Scotty High Performance Downriggers

[Fishing Guide]

Cheers All,

Have been intrigued with the new Scotty High Performance downriggers. After watching a recent BC Outdoors Fishing Show featuring "The Murph" where, in the episode watched, Dave was showing his new "High Performance" downriggers - which will be available in January 2010. Curious what others think of them....

I was going to order a couple but have decided to stick to the regular electronic as the new ones - while boasting 'the fastest retreival rates on the market' have a significant drawback. They have electronic line counters which will only be warrantied for 2 years and, having had 2 counters go on mine this season alone, suggests that I will be replacing them down the road on 'my dime' which, as you can tell by now, is not what I call "lifetime warranty". I am also unsure if they will be field replaceable as I can now re and re my analogue in under 5 minutes and the spare counter was inexpensive.

On the positive side...illuminated counters for that first and last fishing of the day would be awesome and I could put away my mag light! The slightly faster retrieval time would be of only marginal importance.

In anticipation...

 

[scott craven]

here is a video showing features and benefits...
the speed of retrieve is definitely better .

http://www.youtube.com/user/ScottyProducts?feature=mhum

 

[Aces]

Try and keep up to them reeling in on a single action reel when changing or checking your gear - good luck.

Also, i was told by someone that tested them last year that those fancy line counters fog up and you can't just lift the lid and wipe it off like the old ones. Personally, i'll stick to the tried and true. Besides they are already paid for.

 

[the fog ducker]

Give them credit for trying somthing innovative , but , not needed in my book,
hard ta fix sumthing that has almost been perfectly made for many of years
Warranty, Top Notch ,
till mine fall off the boat , there here ta stay , they look cool...

FD

 

[Bod]

Everything I read says they will pull twenty pound balls with ease. Has anyone tried this with the new ones?
My old ones struggle and have stripped the odd belt. As far as keeping up when checking the gear I can't keep up to my old ones when checking the gear from 2 or 3 hundred feet. It's amazing how many fish hit when I stop the rigger to catch up. I don't see this as a problem. Would like to see one in action for sure.

 

[Slabby20]

There's another video/review on this site http://www.saltpatrol.com/videos

I won't be buying anytime soon. My old bullet proof Scotty's work just fine and like others have said, they're paid for. If I was in the market for new ones I'd be intrigued but I'd want to see what the reviews look like in a year or so. Sometimes "new and improved" isn't.

 

[Fishinnut]

I had just bought a bunch of 5mm LED lights from china off of Ebay that are 12v. I have a write up on how to do this with multiple electrical parts. This would make it easier with the lights only. I bought red LEDS so I could have the white LED lights under the cover shining on the counter, red LEDs through the cover to remind you to turn the lights off under the cover, and little LED light holders. Then these new Scotty DRs came out. The lights cost squat. A buck or two plus shipping. Shipping cost more than the lights. When we fish before dawn to catch the true first light, its a pain with a flashlight.

 

[profisher]

A two speed rigger would have been more ideal over an all out dragster. More options for emergency situations; ie tangled into a raft of bull kelp or a crab pot. In that scenario you could gear it down, taking the strain off the motor. Which would also prevent tripping the breaker or blowing a fuse.

 

[Steelhead S2]

With regards to keeping up from deep, is it necessary to reel in the line when checking your rigs with an electric? If you're setting to the same depth, why not just pull the ball and let the line drag? Is it a tangling issue? My boat is so small that everything is always tangled up, so nothing ever stays in the water on a gear check. But maybe bigger boats wouldn't have the same problem.

 

[casper5280]

Why not just pop the pin and let it float up?Less line twist.i have caught many fish this way and I fish 4 rods on 2 riggers and most of the time I run all the gear.As Profisher says I do like the Idea of racing up in a emergency situations.

 

[profisher]

I prefer to leave the rod plugged in on the way up. I've hit fish as its coming up (so keeping the slack out is important) and I find I get better hook ups when the fish has to pull the line out of the clip rather than trying to set the hook with my fairly light rods. The 2 speed dragster or torque rigger would be way more versatile, quick up if you get to close to a reef, or clearing gear when you have a fish on...or choose slow up when you are tangled into a gooney nest. For the ultimate yet to be invented; how about a downrigger with a quick change spool and gearing that will allow for prawn trap pulling.

 

[Whole in the Water]

I like your ideas about 2 speeds and prawn trap pulling capabilities profisher. Hopefully someone from Scotty is listening!

 

[Halilogger]

X2 profisher I like the idea of 2 speeds as well.

 

[searun]

I haven't tried them, but do know a guy who has. Apparently worked fine, and yes he confirmed the counter does fog up, but so do the old style. Not sure about how easy it is to service the counter, but like most things Scotty it ain't rocket surgery. Other advantage on the fast pull is your downtime after a swing and miss down 200+ feet is a lot less.

 

[Derby]

I believe Scotty has been testing these riggers for a couple years-that is why they test them to find out if there is a problem before they put them out.I would think that both Scotty and the counter manufacturer would have taken steps to make sure the counters will work without fail. Scotty has always been good on anything that they have put in the market place so far. I have a pair coming for my boat for next spring-will let you know how it goes

 

[Fishing Guide]

Derby RE: the counters will work without fail.

I take exception to that comment. This calander year I fished a lot but, from January to August, I went through 3counters and 2 line spools on my electric downriggers. I will admit that I don't think that counters split the spools and that, the reverse, the breaking and twisted spools may have put additional stress on the counters and led to their failures but the point is that I have had failures. And not just this year - counters have gone in past years so that I am now forced to carry a spare electric downrigger on board in case of failure or while waiting for parts. I also carry a spare counter. And these are not trashed units: these units were brand new in 2007, live in a heated garage and are serviced bi-annually by Scotty. This year they had to be serviced 4 times.

The concept of a downrigger is controlled fishing and that requires a depth counter. To market the product as lifetime should be exactly that - barring any abuse - they should back up the unit with a free repair/replacement. They do that with the current counters and, after considerable consideration, I will be staying with my current product until such time that either the counter is covered in that warranty OR significant time has demonstrated that these newer units are more reliable than the analogue ones.

I would also be interested in real life numbers regarding current draw. Had a PM that these new units have double the draw and, if you are on the water a lot, or use them for considerable lengthy days, that may be of concern or lead to issues.

SFBC Forum is a great place to kick around the ideas.

 

[Derby]

Sorry not trying to offend anyone-just my to bits- As you say a great place to kick around ideas

As a guide how many days a year are you using your riggers? 100 to 120 days? x4 seasons

The counters & spliting spools is this happening on these same rigger? just this last season only?

What are you currently using on your down riggers -Steel ? Power Pro? how many feet per rigger?

Looking into the power draw should have something shortly.

 

[Fishing Guide]

Cheers,

Relax Derby...was not taken personally! Best place to learn is online BEFORE it costs to fix the problem! My comment was an attempt to present that there were problems and not a 'slam' on you.

This year I will be on the water around 130 days and will average about 100 over the 4 years.

The counters have had problems since new...at least one a year over 4 years. This is the basis of my concern that Scotty will not warranty them. I suspect the new counters are going to be significantly more expensive than the analogue ones. The spools split on both downriggers this year. The one went and, within a month, the other was done too.

I am using 500 feet of Scotty Premium Braided Downrigger Line on each downrigger. I cut off 5' every second month and re-tie to ward off the 'fray' gremlins. I use Scotty and, while it is much more expensive, I figure that, should I ever have a problem (and I did), then they cannot deny me warranty as I am using their product (with recipts to bear that out). I reverse the line at the end of the year and then replace the line after the second year. The loss of a coated downrigger weight is almost the same cost as a roll of downrigger braid so I prefer to keep the braid in premium condition rather than slush through an endless supply of downrigger balls. I feel the pain every time I lose one of the coated balls.

Definately interested in the 'real world' power draw on the new units. Should tell an interesting story as I am going to guess the numbers are going to be a bit higher than one would suspect. The motors in these units are significantly bigger than the older units.

Thanks again for your input.

 

[Derby]

None taken I'm just want to help get the info to people to help them out.
I'm off to the the Gig tomorrow in Vancouver first ferry:
A quick question? you using the 175# Braid?

Answer to the draw :

The new HP draws 19amps with a 20lbs ball and 17amps with a 15lbs ball. The older models draw 8 amps with a 15lbs ball.

I'm back thursday- I can figure a few things out then- Thoses counter on your rigger should be a warrenty
Have agood one

 

[searun]

Well, I would say from my experience with Scotty is they stand behind their product and considering the number of hours and "cycles" I put mine through I can say they are as bullet proof as you can make anything. Not sure why you are having so many issues with your riggers there Gerry. One possible reason could be that if you are doing 120 days like most of the rest of us doing charters, and you are lucky to get 3 or 4 seasons out of those riggers before the inevitable will happen. Face it, even your truck has a warranty limited by time or KM's driven for a reason. As a commercial operator I chalk certain things up to capital cost depreciation. Like you I also carry a spare rigger just in case, as I can't afford down time on the water if I encounter any problems. As you mention, the counters are problematic. I usually go through one or 2 a season...again, chalk that up to heavy number of cycles these units go through compared to the average sport angler. I'm hoping the new digital units are less maintenance, and I suspect they will be easy to change out as it has been my experience that anything Scotty is made so it can be fixed by a 5th grader.