to hide a striper that's decided to hitch a ride. Ha!

I am also using the 7 oz weight in my two deeper slide divers. This makes for a much sharper triangle than the lighter weight. I can pretty much count on one foot deep for every two feet I put out.

[stripernut1]

So those Okuma rods have a little more backbone than standard downrigger rods? I notice between a half a second to just under a second and a half delay after my rod stands up before I see the rod bend back over again. The longer delay comes on the deeper runs of course. I am usually going at 2.8 MPH. The delay is a little less since going to braid, now that I think of it, and I do have better hook up rates. There is a difference with a strike between down riggers and slide divers. I used to see a much more profound pop with down riggers. It's much less pronounced with the slidediver light bite. I am thinking of forgoing the lightbite arm some this season so there is a little more force on the initial hit. It isn't like there is a huge ball to hide a striper that's decided to hitch a ride. Ha!

I am also using the 7 oz weight in my two deeper slide divers. This makes for a much sharper triangle than the lighter weight. I can pretty much count on one foot deep for every two feet I put out.

yes, they arent whippy like the downrigger rods, but they arent 2x4 lumber either. it was funny when i went on a sal mon fishing charter this last summer on lake michigan these rods were exactly what these guys were using with both the slide divers and the dipsys, but they were using pure downrigger whips on the downriggers. amazing how subtle differences in rod taper and load speeds "fit" different techniques...but hey if it works dont worry bout fixin it right?
i am so thankful you started fooling with these slide divers a few years ago, it got me started keeping them in the boat, and i can tell you they saved the day a couple times, when i just could not keep bait alive and active for any length of time while trying to turn and hit a school again.

[Duayne]

It really is amazing how the little subtle differences in design can make a big difference. So to the OP, I would highly recommend you follow stripernut1's recommendation on the 8'6" Okumas. Nothing against the other recommendation, but this sounds like a tried and true fit for the slide divers. As mentioned, make sure you have enough room (and net) for the longer rods. You'll have to maneuver those rods inside the boat during deployment and landing fish. I'll probably go ahead and get some myself.

I am thankful more people are starting to use the slide divers! So far it's been my own trial and error with no one else I know of to experiment and offer what they've learned. Now maybe some folks can help to really hone the slide divers as a more viable tool for stripers.