How do you rig your downrigger?

[TenMile]

Hey all,

Looking for some advice here. In two consecutive weeks I have lost two downrigger balls to a snapped downrigger wire. [}] The wire itself is only 8 weeks old so it not that I am using an old wire. I just rigged new cable snaps last week and low and behold the rigger wire snapped again today. No matter how much tension I keep on the cable it seems to kink and then snap

Tried an experiment today in that I have added in 4' of Dacron line to the end of the downrigger cable which will attach directly to the ball via a snap. This will keep the wire part of the line on the spool and should prevent twisting, kinking and snapping. I've seen some of the guide boats with a similar set up. Any thoughts on this approach or any better method of saving my balls? []

 

[scottyboy]

myself, i use 12lbs pancake weights and never have a problem .theres a swivel on the scotty black plastic clip and another just above . also use stainless line guides , 2 crips and rubber stoppers. never kink your wire when attaching clips scottyboy

 

[islanderguy]

Sounds like some bad wire or your lead ball is spinning and causing your wire to kink. You may want to try a pancake weight or use one of those Scotty connector's with the fin to stop the weight from spinning. We've used the same downrigger weights for the past 10 years and generally change the wire when it starts fraying.

 

[blueorca]

Sounds like you should get someone to go over your rig and set you up so you can start fishing instead of littering the ocean floor with lead.

 

[danthewire]

What make of wire are you using?I've used the scotty wire for years and never had a problem.Is the wire snapping at where you use the crimp fitting or up the cable.I use a commercial type rubber snubber with the snap molded into the rubber at one end, with a swivel molded on the other end,it doesn't shock the wire when I let it down or bring it up.I used g---- line and it was trouble.DAN

 

[Dogbreath]

You need to use a Rubber Snubber as shown should be about $10.

There are a lot of other things that could be wrong-whereabouts are you?

 

[hiroshi]

Maybe you need to add a ball bearing swivel to the end of you wire line. That lets you ball spin as much as it wants.

 

[esperanza]

splice the wire then crimp i use a molly hogan.

 

[SIR]

Hey TenMile,

Sounds like you have a crimping problem.... you could be over crimping or undercrimping....

I've hooked up cannon balls enough to turn my boat sideways both with wire and braided line and not lost one so unless you got a crappy batch of wire which would seem unlikely I'd suspect your crimping system...

When I was using wire I'd run the wire thru two sets of metal sleeves and crimp each sleeve twice once at the front and once at the back with a pair of side cutters. Leave a half inch loop around the plastic dowrigger clip so as not to make to tight of a bend in the wire. Don't over crimp them or you may actually be nipping the wire inside the sleeves...

Not too sure what's happening but that's all that comes to mind......

 

[Little Hawk]

Ten Mile...

Your problems could be twofold...

1) You're fishing close to the bottom and your sounder is inaccurate.

2) Your downrigger's (especially if they're old Scotty/manual's) don't have a good clutch/drag system to pay-out line when you get snagged-up. Nine times out of ten, if your downrigger's pay out line easily, you get a chance to recover your gear.

Cheers,
Terry

 

[TenMile]

Hey guys,

I'm actually starting to think that I might have some bad downrigger wire. It has happened both times on the same side while lowering the ball into the water (not getting hung up or anything like that). On this particular side, I had to replace the downrigger cable and I believe I used Pro-Troll wire as that was the only brand in stock at my local store that day.

I do have the proper swivels and rubber stopper (the Scotty stuff) and I am using the crimps the right way. The cable is actually snapping above the crimp. What seems to happen is the cable will loop over onto itself when lowering the ball and before I can react, the cable snaps with the weight of the ball.

As an aside, has anyone tried replacing the steel cable with these new Dacron downrigger cables? They of course don't rust and apparently are not impacted by UV rays. The big advantage is that they don't emit the electrical noise that a steel downrigger cable does therefore eliminating the need for a Black Box.

"All the sounds of earth are like music" ... but the electro-static hum of a downrigger’s steel cable may not be music to an angler's ears. Sometimes the best sound is no sound at all. The downrigger’s crude beginnings were born on the Great Lakes. A simple contraption consisting of no more than a hand lowered weighted bucket connected to a spool of mounted wire made great strides over the past century, through the deployment of commercial fisherman.

PowerPro Downrigger Cable ReplacementSignificant advancements over the last 20 years have reeled in a growing popularity with sport fishermen. And now Innovative Textiles is picking up the slack and running with the ball (cannonball, that is). Those who have taken the step from trolling weights to downriggers with steel cables are now taking the next logical step ... PowerPro Downrigger Replacement Cable.

Like an undercover agent, a downrigger plagued by the white noise created by a steel cable runs the risk of a blown cover. To eliminate the electro-static hum on steel downrigger cables, fishermen are replacing it with PowerPro. It delivers the strength needed to securely hold the cannonball in place and the small diameter minimizes blowback. So an angler’s precision controlled depth fishing remains a stealth operation.

 

[Tailspin]

I lost a 13 # finned weight the other day on new stainless scotty cable as well. Even with snubbers it just happens. Could have been crimped to hard maybe, however as a skeptic i put Dyneema Braided on that side to try it out. So far i am very happy with the results. Still hits lots of fish regardless of no voltage. It does hang back a bit more when stacking lines.

 

[FishinsinThe Blood]

Try this.......
1. Thread lead ball through line and keep above swivel 10 to 15ft with surgical tubing and crib peg.
2. Tie 8ft of Ultima to swivel then tie to your rig with some good ol eagle claw hooks. Carefully thread brined cutplug on rig.
3. Troll close to the kelp away from all the riggers
4. Allow your trolling motor to slip in and out of gear. let your lines flow through the waters at different angles and speeds.
5. Enjoy the coastline and enjoy a laugh at the comedy show happening as you see 'Unknown size Chinook after another get cut off by downrigger cables that are too lazy or rude to pull themselves up because the skipper is goddamn sure it is not in the way of a fish on'
6. Catch a black cod or two and stay away. Troll on.
7. Catch a ling and enjoy!
8. Enjoy not being around anyone and relish at the thought of being an 'old school fisherman again.'
9. ohhh oh, wait for it, give er' some pulls, she's on.....HIT IT! Fish on fellas and we're by ourselves.
10. Remember that there are Chinook that still cruise the kelp for a nice meal and YOU DON'T NEED NO DOWNRIGGER FOR THAT!
11. Put your downriggers, flashers, hoochies, etc. on Ebay and never have to give Scotty another overpriced dollar for their crap.
12. Try 4 ounces 11 pulls if you are ever fishing the shallows at Dundas or the Charlottes or ......it is a magical #.

 

[Brokenrod]

Ten Mile, does your line curl up when there is slack, if so you have twisted the line. You need to cut that part out, try using a snubber with a swivel. Or go the synthetic, its great. Good luck.

 

[Last Chance]

Braided line. Tie your balls on with a knot and go.

 

[Striper Sniper]

Hey LC, I am new to this but..... wouldn't that hurt! Seawolf 1

 

[Last Chance]

quote:Originally posted by Seawolf 1

Hey LC, I am new to this but..... wouldn't that hurt! Seawolf 1

It's an old fisherman's trick.

 

[Striper Sniper]

Well LC, I am new to the West Coast, you guys are sure tough as nails! Hopefully there are other, less painful tricks out there to catch fish. Seawolf 1