Installing a 3rd Downrigger on the 24 Striper

the fog ducker

Well-Known Member
, that time of year again , doin all my upgrades and maintenance ,
i am hoping to here from guys that are running 3 downriggers , there experiences , mistakes perhaps ,
would appreciate any input , do's dont's locaton mounting etc..
ive seen boats with 2 mounted very close to each other in the rear , gunnel ?
i guess when in use , one way out to the side , and one would swives towards the center back ??
my existing 2 are mounted on either side as far back as they coulda went ,
how i prefer them !! so , the 3rd would have to be custom installed in the center im thinkin , with a custom L metal bracket im thinkin
keep it closer and above my twin mains , Stripers have a large storage hatch that i need to keep clear of ,
anyways , with a full extension on the rigger , it will clear the mains over a foot past , question is , how to grab the scotty release lol
resetting the rods ?? ,will be about 4-5 feet away from where i stand ,
prob use a long pole with hook i guess ? try ta make somthing custom and light , somthin non metal as not to have guys bangin the motors everytime ,
gonna go down to the boat and take sum pics ,

thx in advance guys , lets keep this on topic

happy fishin...
fd
 
if your original riggers are mounted all the way back you may have to mount your third in a more forward position.... non kicker side of course... so the the aft rigger is now your third....set it on a 45 ish angle over the grid.. make a 5' clip.
 
Mine is mounted centre over the engines. I swing the rigger to the Starbord side (opposite my kicker). And rig it with the boom parallel with the transom. So the downrigger cable is only a foot off the corner and easy to work with. I lower the ball about 10 feet then stop, swing the boom out behind the main and continue lowering...reverse coming up. This keeps your ball from smacking the prop or can plate as the ball can move around a bit in sloppy water. I run my centre opposite to most...I run that gear the farthest back from the boat ( close to twice as far back as the others) and also the deepest. Works well for me.
 
We run 4 Scotty electric downriggers on our 22ft. walk around. The two side riggers are mounted more mid ship and the rear two riggers are mounted right at each back corner. When current and weather allow we can run all 4 riggers with out any issues. Side riggers with heavier balls are our deep lines and back riggers are the shallow lines. Hope this helps. Like trophywife posted, mount your third more forward mid ship non kicker side, is the set up we use and works very well.
 
pop down to horseshoe bay
dave at predator charters runs twins and either 3-4 scottys
 
hope this isn't a hijack but i think it may be along the lines of tfd's post.
just curious is guys running 3 and 4 downriggers find it's more productive than running 2 or if they consider it to be more bother than what it's worth? I guess if there are 3 or 4 guys on a boat you could assign each of them a downrigger and let them do their own thing... would make for some good competition... hehe
 
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from a personal standpoint , ive fished boats with 3 riggers ,
i find it very useful for getting dialed in faster , being able to flip through gear much faster ,
especially if fishin is tuff ,new spot ,,,,, or your not networking with others to help find the fish ,
once dialed in , 2 riggers is all ya need , as Blair said , use the 3 rd high for coho or even
staggling chinook ,

yes ,issues with tides , depth etc , sharp turns etc... you gotta be on it , more carefull for sure..

maybe to much for most , but i like workin on the deck ,
always fiddling , like figuring out things on my own " MOST times " lol


m2b

fd
 
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