I have run them both. Scotty gets my vote. Cannon is power up and down and slow. Scotty no power needed to deploy only power up and fast. Simplicity of design/user friendly I currently run Scotty 1106

 

exactly what I needed to know, thanks

 

My vote is the scotty 1106 in that price range.

The Cannon Digi-trolls with bottom track look really cool, but you're double the price of the 1106.

 

If you are truly looking for the best, go with the new Scotty High Performance 2106 down riggers.

I didn't think I'd need the extra speed they provide and I probably don't... but, I picked a pair up anyway and I have to admit they are sweet. They are quieter than the originals, faster, and I like the lighted counter.

I'm a long time Scotty downrigger user, so I'd not argue that the original Scotty 1106's are more than adequate for most fishing applications.

But, your question was which is the best. The 2106's are better than the 1106's. I leave it up to you if they are worth the extra money.

 

I had Penn Fathom Masters on my old boat. Loved them. Power up, power down, and two auto-stop points on the retrieve that were easily set on the little dial.

New-to-me boat has Scotty's. Not nearly as nice, but they're ok. That whole bead-stop thing is just funky and I don't trust it. I'm not real crazy about the mechanical indicator either, the dial is simpler.

I seriously considered moving my old Penn's to the new boat. But the Penn's got discontinued long ago. If they ever fail, I'd have to go get something else anyway.

No experience with Canon's, sorry, other than one time on another guy's boat. His had this trick bottom tracking feature that would pull them up automatically if it got shallower, and then put them back down again when it got deeper. Man, that would've saved me a lot of downrigger weights over the years. But you had to set the drag really loose so that it could send them deeper without popping off the clip.

 

I had Penn Fathom Masters on my old boat. Loved them. Power up, power down, and two auto-stop points on the retrieve that were easily set on the little dial.

Thank you! I thought I was the only old codger left who still touts the Penn 825s (electric) as being the best. I still haven't forgiven Penn for getting out of that business without ensuring an ongoing source of components and particularly the Mother Board.

 

I attended a seminar by the Kokanee Kid a few weeks ago at Fish-Field in Tigard and he was a strong advocate for the Cannons with power-down. He felt Cannon's power-down feature resulted in fewer tangles when lowering stacked rigs compared to the Scotty free-fall method. While the free-fall method can be regulated as to the speed of decent, he felt is was time consuming to use compared to the pushbutton on the Cannon.

As for speed, the Cannon Digi-Troll 10 is rated at 250FPM, while the Scotty 2106 is rated at about 300FPM. From a depth of 100', that's a difference of four seconds or so.

The power-down on the Canon's is a cool feature, but is it worth $700/double the MSRP of the Scotty 2106? Anyone with experience with both?

 

Cannon Mag 20's

 

1st choice Scotty, 2nd choice would be Scotty,,,gregg

 

1st choice Scotty, 2nd choice would be Scotty

Couldn't have said it better...

RW

 

I fish Scotty 1106. But, I am intrigued with the Cannon and all the functionality (except $$$$$). You can have them auto change depth, like up 5 feet then after a while down 5, etc. etc. - would be awesome for kokanee. The auto down would be a treat too. With MinKota sonar you can track bottom which would be sweet for lakers. All cool stuff but I'm cheap and still catch fish using the scottys:wink:

 

What about Walker and Big-Jon downriggers? I'm only asking because I've seen them on a couple of boats that I looked at before I bought my Jetcraft.

 

My buddy bought a Shamrock from a guy out of N. Mich. The boat came with 6 Big Jon's mounted on it, they big spreads back there. I fished many times with him using those riggers. No auto stops, we could fish with 12lb balls, 15lb was to much, they had a few issues that I can't remember right now but he sold them and bought Scotty's,,,gregg

 

If you go with the best lifetime warranty,it makes the choice a lot easier.

 

I have a set of the Cannon Tournament Series Digi 5's on my boat and they work flawlessly. Power up and down, auto stop below the water line!

I have no experience with Scotty's except for some small hand cranked ones that my dad use to have but your just not talking in the same category. After having the luxury of power I would never crank on a down rigger again unless you plan to fish shallow waters with light weights.

:twocents:

 

Which one is better is all about experience . This is scotty country , so your going to get positives on scotty and negative on everything else . I owned scotty for over twenty years , and they are great . The customer service is second to none . The boat I own now , came with cannon . Took a little getting used to . After spending the last week on a friend's boat using scotty's , I would keep my cannons . The power down and up depth adjustments in a reservoir like Wickiup is a snap with a cannon ! Scotty , not so much . If you are a black box guy , it's already built in . Cannon has auto stop at the water level . Scotty has a plastic stop on the cable . If you use Shuttle Hawks , that stop will send your hawk to the bottom . For good . Also a previous post implied that cannon's are power down only . Not true , they do freewheel also . Since you have no preference ; go with the best deal . Don't be afraid to buy used . There are some great deals on CL and the Web . I paid 300 each for 2 cannon st5 .

 

I'm still doing research, but here is what I'm finding.

The Cannon Digi-Troll 5 is power up and power down, and power down seems like it would probably be handy. They run about about $100 more than the Scotty 2016, which is the other one I'm considering. The boom on the Scotty extends out about 7" more than the Cannons. Retrieve rate is not significantly different; 4 seconds difference for 100' of line.

The Cannon Digi-Troll 10 is supposedly identical to the Digi-Troll 5 except it has the ability (by adding a $95 transducer) to follow the bottom contour. But, they cost about $600 more than the Digi-Troll 5's. While the bottom contour feature might be helpful trolling for nooks, I don't think many people use downriggers for salmon fishing. Most of the references I've seen for using downriggers was for kokanee fishing, where the fish are generally suspended and the bottom contour feature of the Digi-Troll 10 will have very little benefit.

Am I anywhere close to being on the right track?

 

I've just always had Cannons. I have digi-trolls now with the bottom track capability and black box, but I don't foresee using those features. My usage was mainly in the ocean for Salmon, but it's so much fun that I seek out downrigger fishing now and do alot of Kokanee. Come to think of it, I do like the power-down feature. I had some fast ones once and didn't like them. My digi trolls have a fast-med-slow setting for both up and down and I think i'm on medium. Main features I like are auto depth and auto up. Only real complaint I've heard with a friend who had Scotty was that the line got messed up in the spool and he was done for the day. I bought mine used for a good price, but had to get new covers, one new motherboard, one new keypad, new cords, and re-seal them, so not such a good deal after all. I don't leave them on the boat when not in use for fear that rain will get in.

 

I've had my Scotty Electrics for 10-12 years and they have worked just fine.

But from experience just make sure they are really well grounded. I'm not much on electrical stuff. But you should prob have each DR on its own ground, with nothing else on the same ground.

 

I have had cannons for awhile but I have used the Scottys as well. I am a BIG fan of my Cannons, I really like the power down feature and they come up plenty fast. The Scottys work great, but their big disadvantage to me is that they are easier to mess up on the way down if you have new people on the boat that are not used to running downriggers.

I just switched one of my Mag 10s to a Digitroll 10 and it is AWESOME! The Digitroll is much smoother and the auto jig function catches fish. I have the bottom track feature but am having trouble with interference from my regular transducer so I have not used it yet. Once I work out the bugs I think that it will work really good for situations where I want to hug the bottom.

 

I've had both. I've had problems with both. The Scotty's I could fix and I could find parts. Not so much with the Canons.

 

Cannons are very easy to repair. All Parts can be found at Fish307.com. I have made many repairs on my cannons over the years.

 

My nephew has 2 Scotties and I might buy from him. No bases as boat sold and forgot to take off. Also has some lead weights.


I looked for a model number but couldn't find. Is it hidden?


Any idea what I should pay? I know zero about them.


I'll probably buy just to resell.


fop

 

My nephew has 2 Scotties and I might buy from him. No bases as boat sold and forgot to take off. Also has some lead weights.


I looked for a modle number but couldn't find. Is it hidden?


Any idea what I should pay? I know zero about them.


I'll probably buy just to resell.


fop

Pm sent

 

I bought a Cannon Mag 5 and a Mag 10. Used them the 1st time today.

I have had previous Scotty electrics and Cannon Manuals.

My new ones are fantastic.

(1) They stop automatically at the water surface. Catch a fish, hit up and no need to worry about the weight. Worry about the fish, forget the downrigger.
(2) The go down electronically
(3) They are positive ion for no extra charge. (Not sure of the right words on that one, but they put the right charge on the line that catches fish, Scotty charges extra I think)

Went out the 1st time ever today in my life trolling in Hagg Lake. 4 rods among 3, we landed 16 Rainbows in 4 hours. 5 keepers. We lost as many getting off the hook.

I have no experience at rolling like this, but one buddy is experienced. So it may have been him. But it was a great trip.

BTW, a guide had two keepers.

I am a happy camper!!!

I appreciate all the feedback guys. My experienced buddy, he has Scotty manual downriggers. His quote "I wish I had these".

And no, I am not affiliated w Cannon or any sports store what-so-ever. I am just a guy frustrated by my catch rate of Springer fishing that now is energized to go catch fish again.

 

and here is the 2nd best part.

The 2 Downriggers new cost $1150
On Tuesdays in May there is a 10% discount at Cabelas
I get A 5% discount at Cabelas for being a vetern
My GF gave be a $50 gift car at xmas
I had $360 worth of Cabale points
There was a $50 rebate

My out-of-expense pocked for those $1150 downriggers was $440.

Can we say Happy Happy Camper? :meme:

 

I will sell these if you want Scotty. I think they are 1101 with 30" boom. Several balls and some extra belts and stuff.


No bases. I'll try to get pictures tomorrow.


Any idea what price?



fop

 

Thanks, but I have already purchased. Amuone else interested?