I guess it just could not be a strong enough mounting point for a lightweight "green stick" system, so would only be pulling a low-drag lure at high speeds or a small spreader-bar at lower speeds

 

it would be about 6.5 to 7m above the water which is nice and high.

 

What is the best, stiffest pole to use in a centre rigger,  if you don't want to spend thousands of dollars ?

Or to put it another way,  is there a cheap alternative to the best ?

 

I like the Blacks clip and dacron outrigger loop setup Stretch suggested for the center rigger although I find the roller troller is alright and a tag line is also good.  If you don't use a tagline you will have more dropback on the bite but it hasn't been a huge problem... for me anyway.  A fast moving fish and a boat trolling at 8 knots will straighten out the slack pretty quick.  If your center rigger isn't as stiff as your outriggers, I find it's better to run a light setting on the rigger clip and try and hook the fish off the rod, especially if you're running roller-trollers.  Roller-trollers don't mix well with flexible riggers and heavy clip settings. 

 

You can get pretty imaginative with center rigger setups: I've used one made with a long bamboo tuna pole which was excellent.  The stiffer they are the better, fibreglass riggers can be put under some tension which reduces effective length but helps make them stiffer. 

 

Lots of luck

 

cheers - dustin

from the problems you describe I think your tag line may be too short & or your centre rigger is not upright or tall enough. To work effectivley your line should angle up to the end of the tag line at @ 30 degrees. This keeps the line over the top of everything else except in the most radical crash turns. If you are around Auckland I would be more than happy to look at your rigging sometime if thats a help.

Cheers

odin

Cheers