New boat and thinkin about downriggers

[fisher-price]

I bought a new boat last fall. I have never used down riggers only deep divers. I would like to get a set and see if they improve my catch ratio. So far I have only put four fish in the boat, those are pretty expensive fish right now lol. As most of you know after purchasing a new boat about all I can afford to do is look at it in the drive way
So I am looking for a good D/R that is cost effective (cheap). So If anyone has any suggestions pleaase let me know.

thanks, And have a great week at work or fishing, or both I guess.

f-p

[Miss B Haven]

If you are talking manual I would recommend the Penns. About $250 a copy. This really depends on what you are fishing for though.
If you want to drag a 6 lb ball at 20 feet or less at 1 knot or so for springers in the CR any cheap piece of junk can do that. If you want to fish at 250-300 feet at 2-3 knots with 12-15 lbs then you better spend the big bucks.
Like everything else- you generally get what you pay for.

I prefer Scotty's

[fisher-price]

Any thoughts on the cannon easi troll? I doubt if I would trolling much past 100-150 ft. Only for chinook most likely

[Hawg Hunter]

Fisher,
I have to agree with Keta. I run a pair of Scotty Electrics and I love them. They are very user friendly. A lot of the manuals are one turn = one foot. If you are thinking about fishing at 100' to 150', you will be wore out at the end of the day. Everytime a coho steals your bait, thats 150 cranks on that manual. Just something to think about. :shocked: :shocked:

Cannons are good, Nerta has them on his boat and thay don't cause us any problems.

[corrirod]

FP, if your trolling in big blue don't settle for anything less than electric. I know they are expensive but they are worth every dime. If you have patience you can find them used on this board, ebay, or other boards. I have the Scotty brand and they've been worth every dime. Just imagine trolling at 100-150ft. with 2 riggers and you get a hook-up on 1. Now you will need to reel them both up as well as the extra pole. Not much fun manually. Now with electric its as simple as setting both riggers on auto retrieve and then having your buddy reel in the other pole, or even better, let the other pole float back for a double.

Don't short change yourself, especially in the ocean.

[Re:Play]

I have a Scotty and a Cannon, both electric. I prefer the Scotty. The guarentee is lifetime and they really stand behind their machines. Ollie Damon does the repair in Portland. Even if you kokanee fish vs salmon, after a hundred trips up and down, the electrics are nice.

I have a home made hand one that you are welcome to use to play with them. Give send me an e-mail or give me a phone # and I will call you.

[skein]

Fisher-Price,

I have the Cannon Easi-trolls on my 15' Arima, and they have been great - trouble free and just the right size for a boat that size. Having said that, I agree with what the others are saying: if you have the room, get the bigger ones, and get the electrics. If you can't afford it, stay with the divers and save your money until you can.

The easi-trolls won't handle enough weight to get you down where the big boys are. I fish mine about 105' at 4-5 knots and that means I've got 140+ feet out to do that. Last summer I was fishing with an 80 year old friend and while I was fighting a fish, he cranked up the downrigger. He doesn't need any pampering (and won't stand for it) but I was truly worried about him before he got it up.

Go electric - these guys are right.

Skein

[FallRiverGuy]

I have a pair of Scotty electrics and would not go back to the hand cranks. If you take out people who are not that familiar with fishing with downriggers and you have to get the gear up fast and captain the boat at the same time you will never regret the electrics. Last year fishing Odell for Kokanee the bite was fast and at 70 feet. Cranking up an 8 lb ball every 5 minutes darn near wore out my fishing buddy (I had one electric at that time). I bought my electrics 6 month apart waiting for a good deal on ebay. Also check out Barry’s Bait in Canada.

[1pump]

I've had a Cannon Easi-Troll since '87 and I love it. Heavy-duty and trouble free. A buddy of mine has a pair of Scotty manuals on his boat and I didn't like 'em. Clutch seemed to be awkward, IMHO. I use the Scotty release exclusively, though.

[wak'm&stak'm]

you *******...I and RJ use manual scottys with 12 lbs....and even put 350 ft of wire on.

The truth is I was being cheap....but by the end of the summer I can't tie my shoes without tearing the laces off (popeye arms)

[fish assassin]

wak'm:

I love reading these guys talk about hand cranking up 8-12 lb. cannon
balls as if it were actually hard.

When I put Fish Assassin (my 22' dory) together I couldn't afford the
hydrolic gurdies I wanted and fished with hand cranks for both salmon *and*
bottom fish. Thirty pound balls! :shocked: :shocked: :shocked: Let me tell you,
I was in real good shape those five summers!! :grin: :grin:

-assAssin-

FA,
I agree with you but electrics are nice.

[corrirod]

This is for Wak'm, RJ, and FA: :grin:

[fish assassin]

Actually corrirod, I have hydrolics now so I'm just a little
two hundred sixty pound weakling!

-assAssin-

[northriver1]

Miss B Haven

What brand/model do you suggest that works at 2-3 knots with 12-15 lbs of lead at 250 feet?

[Popeye]

NR1.....This is what I've been using for years, and love 'em http://www.scotty.com/electric_downriggers.htm

[Miss B Haven]

northriver1 - I have Scotty Elec's on Miss B (came with the boat) and they work fine. I try to troll at 1.5 knots but lots of times wind and current make that difficult and I'm faster.
I had the Penn manuals on the last boat and they worked great too. But as stated above, pulling up 12 lbs (or 20 in FA's case) from 250 feet can get old quick. Especially if your running 2 downriggers with two people in the boat and a fish on. Somebody gets all the fun :grin: and somebody gets all the work! [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]
PS - None of these things seem to work well if you forget to pull one up before you hit 20knots. The brakes jsut don't seem to be that good. Don't ask me how I know that!
:shocked:

[northriver1]

Popeye and Miss B Haven,

Thank you very much for your information. One last question, will one grand buy two of these units (model 1105). Today, I am to lazy to make the ebay search.

[Popeye]

I got mine for $379.00 about 5 years ago at Fishermen's Marine Supply

I think I saw them at Joe's in Medford for around $400 ea. Might be wrong.

[northriver1]

Looks like daddy might have a couple of new toys.

Thanks guys.

Keta, if the Rush hog line works out I have room in my boat. It would help if you had an idea of what the heck you are doing as my CR experience is on the limited side.

NR,
The Rufus area 20 years ago. I do know the rules of the road and can read a chart

If you have a good deck hand you don't have any problems with cranking up the balls. That is if the deck hand isn't reeling in a fish. I've used both manual and elecrtic downrigers and don't have problems either way. The Scottie electric downrigers are much more "saltwater friendly". Scotty "Power GRIP" releases are the best I have used.

POWER GRIP RELEASES

[Mr.Kitch'nPass]

Looking at the scottys two models 1100 and 1150, what is difference beside boom length? What advantage does the longer boom have? :whazzup:

[corrirod]

Longer boom means bigger spread, as well as more room to keep the lines out of the prop.

I have the 1105's also and they are awesome.

NR1, check prices all over because my neighbor just bought a set from Joes after finding them on Boatersworld's website cheaper, he told Joes, they matched the price, and I think the ones he bought came with swivel mounts (also a "must have", and they are usually $55 each). I think he paid $390 each and that included the swivel mounts. Buying the riggers is only the beginning though. You'll need to buy the balls which range from $15-$20 each. Always have at least 1 if not 2 spares. The clips run $7-$9 each and you'll want plenty of spares of those also. You'll need extra arrets, wire cutters, and extra ball clips.

All said I think $1000 will set you up. Good luck.

[fishwhenican]

NR1 I have 2 scotty strongarm, or is that long arm? downriggers you are welcome to look at if you decide not to go electric. I think they pull in 2 feet per turn. call me if you want to look at them. You certainly want to get the swivel bases as well

[Fishplay]

If your going to buy Scotty's you would be best off to puchase them from a Canadian supplier. Here is one place that carries them.
Web Page

I'm using Penn Electric FathomMasters. Very nice quality American made product that I believe is the best on the market. But like Miss B says "you get what you pay for" and your gonna pay for Penn's.

[ 01-21-2003, 11:35 PM: Message edited by: Fishplay ]

[black magic]

NR,
You might try the Sportsmens Show in Portland, Feb. 5-9. I bought two Scotty 1105's there two years ago for $370 ea.. Talk to the downrigger reps first as sometimes they can get the retailers at the show to offer a lower price than they have posted.

[Pilar]

Electric downriggers are nice. So are electric reels but I don't use them either. Just something else that could go wrong on the boat. I'd much rather spend the $$ on canning jars, gas, bait and adult beverage.

I use the Cannon easy troll with a 10# weight. With 300' of wire I can hit 200' all day long. I only have one and I bet it gets interesting using 2 or more with all the cranking that has to go on.

You can fish multiple lines on one downrigger with stacker releases. This actually works well because as mentioned above you usually reset all the gear on any downrigger fish anyway. I separate the two lines on the one downrigger by 20 or 30 feet. I can then bracket above and below the thermocline or bait school as shown by the fish TV.

So, when bit, pick up the buckled rod and have someone release the remaining rod. The bait left in the water will begin a slow climb to the surface maybe picking up a fish on the way. BTW If that 2nd pole gets hit on the way up you are fishing too deep. You have a few minutes to crank up the downrigger because the fish is behind the boat a ways.

When you recover from whacking and stacking just put a line on the weight release and let out 20 feet of cable, then clip the stacker release on the cable and set the second line. Let out cable till you see the downrigger weight on the fish TV as a line that goes across the screen at the depth you want to fish.

The bottom line is where you want to be and the top line is 20 feet higher in the water column.

No doubt, electric is easier but el Manuel is reliable and cheaper to boot.

[Spoiled Daddy]

We purchased ours last year while on vacation in Campbell River, BC. I got manual Scotty's (1085) for $189 each. My wife ( [img]graemlins/hearton.gif[/img] ) even talked the guy into throwing in the swivel bases, 2 extra release clips & two 12 lb balls into the deal for no extra $. The marine supply place we went to was having a sidewalk sale and I don't think you could get that kinda deal everyday. (I called a friend who works at Englund Marine in Newport and he couldn't touch that price w/ the added accessories.) I have a 18' boat and only use the downriggers a few times a year, so the manuals work out fine for us. By staying with manuals, I also avoided the extra cost of the electrical rigging, extra battery, etc...

Just my .02. Spoiled Daddy

[Hawg Hunter]

I think I paid around $374 each for my Scotty electrics. I bought them from Cabelas. At the time, they were throwing in an extra weight and power grip release. I would definitely hit the sportsman show and look for specials.