stacking clips

bigredsnapper

Well-Known Member
I bought a set of Scotty stacking clips and I tried it once and gave up. I hate stacking to begin with but with 3 or more guys on board it's good to get a couple more lines working. Any tips would be great. BRS
 
Lower the rig slow, slow, slow-using a mini flasher (or no flasher) on top helps sometime

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Stacked on braid with no problems using the Scotty stacking clips. Just be sure to use the Red stoppers above the stacking clip. Getting ready for the chums are we[?] :D...BB
 
don't go without stopper beads - thats the big one - when lots of stuff is going off on you all at once, the last thing you will remember is to turn the rigger off manually and you will lose more than enough release clips as it binds in the rigger coming up. Deeper rod off the side of the boat, let out more from flasher to clip, higher rod off the back and shorter length. As mentioned, let it drop slowly to start once both rods are clipped up - hold onto the barrel with 1 finger if you are running 12lb+ or it can fly too quick and pop off your clip - once both your reels are spinning fine, let er rip where you want.

Stacking seems pretty necessary for socks, and if you get one on, leave the rest down as long as you can...if you are fishing springs, well, I don't have much experience with springs and stacked line, but you would have to work like a dog to get the other 3 lines up if you have a hog, otherwise just asking for trouble leaving them down.

That's been working for me with no major problems (lost a couple of socks with line cross, but no biggee) - others may do something different for all I know. Keep in mind also that you may not be able to tell which rod is going off as the other rod on the cable will also bounce, so a few seconds extra to be sure can be helpful.
 
Fish the rigs closer to your cannonballs - makes for less tangles and also helps with Deewar's last problem - you will see clearly which rod has a fish on. Also, socks like it hot so the closer you have your lures to your cables the better. I fish ~ 8' behind the cannonball.
 
If you're using scotty stacker clips, you don't need the red beads -- if the black and green clip pops off the downrigger line, the metal clip means it just falls down the line to the downrigger ball. Good design!

Stacking for springs....on SLOOOOOWWWW days where you just can't stand it anymore, I've put on the stacked lines in order to try more gear and cover more depths. But I do so with eyes wide open: double the gear in the water is double the chance of a hit, BUT also with the cost of a much increased chance of losing a fish and a virtual certainty of utter chaos. Love the chaos.

The other negative with stacking is it makes checking gear a hassle ... and so you might be less likely to do so, a problem in weedy areas or where there are little fish that might take your bait and you can't even tell they're on it.

A little trick...if you need to work with the bottom line, then leave the top line in place, bring up the downrigger, unhook the top line clip when it gets to the boat (winding up the slack on the reel), hook the clip onto something on the boat, deal with the bottom rod, then as you're dropping the bottom rod back down, just clip the top one back on ... way easier than starting both rods from scratch.
 
love the stacker clips...no more messing around with multiple stops.
One tip on the regular Scotty clips...as Dewar mentioned, when they hit the rigger they tend to drop off and are lost. I got tired of replacing them, so now tie a short piece of mono to the clip with a snap swivel on the end. Clip the snap swivel to the downrigger line and if the clip ever flips off, you don't lose it (same idea as the stacker clips)
 
We stack four lines a fair bit. Through trial and error we have learned it is useful to know when not to stack. I think twice about stacking if there is a lot of weed or you are fishing close to places where you are likely to pick up a lot of rockfish, ling, dogfish (a lot of gear to check), if the current is really strong and tending to push the downrigger cables/boat at a good angle as you maintain your course, if the waves/wind/tide rips are such that you are bouncing around a lot, if the person/s fishing with me are less experienced handling gear and the boat and if it’s really crowded and you may have to do some sharp turns. The more of these factors occurring at one time the more likely you are to run into problems with stacking and there is nothing like a tangled mess with the flashers twisting the lines together into tight cords and the bait all tore up. We also don’t stack if we already have big springs dialled in for location and depth; we just get back on the GPS tac with two lines. If the bite time is short you will get the gear down and back on them faster and with a lot less headaches if you get another one on. For big springs you get some advantage but I don’t think you double the advantage stacking as in the majority of cases we get them on the lower lines. If we are fishing springs and sockeye are around we sometimes fish one rigger stacked on the upper line with a white and pink squirt which both the springs and sockeye seem to like. Three rods(one stacked) is easier to manage than four. I take my hat off to the guides who can run six lines stacked for sockeye. They obviously have done it a lot and really know what they are doing.
 
quote:Originally posted by Degree of Freedom

I got tired of replacing them, so now tie a short piece of mono to the clip with a snap swivel on the end. Clip the snap swivel to the downrigger line and if the clip ever flips off, you don't lose it (same idea as the stacker clips)

good plan - I like that and will keep in mind if I'm on a boat ill-prepared!
 
Thanks Guys, the ones I bought are Scotty with two adjustable release clips(one short and one longer) and the stainless clip that goes around the downrigger line. Anyway I clipped the shorter release clip on the braid on the stronger setting and the other clip to the fishing line on the normal setting. I guess the idea is for both clips to release and the clip to slide down to the cannonball. It didn't seem to work properly but I am not the most patient guy, I think I only tried once or twice. Anyone figured it out, am I on the right track...it didn't come with any instructions not that I would read them anyway. BRS
 
Recently I put on one of those ball puller ropes; Using braid, without the stopper beads, with stacked lines, the clip just slides down the braid - No pop off the braid. Even a second clip will keep sliding without popping off, I've learned through (in)experience.

Having that puller thing is also great when you have the boom extended, makes life way easier when stacking clips. Almost always run at least two lines on one side.


Drag'n'Fly
22' Blue & White Starcraft Islander
 
heres is a few tips for scotty clipps I have learned guiding over the years:

-put some surgical tubing on the part of your clip that you push out on the top....this with give it more grip.

-get some fishing line. tie one end to the top of your snapp. allow 2-3ish inches. tie a small quick change i.e something that you would use for tieing your main line fishing line to things. then hook the quick change to your DR line, or cannon ball or what ever as a safety....This will keep your clip if it decides to fall off.

-for a cheep and easy way to make your own custom clipps....buy the release clip and snapp separate. grab some lawn mower "which is more durable them fishing line" then you can make them the lenth you wish. you will save at leave 5$ min a set up.


steve
 
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