wire dipsies

[salmonquest]

I'm thinking of adding a wire dipsy to my spread. I'm looking for advice on rod and reels. I was thinking of using my Okuma maga 45's. What types of rods do you like to use? Also what types of backing and connections do you use? Thanks again hope everyone is having a great new year.

[1mainiac]

I have a pair of eagle Claw rods which have been fine but I am Looking at a set of Okuma Blue Diamond rods. I have 600 ft of 30lb wire on each rod and Dacron backer. I have one setup with a Okuma CV45D and the other with a CV30D. The CV30D replaced a magna 45 I did not care for the drag of the magna pulling wire the convector just feels smoother would have gotten another CV45D but had to agree all I would gain was more backing. I use a Albright knot to connect the backer to the wire and a crimp at the swivel. I also run mag divers on the wire so I can get them deep and keep them away from the rest of my gear.

[plumkrazy]

bob outdoor has 8.6ft diawa roller rod for97 dollars .regular retail was 129 for him .but most of the tackle shop in wesy michigabn was 159or 169 .these have the nice swivel tip on them like the shimanos do and a diawa 47 or a okuma 30 will hold a spool of 30 pound wire 1000ft with no backing phil

[Priority1]

I would add a wire setup or 2 myself, if I ever got into Salmon fishing as strong as I once was. When the salmon on Huron slowed, I concentrated more on the eyes. You just never know, I may still add one to the spread. I can see where the very best reel drag you can get, would be an asset when running wire. I have 4 braid Dipsy setups now. I did see some Okuma roller rods @ Northwoods in Pinconning for well under $100. I'm not sure if they still stock them. I'll see if they show them on their site.

PS All I see on their site is the Okuma Blue Diamond combos, but you never know what you may find in their store. If you are in the area it is definitely worth the stop. http://www.northwoodsoutlet.com/oscommerce/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=3&products_id=1100

Frank's Great Oudoors is about 5 miles South on M13 and is worth the stop also. I have found some of Frank's stuff priced better than Northwoods. When Northwoods opened up Frank's prices started coming down. Frank's is a lot more organized, but Northwoods has a lot of deals.

[Paulywood]

I have 2 wire setups. I use a Daiwa Heartland Dipsey rod with a Twilli Tip. It's about $30 for the rod and $7 for the tip. I have heard good things about using JR's Titanium rods for wire. It is a rod with titanium eyes, they don't wear out. I had a cheap Eagle Claw roller rod that I used one year for wire. It was horrible. The wire kept jumping off the rollers and catching. I lost 2 dipsey/flasher/fly combos before junking it. For reels I would get the reel with the best drag you can afford. I would not use the Magda. One decent fish on wire would probably smoke the drag and cause you to lose your gear. I use Daiwa Sealine SG47 reels w/ 1000' of Malin 7 strand #30 wire. It fits on there great. The only downside to the Daiwa reels is the small handle but I believe you can buy larger "power" handles for them. I need to find some for next year. Altogether my wire setups cost me $120 and I have no complaints. They have performed great.

[1mainiac]

Hi Nick I have not had any trouble with my Eagle Claws yet but have heard of several complaints about them. So was thinking the Blue Diamonds would be a step up and have not heard any bad reports on them. I got the one with the CV45D used for 70 bucks which is less than the reel costs and it had copper wire so changed it to Stainless 7 strand. I bought a second matching rod a few weeks later and spooled up one of my Magna 45's with wire for it but hated the drag. The guys at The Outdoorsman convinced me to go with a CV30D and 600 ft of wire instead of another CV45D and it works real well. Now I just want to upgrade the rods.

[Paulywood]

2 years ago I had wire on a CV30 LC and on a SG 47 Lc and the drag on the Daiwa's is a little smoother. So when I got a good deal on another Sealine I changed the wire over to that reel. I paid $50 each for the Sealines but they normally run around $90. I am interested in trying the tungsten rods. I have heard a lot of good things about these rods. The only downfall of the setup I use is the amount of friction the Twilli Tip causes. Here is the link for the rods:

http://www.jrstackle.com/rod_salmon.html

[Nailer]

Jason, as far as the reels go don't buy any thing less than a Okuma 30D Convector (new style), around $75.00. The Convectors have big cranking handles and descant drags. If you want to go first class than go for Shimano Tekota 600 lc., around $170.00

You will be very happy with wire. I've hit bottom in 230 fow using wire and walker mag divers.

[DIRTY DOG]

wire is AWSOME, i have 2 okuma 8ft 6 blue dimand wire rods ,with 30d convectors that have 1000 ft of stainless wire and i love em

these are my faverite setups to catch fish on

[JoeMan]

I love to catch fish on a wire, what a fight. I have 2 okuma blue diamond roller rods with diawa heartland reels. I was told early on, that for most reels you should just plan to get the drags redone every couple of years. The blue diamond rods have been good so far. The only thing I don't like about the rods is the butt end. The blue diamonds have a large foam end that slides on the handle end of the rod. It gets stuck in the rod holder and pops off when your pulling the rod out of the holder. Went to start fighting a fish and couldn't figure out that little black thing was floating away from the boat. I took the other one off and keep it on the side until a fish hits. Once I get the rod out of the holder I put the end cap on to fight the fish.

[salmonquest]

thanks I'll look into tungsten rods. I have two cv30's and I can convert one over. How much and what type of backing?

[Paulywood]

I would just put a full spool of 1000' of wire on the reel. That way you don't have to deal with backing and you don't have to worry about getting spooled. I have set the rods with 300'+ out and had fish run out to over 600'. It's nice to not have to worry about knots failing or getting spooled. When you put the wire on make sure that it is very tight on the reel. Otherwise it will dig into itself and tangle. I put a one pound ball on the end of the wire and then walk 1000' feet out into the field behind the house and despool it as I walk back to the rod and reel. Then I attach it to the spool. I wrap some electrical tape around the spool and then tie it on with an overhand knot. If you don't want to look like an idiot like I do fighting fish out of a cornfield, you can spool it on by having someone apply pressure to the spool. A pair of leather gloves is useful to keep pressure on the spool without burning your hands. The first time out a lot of guys like to put on a pound ball and let it all of the way out. Then reel it in to make sure it is spooled tight. Wire is a lot of fun and catches a lot of fish.

[salmonquest]

I use this method for spooling braid you may want to give it a try next time you spool some wire. I take a vise and lock in a long shank screwdiver. Then I take a spring clamp (any clamp will do) and fasten it to the shaft tight against the spool to provide some resistance. THanks for the tip about the wire.

[2UNREEL]

The only thing I don't like about the rods is the butt end. The blue diamonds have a large foam end that slides on the handle end of the rod. It gets stuck in the rod holder and pops off when your pulling the rod out of the holder. Went to start fighting a fish and couldn't figure out that little black thing was floating away from the boat. I took the other one off and keep it on the side until a fish hits. Once I get the rod out of the holder I put the end cap on to fight the fish.

JoeMan,

I have a blue diamond diver rod that I attached a twilly tip to last spring. I have a CV30D fully spooled with wire that I have had 0 probems with. As far as that little black end piece falling off.... Before season hit, I ground off the gimble edge of the rod so the foam piece would fit all the way then I spun the foam piece on my finger against my grinder to get the diameter the same as the rest of the rod. To finish it off I coated the inside of the foam piece with hot glue and a quick slide of hand and reattached it to the rod. Now it looks like it was made to be there and the little black piece will not come off and float away.

[JoeMan]

2Unreel,

Great suggestion! I get so focused on the lures and the other end of the rod. You've got such a simple tweak for these rods. Thanks.

[Line Dancin]

I tried the eagle claws at first also. half season and they were off the boat. I now have two 8'6 and two 10' Blue Diamond roller rods set to run divers they work very well and are a little stiffer in the but section to get out to the side of the boat more.

[ELLIOT]

I use cheap 10ft eagle claw diver rods. I replaced the tips with twilli tips.

I run diawa gl47lc reels. I did well with mag dipsies when the fish were deep.

I tie a regular fishermans not at the swivel. I use a couple beads with a piece of snubber between them to keep line tight when stored.

[Just Hook'n]

You will not be disappointed with Okuma Convector 30Ds with anywhere between 600-1000ft of stainless wire. You will also enjoy Blue Diamond Roller rods by Okuma. I made the mistake of getting 10 ft rollers and wish I had stayed shorter so my lead core spread stayed farther away from my dipsey lines. I recommend 8-9ft rods. The Blue Diamonds are what will do it for you, though you could get away with a standard rod with a spinny tip, though if you are starting from scratch, I'd do it right.

[Just Hook'n]

If you have not yet purchased here is a location:

http://www.fishusa.com/Okuma-Catalina-30D-Blue-Diamond-Trolling-Rod-Combo_p.html

I'd also check with Lakeshore in Saugatuck when then open in the spring.

He is very fair.

[Line Dancin]

Outdoors man in jenison is going to be having their spring open house the first full weekend in march (like the 7th). They run some really good deals before the fishing show. also gold coast runs an open house the same weekend and they run some awesome deals on spoons. They open at 7 and there are usually a few guys waiting to get in to scarf up the new years colors. check them both out for wire rigs. DONT go to gander and buy them. they dont spool enough wire on them i made that mistake a few years ago and noticed they still spool them the same way.