Downriggers - Help me understand what I need to purchase

B

Bill 310

Crew Member
I grew up fishing before downriggers on fresh water lakes. Now that we are going to boat and fish in retirement I am trying to understand the myriad of downrigger options available. When I have fished with downriggers it has been on an occasional charter and has been a more of a stand there, wait, ok now watch your line scenario.To be fair to the charter people at that point I still had my sanity and was "determined" not to be a boat owner again. Of course this was likely based on watching my older brother's desire to buy a series of 50+ year old wooden boats and pay to have them returned to their former glory. Note to readers I am having a welded aluminum boat built :p

I have read the downrigger posts on here, and seen the downriggers piled up for service at my local tackle shop (most so dirty and neglected that they look like they have been used for arm extensions in a catfish noodling derby).

So 95% of the time it will be my wife and I fishing on the boat. The boat is 25 feet long. It will have 2 welded aluminum downrigger mounts and we are having a third mount installed for a pot puller.

Would a pair of Scotty 1106Bs with Braided line be a good choice. ? They seem to come as a kit with

Braided Line 300 feet of 200 pound test premium power braid downrigger line,
Scotty/Marinco Plug and Receptacle,
Multi-position Auto Stop,
Power Grip Plus Line Release,
1023 Tilt-up Mounting Bracket,
1026 Swivel Pedestal Mount with 16 positions,
and 365 Rod Master 2 Rod Holder.


I have been reading on here that having a spare parts kit is important as is post fishing maintenance and properly storing the downriggers when they are not in use.

Am I on the right track ?





​

 
Yup. Depending where you fish or how deep you fish, & budget, you may want the HP ones. Some guys like them as they tend to fish deep. Braid/wire is definitely a whole other discussion. Braid is easier to handle though. Look at adding the sure stops as well.

Get some spare parts for sure. Take them apart, see how the work, learn to adjust the brake, clean pads, etc.
 
I highly suggest to add these:

scotty | 370 Trolling Snubber With Sampo™ Ball Bearing Swivel

scotty.com scotty.com

They add shock absorption so that IF you stop the ball descent too rapidly (common when learning) the ball does not break off. They also provide a soft wide place to grab with your hands when getting the ball in/out of the water.
I also use a longer line on the release clips so that you can grab the release clip & attach it to your line without having to take the ball out of the water; using a length of 4-6 feet depending on your arm length & gunnel height.
When putting the line in the release, grab the line, double it up & put 3-4 turns of twist, then clamp the clip on the twist; this prevents the line from getting chaffed when it comes out of the release.

I do not like rod holders mounted on the down riggers; I use 2 holders about 3 feet apart mounted in the center of the stern pointed straight back. This makes getting the rod out of the holder much easier and faster when a fish strikes & allows you to watch both rod tips for a strike at the same time.

When a fish strikes you must be sure that you have gotten the line out of the release & reeled-in the slack line before you set the hook. This will take some practice.

I always place the line all the way forward in the release making it harder for the line to come out on it's own; this way once you have your gear set, you can reel-in more slack line; you don't any to be setting the hook before you get all the slack out. Using this method it takes a fish of about 15# to pull the line out of the clip on it's own without our intervention (reeling down hard).
 
As you all know it seems the Scotty products are as scarce as hen's teeth

Steveson Marine has a sale on Scotty products and since our boat won't be ready till Novemeber it seemed prudent to place an order while they were on sale.

I ordered the Scotty 2500 Line puller and a pair of Scotty 1106Bs (Braided line)

The Line Puller was on sale for $459.99 (Reg $653.97) and the 1106B's were $629.99 each (Reg $849.99)

I will go back and order the Line Puller Case and a few other bits in the next week or so.. I don't have to pay until they arrive in stock and the sale price is locked in.

Thanks for your help

​

 
Scotties are definitely the way to go, great product and excellent support. I had the 1106’s for years and they were great, have HP’s now and love them, prefer braid on the riggers too. Congrats on the build.
 
You should be able to get the newer high speed 2106's for about $700 ea. unless I'm out of touch with their pricing.You might as well get them now and not upgrade later.Your boat builder may be able to buy things wholesale.
 
Rayvon said:
You should be able to get the newer high speed 2106's for about $700 ea. unless I'm out of touch with their pricing.You might as well get them now and not upgrade later.Your boat builder may be able to buy things wholesale.
Click to expand...


You are right I can buy the high speed downriggers for $100 more each. I just didn't see the need as we will not be fishing that deep and we are not as serious about fishing as many here.

I am buying some stuff through the builder but not burdening him with a lot of extra stuff. I want as much of his attention as possible aimed at the build
 
Not much of a savings on Scotty going wholesale.

Where you are fishing will determine what weight balls you will run. It's an emotional discussion, but if you plan to run heavier than 15# balls, the hp is a better choice.

Tons of info on this site about the what to run between the braid and the ball. Downrigger clips are not always happy trying to grab braid.
 
I ordered my downriggers from poco marine because they were the cheapest. I asked berrys Bait if they would match the price but they wouldn’t because he was making like $10 per downrigger. Not much markup for those guys so buying wholesale doesn’t save you much.

Cabelas has big discounts on downriggers sometimes so you can always wait until they go on sale. Or just find some used ones
 
2106b + 72" Tuna cord works great for me. Just attach the rigger clip onto the black rubber sleeve on the tuna cord and done. Trips off auto no problem and your clip is attached nice and low to the cannon ball. Buy the tuna cord from scotty that includes the snubber then add a bigger cannon ball clip, like 6" with a split ring.

One thing I learned with the clip to your fishing line is don't just clip it to the sleeve but spread the clip shut by pulling the jaws apart to make sure it's tight or they can spit off. I probably lost 10 before I figured that golden nugget out.

Same goes for the clip to your line, I always run those full tight to help set the hook in case I'm staring at a cloud or whatever.

Btw finding the riggers could be a pita and make sure you buy double of everything tackle related, it blows when you lose the tackle at sea.
 
Any new scotty electric will work and and work well. More money = faster retrieve. I ran 10 gauge wire to the riggers, and a dedicated 15a breaker to each. Overkill, but, thin wire = voltage drop = slower retrieve.

I'd suggest 450ft of braid, as it wears, you can cut off sections as required and still have enough to go fishing. I would also echo having snubbers as they will save balls.
 
+1 for the tuna cord at the start. Also extra clips and line stops. You never want to be out of gear when the bite is on.
 
Make sure you buy the longest tuna cord you can, you want that rigger to trip off with the ball still well in the water unless you want to put your gelcoat guys kid through medical school.

Once you're rigged, test all your gear at the docks first. Riggers can be nasty beasts and you don't want to give anyone a reason to call you stumpy if a finger goes missing at sea.
 
Bill I went with the HP’s. Everyone sets things up different. I’m a wire guy but did switch to the Tuna Cord and swivel for a shut off. I bring my balls a foot out of the water because I don’t want anything in the water to get hung up playing or netting the fish. You’ll be good with whatever you get....after all it’s going to mounted on a JaxonCraft! Lol
 
That clip with the 370 is the one you want. It's not easy to find those sold on their own and I used to buy both the tuna cord / snubber combo and that snubber / clip then chop the clip off the snubber. Highwater had some of the clips only last summer so I bought a few spares.
 
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