I started out with 2, 5 foot one-piece Browning Gold Medallion "Jig and Grub" Specials. These were the rods that were used in the designing and redesigning of what are now today - Slammer Tip-Ups. They had a great even bend and caught a lot of fish (both rods were eventually broke - one in the door of my Buick, the other in my Blazer). I have a 5 foot one-piece Fenwick Lunker Stick that I really like and works well. I've got an "All-Star" 5 foot one piece that works fine (Richie has two blue All-Star's he uses frequently). I have a number of 5 1/2' two-piece rods (Berkley, Abu-Garcia, Shakespeare. etc.) that work fine also, not to mention the fact that I can get a few of my old 9' - 10' surf rods to work for summertime Slammin'.
I've had a couple of custom rod-builders make some sample Slammin' Rods, but wasn't that impressed with what they came up with and with prices ranging from $30 - $100, they weren't too economical.
I'm currently testing a couple of YAD Durasticks, and so far they're working great (caught fish on them this weekend). They're two-piece 5' rods that bend quite evenly from the first guide down to the reel-seat. I'm looking into carrying these rods in the future. MANY two-piece rods get a "funky" bend due to the ferrule and I don't think that they "load up" like they should. In my opinion, Ugly-Stick's get a really goofy bend due to the change of materials used in the tip - they go from a stiffer butt section to a soft tip. A two-piece Ugly Stick really gets a goofy bend in it. The only reason they don't break is that they ARE Ugly Sticks. Shakespeare makes a LOT of less expensive rods that are MUCH better for use in Slammer Tip-Ups. REMEMBER - pull on the LINE to find out how your rod bends.
IDEALLY - a GOOD rod for Slammer Tip-Ups will be around 5' long and bend evenly (like a fly-rods's parabolic bend) from the first guide down to the reel seat and is gonna cosst under $20. A lot of this is explained in the set-up sheets included with Slammer Tip-Up Kits.
As for rigging, what Uniborn is describing is your basic slip rig. This is about the most common rig used for FISHING STEELHEAD WITH FLOATER SPAWN SACS IN CURRENT. Feed out the line 'til the barrel sinker hits the bottom, let out some extra slack line, and that's it. A shot or two can be used on your leader to adjust how far your bag sits off bottom. We used to use this rig for dead-sticking steelies through the ice with our river rods 20 - 30 years ago and it's the "basic" surf fishing rig that's used by a majority of steelheaders. It's about the ONLY rig (beacuse of the slack line) that will work with Slammer "take-offs" that don't use a Richie Ring Release. The fish has already swallowed the bait and is moving off and MOVES THE ROD (like surf or pier fishing) to trigger a strike.
With correctly set-up and tuned Slammer Tip-Ups, the fish has to just pull a little on the line and it's released - more suspended bait presentaions can be used. I've had good luck using 1/16 - 1/32 oz. jigs tipped with waxworms or wigglers suspended off bottom. Team Slamco has taken MANY steelies with "straight 8" right to a #10 or #12 Eagle Claw L374 treble loaded with wigglers with a #5 round shot about a foot up the line suspended near bottom in slight or no current.
For mainline, I use 8# Stren Magnathin. I've been having success using 6# Stren Fluorocarbon for leader (when and if I use a leader) for steelhead. For walleye, I tie in a barrel swivel and use a 1 1/2' leader of 6# to a #10 or #12 treble and lip-hook a 3-4" blue shiner with a shot or two above the swivel. Suspend the minnow JUST off bottom. For northerns, I use a "Slammin Rig", which is basically a fine wire leader with a barrel swivel on one end and a #6 treble on the other (red or pink optional attractor bead ablove the hook), pinch on a couple shot to the wire just below the swivel and hook a 4"-6" shiner, sucker, chub, perch, or bluegill just behind the dorsal.
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Seeking help for steelie slammin
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