Your opinion on downriggers?

OregonSportsman · 03-11-2004, 08:27 AM

Hey everyone I am just wondering what ya'll think about downriggers? I know some people swear by them and think it's the only way to go, and others swear about them and after one use would never care to use another one again.

corrirod · 03-11-2004, 08:43 AM

I don't know anybody with "electric" downriggers that would ever want to get rid of them, however I've known a lot of people with "manual" riggers that would.

I absolutely love mine for fishing for salmon. There is no better way to target a specific depth of fish than with downriggers. They do take time to figure out though. It takes some practice to get the tension on your clips just right, the correct speed of the boat to keep your lines at the right depth, learning how to keep things from getting tangled, etc. Once you've figured it out though you'll never go back.

One of the biggest advantages in my opinion, is to be able to catch fish with nothing other than your hook on the line. What I mean is, you can run your flasher off your downrigger ball and just use the clip to hold your line with your hootchie or cutplug or whatever you use. That way when the fish hits and hooks up, all you are fighting is the fish, not the flasher and diver and whatever else. The fish fight better and you'll have a lot more fun.

I have electrics so reeling them up and down is easy and I can't imagine if I had to do it manually. I think it's a lot like starting with a single-shot shotgun vs. a pump. Yes you can kill things with it and you learn how to make every shot count but you still wish you had a couple more shells.

Just my $.02

Pilar · 03-11-2004, 09:02 AM

What Rod said. I use manuals and I hate cranking them up but they fish better than anything else I have used. Chinook Salmon associate with a different depth every day for no apparent reason. Divers are only good to 40 feet or so. Mooching lead is an inexact way to set a specific depth. Downriggers do everything else from the top to within 15 feet of the bottom. And you can know what depth the action happened at.

You can literally dial in the bite. See the bait cloud at 100 feet on the sonar and drop to 95 with the downrigger. Salmon look up so fly your bait above the school. See the downrigger ball at 95 feet on sonar, you are 5 feet above where the Salmon are crashing the bait. Once you figure out the depth you can go back down over and over to limit your boat.

The other scenario is finding the fish. Start at 100 feet with two riggers. Every 15 minutes crank one up and one down in 10 foot increments. Once you get bit, you will know exactly what depth to fish.

What would you change?

Spoiled Daddy · 03-11-2004, 09:12 AM

I used my downriggers for a full season last year in the ocean and will probably never give them up. We limited quicker on each trip out by simply putting the bait where the fish were on the FF. I use manuals, and yes they are some work, but I could not justify the expense of putting electrics on my boat for the amount of use they get.

They are a great tool, but like any tool, you have to learn to use them properly to get the most out of them.

SD

03-11-2004, 09:18 AM

I have manual Scotty's on my boat now but I have had Cannon manual and electric and I've used Scotty electrics. I like the manual downriggers and don't have a problem cranking up a 12lb ball 100 or more feet but electric has many advantages over the manual ones, especialy when I'm fishing alone.

skein · 03-11-2004, 10:11 AM

I was fishing last year with a buddy who is 82 and while I was fighting a fish, he was cranking up the downrigger. No way was he going to sit there and do nothing, but when he got it up from 105 feet he was puffing more than I liked. I decided right then to install electrics. Besides, I still plan to be out there when I'm 82!

Downriggers are good. Electrics make a good thing better.

Skein

OregonSportsman · 03-11-2004, 01:01 PM

I agree with most everything you guys have to say. I've only used electric but I think they're great. Last summer was my first experience with them and I think it's the only way to go. My cousin has two electric Scotty's mounted on his boat they worked very well. The reason I ask is because when my uncle got on board he did nothing but cuss about them. I think he just needs time to figure them out. But they seem to work well and I think are very simple to use.

Pilar · 03-11-2004, 01:11 PM

OregonSportsman, I agree with your uncle to some degree. The learning curve on downriggers is more trouble than some are willing to endure. More than once I have had some new guy on my boat start out by making fun of the hassle of setting the downrigger line. He blithely tosses his gear out while badmouthing the downrigger ordeal and proceeds to catch nothing while I try to get my gear down to 100 feet. He laughs when the release pops, the line comes off and I reel up a skinned and shredded bait. This continues while I reel the ball up and reset the line.

In fact it often continues until I hook up on the third or fourth fish (Halibut even as well as Kings) and he gets to net that one too. Then we talk about how it is unfair for me to use the only downrigger onboard all the time.

Yep, they come around pretty fast when the rods start bending.

I have two downriggers now so we can run 3 lines by stacking on one side and running a single on the other.

finclipped · 03-11-2004, 01:32 PM

I have an electric Scotty and a manual Cannon. Both work fine, however only the retrieval is electric. You still need to let the line down with a brake mechanism on the Scotty.

I noticed the high end Canon's have electric decent option, but they are very expensive. That is one thing I wish mine had. No matter how hard you try, it is difficult to keep the boat straight and manually decend the lead ball. If it goes out to fast, it gets all tangled up and your not fishing.

Threemuch · 03-11-2004, 02:03 PM

I have manual cannons, and I love them. I also have a cannon electric, but it didn't work all the time, and I retired it.

Most guys who hate downriggers, bought the cheapest ones they could get, and were using them with too small a weight. 12 pounds on a cannon unitroll is a minimum. Anything that clamps on is a waste of money. You can get to those depths with a weight or a diver.

For manuals, I love cannons or penns. I don't like manual scottys since the transverse winding is not fun. Electric scotties are great.

I will fish manual cannons down to about 200 feet. After that I would mooch to get deeper. Electrics, I would fish to about 300.

Something common in CA but never done here is a sinker release. You use a 2.5 pound ball, and when the fish strikes, the weight is dropped. Sounds expensive, and it is, unless you pour your own or buy from the guy in molalla that sells em for .06 an ounce. That method works great to about 150'.

Here is a good question...what kind of release do you prefer? I like scotties, the plastic ones with the pin. However, if there are lots of jelly around, the bane of downrigger fishermen, I will just use a rubber band, and clip that to the cable with a longline clip.

Using downriggers will up your catch, especially of chinooks. No question.

KB

Bluefinn · 03-11-2004, 03:09 PM

I have fished both the Cannon manual and the Scotty elec.The elec are nice when you hook a fish you just push the button and up comes yor ball. very nice to have the cable up quickly and out of the way while you land the big one.If you can afford it buy elec.Power down is not as important as power up.I.M.O.RR :grin:

OregonSportsman · 03-11-2004, 03:15 PM

The only problem we ran into with the electric Scottys, were that sometime when they were reeling up it wouldn't stop when it was suppose to so when the weight reached the top the motor on the downrigger was still trying to reel in. Then a fuse would pop and we would have to crawl under the bow to change it out.

DriftR · 03-11-2004, 03:50 PM

Man guys you got me so excited that I looked all over for my 2004 Scotty catalog. Never used downriggers before (except the old meat line trick in the old days). Might have to let the moths fly from the wallet and get a Scotty electric. Do you guys have a hard time stacking on the downriggers with multiple lines (i.e 2 or 3)?

outpost22 · 03-11-2004, 05:57 PM

We just mounted twin Scotty electrics on our new boat. Been fishing the "arm pumpers" and am spoiled with the new electrics. What a life!

Do you guys run a short "bugee cord" to your weights in case of bottom hang-ups? I've heard some guys leave their clasp pins open at the weight so that if they DO hang up, the weight pops off and saves the cable, etc. Any opinions?

The Bad Fish · 03-11-2004, 06:08 PM

i bought some new releases at the sportsman show they are called "pro release" i like them better than anything i have seen so far.

Onokai · 03-11-2004, 08:36 PM

I've got a pair of cannon electrics. They are power up and down and I love them. Only problem is they work best on salmon and tuna is what I love fishing for. So if salmon is your thing get downriggers. If tuna is your thing get everthing else.Mark

ONOKAI

corrirod · 03-11-2004, 09:00 PM

Oregon Sportsman, if you were having trouble getting the rigger to stop then your "stoppers" either weren't in place or your sensor needs adjustment. Some people will use double stoppers just to make sure it catches on the stop trigger.

Believe me when I say it took all the cajones I could muster to splurge on the Scotty Electrics I bought. I searched for months on ebay and other website classifieds until finally I found a used set from Wenatchee, WA. Still cost me a bundle but I saved a bundle too. I am so glad I went with electrics. No hassles. It is so easy when someone hooks up to just turn the button to auto and up they both come. If you get bit but not hookup, it's real easy to just reel her up and do a bait check and send it back down.

The pain of how much they cost goes away as soon as you've landed your first fish off one! :grin:

Salty Walty · 03-11-2004, 10:41 PM

Threemuch, I also like the Scotty releases. I think they are called hairtriggers. They are very adjustable and don't kink your line. I bought some pro-releases at the Portland show and want to give them a try too. I am also going to try spectra on one of my downriggers. I have friends that have used this for a few years now and swear by it.

Maverick Maxcat · 03-11-2004, 11:58 PM

Ditto all the above for catching fish!!! With riggers you can fish any depth and speed and use any lure. Over a season I believe a catch triple the number of fish I would catch without them. Like the guys said, it's a lot more fun as well when you don't have to fight the weight and gear as well. We used to run manuals when it was required in Canada, but electrics are the only way to go if the fish are deep. Manuals have caused many cases of tendonitis!!! We are fishing 15# balls now, and catch many fish between 200' and 300'. The other key to fishing fast, deep, or with braided superline is the ProRelease clip. It is the ONLY clip I've found that will hold under these conditions.

Good luck, MM

Silver Eagle · 03-12-2004, 05:23 AM

Have Manuels on the boat and Elec in the building (too lazy to install) and I have found that we produce more on Downriggers than anything else, even using say set ups, don't know if its boat attraction or what but they work.

Birdnest · 03-12-2004, 08:13 AM

I have manuals and have fished a little with electrics. Yes, the one button thing is nice, but not everything.

The main reasons I chose manuals over electrics were cost and simplicity. After a day of fishing with the manuals I do feel it a little, but I don't mind a little exercise. Maybe we should start a thread with a picture of your belly and your downriggers and see if a pattern emerges.

Joe

Half fast Toyn · 03-12-2004, 08:26 AM

I find my downriggers more useful for kokanee and lake trout than for salmon.... run my bait 50ft behind and 5 ft above my lead. See a fish on the finder, then lower or raise the bait and put it in the fishes face.... works great. Some of you are shaking your head about the not liking downriggers on salmon part... I do better with divers for some reason.

Mike

corrirod · 03-12-2004, 08:41 AM

I wouldn't argue with anyone that wanted to say divers or weights work better for coho. They are always pretty close to the surface so riggers aren't necessary, however, I refer back to my original post in regards to keeping all that tackle off my line for the best fight. That in itself is enough to justify riggers. The fish are able to run and jump more freely than went they've got all that tackle to pull thru the water.

I have yet to see a diver/flasher caught fish be able to leap 5-6 ft. off the waterline but I've seen it many, many times without.

Also, on a side note, having run riggers down to 270 ft. last year I've noticed that the size of coho at the deeper depths are much larger. There were several times I had to do a double take before I realized it was a coho and not a chinook. Just an observation.

Old Salty · 03-12-2004, 09:26 AM

:smile:
Hi,
Downriggers are definately the way to go if you want to catch the big ones in the ocean. Tuna,
Chinook, Bottomfish, Grouper. You name the larger
gamefish, and I'LL bet it was caught off Downriggers. You could also use Old Salty Planers
on Downriggers, instead of lg. cannonballs. They're lighter, and wont wander up under the water when trolling. You could also use a planer off a cleat tied Hand Line, instead of the Downrigger.This method is mainly used for high speed trolling. Come visit our site Rod Planers, Hand-Line Planers,Downrigger Planers. For ALL
trolling applications.

Good Fishin'
Old Salty
http://www.oldsaltytackle.com

greenbuttskunk · 03-12-2004, 11:12 PM

I just ordered two scotty 1106's with the adhustable 60" boom. Full electric. These things will rock. Got a killer price too!
Can't wait to use them!
GBS