I use a Rainshadow 1263F set to use with a, Islander or knuckle buster syle reel. A long flexing rod on a downrigger is a blast to fight the fish with and it is fine to use with the downrigger, as long as its not a pure graphite blank. They will snap if flexed to far, graphite is a very brittle material. A composite E-Glass, Graphite and fiberglass will work great. Since it's for a downrigger you dont need the pure graphite for feel and the composite will hold up much longer and be just as fun.