A question for RT

[Jennie@ifish]

E mailed to me:
RT - I fish with down riggers (gold plated titanium downrigger arms) in a
few of the right places. Downriggers can be fished deep or shallow
depending on seasons, fish etc. During your last trip into the greater
Puget Sound area you used down riggers for blackmonth. Explain why or why
they wouldn't work trolling around shallow for the springers everybody is
talking about? The benefit I see is precise depth control and the ability
to play the fish without the weight (sinker) on the line. Maybe less/more
tangle up with other fishers? Give it some thought, you could probably fit
in a few one liners without even being awake! Take care! Thanks in
advance!

James

[Jeffhead]

I think the biggest drawback to river fishin' with downriggers is the relative shallow depth that you are fishin' in (usually less than 25') and the amount of noise and turbulance you make with the trollin' motor Jen. Out in the sound that doesen't come into play as you are down at least 40' or usually much deeper than that. I would like to use mine so I could put the ion control box into play, but I think the negatives would outweigh the positives here also. I believe they use riggers up in the Hanford region in the fall but are runnin' them around 50ft.??? Any of you Tri-Cities guys up to speed on this one??? My .02 worth.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

------------------
"Never be afraid to try something new."

Remember, amateurs built the ark.
Professionals built the Titanic.

[This message has been edited by Jeffhead (edited 03-08-2001).]

[Artwo]

Jeffhead,
Just a comment for you, how would that be any different than backbouncing for them. Other than backing down to them you still have you trolling motor running and most of the time it's in relatively shollower water, your opinion!

JK

[Gizmo Man]

The reason I don't use my downriggers is because of the shallow nature of the water we fish in for springers and the need to constantly find the bottom and crank up a turn or two.

You would be on the riggers adjusting them or in worst case you would set them at a depth that would not cause them to hang up, but would not be fishing near the bottom.


If you were at the deadline at the lower end of the channel where the depth is 45-60 feet and you wanted to troll 15' or so, they do work.

Giz..
Giz...

[Backlash2]

Most people runnin' riggers on the Reach are using them to fish cut plug herring, significantly shallower than bottom. Most holes on the reach are 25-60 ft. deep. They are usually running them 17-25 ft. deep. However, there are a few that run them right on the bottom. They are usually running Kwickies, or a spinner setup. If you don't have the Cannon electrics that you can run automatically from the Bottomline fish finders(the downrigger will adjust to a pre-set depth off of the bottom, always staying, for example, 3 ft. off the bottom, regardless of the change in river depth), it can be very labor intensive. Always watching the fishfinder with one arm on the rigger crank is not fun!! My advice would be to stick to the Jet Divers, that way you can actually pay attention to your rod....

[Jeffhead]

Artwo,
I was just surmisin' that would be one of the reasons cause you don't see people using em' in rivers. Like I said I have thought about it and just never done it. Guess I'm just self consious that I'd look silly with the riggers out in the river. http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/blush.gif Guess I ought to look at my own signature and "not be afraid to try something different". http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif It would be a workout depending on the section of river you try it out in, my riggers are manuals. I am serious about wanting to test out the ion control box though, I know my catch rate in the salt has increased since I started using it.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

------------------
"Never be afraid to try something new."

Remember, amateurs built the ark.
Professionals built the Titanic.

[Deleted User]

I'm in agrement with Gizmo's post. I might add that in shallow water trolling, the downrigger balls could easily become snagged, and that's trouble.

RT