X2. 10 years and still going strong.Shimano Technium med heavy. Although I’ve heard about a few snapping lately so wondering if they aren’t making them as strong as they used too, wouldn’t surprise me.
I second the kufa they are direct replicas of the convergenceKufa downrigger rods - good value for the $$
PNT used to carry them for $70/piece. With Covid tax added, probably sells in the $90-100 range if you can find them.
9' arent bad but I prefer a 10'6 so there's more pressure on the hook set and when fighting the fish.I guess that brings up a good follow up. Length. The rods I am using are 10.5. But is there any advantage to that? Should I switch to 9’s? Sometimes the longer rods are a pain, but if less likely to lose fish, I’d stick with them.
Especially with longer leaders and if the fish runs around the motor longer rod rules9ft harder to net fish solo compared to 10 ft 6. The longer rod gets the fish closer
In my opinion, long rods are for bigger boats. If you are fishing in a boat less that 20', I would stick with the shorter rods. I prefer a little stiffer rod which makes it easier to control the fish, especially when dealing with pinks. No need to spend a lot of money. Any good fishing shop like Island Outfitter in Victoria will have lots to choose from.I got a couple of 8.5' Shimanos cheap as part of a Cabelas rod-and-reel-combination deal about 15 years ago, and they're still going strong. They were a very good deal.