TACO 18' Deluxe Outrigger Poles with Rollers Silver/Black Pair

TACO Marine's 18-foot Deluxe outrigger poles (part OT-0318HD-BKA) are the offshore-trolling outrigger pole pair built for serious billfish, tuna, and wahoo anglers running multi-line spreads from a center console, sport-fish, or convertible. Marine-grade aluminum with the thicker wall TACO uses on its Deluxe heavy-duty line, patented 360-degree swivel collars for free-swinging halyard release, roller-bearing halyard pulleys for smooth halyard travel, an additional swivel collar to keep two halyard lines separated, solid Delrin support bearings, and the 3-piece telescopic design (US Patent 11,116,197) that collapses below 8 feet for storage and trailering and extends to 18 feet for the wide-spread offshore presentation. Sold as a pair (set of two matched poles).

Why 18 feet matters offshore. The wider the spread, the more water column the boat covers behind the transom. An 18-foot pole on each side puts the long-rigger lines roughly 36 feet apart at the rigger pin (plus the boat's beam), spreading the trolling teasers and ballyhoo wide enough to mimic a real bait school dispersing rather than a tight bunch trailing right behind the boat. The wide spread also separates the rigger lines from the flat-line and shotgun lines so a rising marlin or sailfish has a clean shot at any one of the baits without tangling the spread on the strike. For boats running short-rigger plus long-rigger plus center-rigger plus flat lines, the 18-foot Deluxe is the standard offshore choice.

3-piece telescopic with collapsed length below 8 feet. The pole telescopes down to 7 feet 11 inches in the collapsed-for-storage configuration. Why that matters: a fixed 18-foot pole won't fit on a trailered boat going under a typical highway overpass without dropping the rigger entirely off the base. The 7'11 inch collapsed length stows alongside the gunwale or the leaning post and clears any normal trailering height. It also fits down most slip dock-walks for the launch ramp. Out on the water you extend the pole to full 18 feet using the linear lock pins, fish, then collapse it back down for the run home.

Linear lock pins for fast extension. The lock pin design slides linearly to engage and disengage the telescopic sections. Pull the pin, slide the inner section out, push the pin back to lock. No wrestling with twist locks, no stripped threaded collars, no broken plastic clamps that fail under load. The metal pins are corrosion-resistant and rebuildable if they ever wear (and they very rarely do).

Patented 360-degree swivel collars. The 360-degree swivel collar lets the halyard release pin track the strike direction freely instead of being locked to the pole's fixed orientation. When a fish hits and runs left, the swivel rotates and the halyard releases cleanly without binding. When a fish hits and runs right, same clean release in the other direction. Older fixed-collar outriggers can pinch the halyard line on a hard angled run, leading to friction-burned line and missed strikes. The 360 swivel is a real fishing-effectiveness upgrade.

Additional swivel collar separates two halyard lines. The Deluxe adds a second swivel collar above the primary, dedicated to keeping a second halyard line cleanly separated from the first. For boats running long-rigger and short-rigger off the same pole (common offshore configuration: short rigger pulls a teaser, long rigger pulls a ballyhoo), the second collar prevents the two halyards from twisting together when the boat is making a turn or when one halyard is being worked.

Roller-bearing halyard pulleys. The roller bearings at the halyard pulley reduce friction on every halyard pull. Less friction means lighter pull effort to clear a strike-released halyard back into position, less halyard line wear over time, and more reliable release-spring action under light strikes (the spring releases the line when a fish pulls, and reduced friction means lighter strikes still trigger the release). For day-after-day offshore use where halyards see thousands of pulls, the roller bearings noticeably extend halyard line and release spring life.

Solid Delrin support bearings. Delrin is the engineering plastic that handles dimensional accuracy under load and saltwater exposure better than aluminum-on-aluminum or steel-on-aluminum bearing surfaces. The Delrin bearings between the telescopic pole sections take the load when the pole is fully extended and a marlin is bending it, without galling, without seizing from salt corrosion, and without needing lubrication maintenance. Service-free for the life of the pole.

Increased aluminum wall thickness. The Deluxe line uses a thicker aluminum wall than TACO's standard outrigger pole line. The added thickness means the pole resists permanent bending under heavy fish load, resists impact damage from the pole getting bumped during boat handling, and extends the pole's service life in heavy use. For boats that fish hard offshore (multiple days a week, heavy fish, bigger seas), the added wall thickness is worth the cost step-up over the standard line.

Corrosion-resistant black-on-silver finish. The aluminum gets the corrosion-resistant finish process for saltwater service. The black-on-silver color matches the look most offshore boats run today (blacked-out hardware against the silver pole shaft). The finish holds up under saltwater spray and direct sun without chalking or fading early.

Compatibility: TACO Grand Slam 280, 380, and 400 series bases. The 1-1/2 inch butt diameter is the standard for the Grand Slam series outrigger bases TACO makes. Drop the pole butt into the base, secure with the base's locking mechanism, you're rigged. The Deluxe pole / Grand Slam base combination is the matched OEM offshore outrigger system. If your boat already has Grand Slam 280, 380, or 400 series bases installed (factory-fit on most modern center consoles and sport-fish), this Deluxe pole pair is a direct upgrade or replacement. If you're rigging from scratch, the Grand Slam base of your choice plus this Deluxe pole pair is the complete outrigger system.

What's in the box. Two TACO Deluxe outrigger poles in silver/black, factory-assembled with all swivel collars, halyard pulleys, support bearings, and lock pins in place. Halyard line and release clips are not included (typical outrigger purchase: rigger line and release clips are bought separately to match the angler's preferred setup).

3-year limited TACO Marine warranty. Same-day shipping before 3 PM ET on in-stock units. Note: at 18 feet collapsed pole length, the shipping carton is oversize and may incur a freight surcharge from the carrier on certain routes (we'll quote actual shipping at checkout if any surcharge applies).