Downrigger advise

Yellow North River · 02-26-2004, 12:02 PM

Allot has to do with how deep are you going to fish and do you want swivel base. I have used manual and electric. I like Penn 48"boom with swivel base if you are fishing over 75 ft I would get electric. With the 24" boom don't need swivel base. With the Penn when you let it down the handle dose'nt spin on scotty it spins and can smack your Knuckles. I fish in canada and the guides up there use Scotty Electric with teloscoping boom the reason for this is Scotty has the fastest retrive and the strongest boom so they can use 15-18 lb balls and Scotty is made in Canada.

ET · 02-26-2004, 01:18 PM

I assume we are talking electric downriggers. Electric is the only way to go.

If you want the best, in my opinion you will go with Cannon Mag15s or better. Problem with the Cannons is that they want way too much $ for them. Do not buy the low end Cannons. The Cannon Mini-Mags and Mag 10s are not worth the money they are asking.

If you aren't prepared to drop $800 on each downrigger, then Scottys are definitely the way to go. You can buy two Scottys for the price of one Cannon. By the way, I just sold my Cannon Mag10s and bought Scotty 1101s.

As for boom length, I found the longer booms to be more of a pain than they are worth. I purchased the Scotty 1101s with 30" booms. I run one downrigger right in front of my kicker and the 30" boom is plenty long enough to keep the wire out of the prop. If you wanted to run four downriggers than the longer booms may be handy for the outside, but otherwise the longer booms just make you bend and stretch more to reach your gear.

Knucklebuster · 02-26-2004, 01:26 PM

Fishrunner-

telescopic booms.

canon or scotty. electric. period.

FallRiverGuy · 02-26-2004, 01:28 PM

Fishrunner,

Do a search on downriggers. There have been lots of discussions and good advice on downriggers in the past.

Fish4Fun · 02-26-2004, 02:24 PM

30" Scotty Electrics work great on sleds. The other thing about the Scotty's are they use less power and don't tend to drain the battery like Cannon's due. Faster retrieve and more lifting power too. Plus, they are backed by a lifetime warrenty. Scotty also is the only electric with a manual handle in case of a dead battery.

jimh · 02-26-2004, 02:39 PM

Telescoping booms out most of the way if the water is rough. Otherwise, you'll bang the side of your boat with the ball. Futhermore, the telescoping booms aren't that much more and give you a bigger spread which is even more helpful if you re ever going to run more than 2 downriggers. I like my Scotty electrics.

fishrunner · 02-26-2004, 11:38 PM

Looking for some advise on downriggers. I have a 19ft Hewes with the sportjet and am wondering a few things about downriggers.
Mainly #1---Brand?
#2---What length of boom would you all recommend to fit my boat best.

The back of by boat has a swim platform and a kicker on it if that makes a difference.

Thanks for the help.
Fishrunner

fishrunner · 02-27-2004, 12:14 PM

Thank you for the replies. I am gathering that the telescopic arm can be set for any distance ie 36" to 60" for example?
If this is the case then I would think that might be the way to go.
Thanks again.
Fishrunner

Pirate · 02-27-2004, 01:22 PM

Aren't Penns the only rigger with an auto down switch?...Scotty's have to be sent down manually even on the electric models. I have a Scotty but think the auto down would be nice.

snit · 02-27-2004, 03:36 PM

Scotty electric #1100's. They have the 30" booms, and they worked great on my 18' Fishrite and my dads 17' Almar. We sold both boats and now we're putting them on our 20' Fishrite and 20' Intruder. I've fished with the longer booms, but they always seemed like a more of a hinderance, than a help. I've never wished for more boom length while fishing, and they get used several hundred hours per year by us. I had to have the clutch re-placed in my set, but it was free of charge :smile: ! Great product and great warranty (life)!