Christmas wish - linking Hobie drive to downrigger

Saw this on youtube and thought of this thread:


Looks like it'd work.... but about 400 bucks too expensive for me.

There are lower cost electric reels that can be used as an electric downrigger.  I chose to buy a used Tanacom750 so I can also use it for halibut fishing and a kayak downrigger.   Costs get amortized over years of joy, and catching fish, how can you put a price on that?

Costs get amortized over years of joy, and catching fish, how can you put a price on that?

I agree with you 110%.

Where'd you buy your used reel? I saw some on eBay, but was concerned about scams/faulty products.

Edit 1: Adding that concerns about scams/faulty products may not be entirely warranted... I haven't yet had a bad experience on eBay that wasn't resolved by paypal or patience.

Edit 2: D'oh, you're the one who posted the video on youtube. Thanks for posting it!

Have you used your tanacom reel yet? I would love to see some reviews from folks actually using them.

Another question to the general community -- if a reel has an advertised 14lb drag, does that mean that it should have no issue dragging an 8lb cannonball?

Using the 8lb example because it's the biggest weight I can imagine using... I imagine I'll be using weights more in the 4-6lb range.

Also -- anyone know if using an electric fishing reel and fish finder on the same battery would cause any issues?

Have you used your tanacom reel yet? I would love to see some reviews from folks actually using them.

Yes, I've used a Tanacom750 for about the past 10 years halibut fishing by power boat offshore in OR.  Deep Drop to some areas that are 700ft deep, and with 4lb or 5lb of lead the electric reel makes bait checks a breeze.  The reel is a workhorse. I've had one LCD Display fail (control board), which had to be returned to Daiwa for replacement.  I've upgraded to carbontex drag washers in six reels that I regularly service, and do a clean and lube annually to keep everything in top condition.  I'd highly recommend the Daiwa Tanacom750.

There are MANY far cheaper solutions for a kayak downrigger!  I only occasionally use my Tanacom750 for an electric downrigger while kayak fishing because I have one.  I run a 3lb or 4lb cannonball as my downrigger weight.  Most of the time I use a line counter Daiwa Saltiga SG47LCA reel as my "downrigger".  The boom for my downrigger is just the 36" butt section of a stiff rod with a roller tip at the end.

I use a separate battery power sources for the Electric Reel and Fish Finder.   
The Electric Reel can supposedly draw up to 30A (probably motor stalled at 42# of max drag), and my FF battery is on a 3A fuse.

Good idea on the separate battery. How large is it? How many amp hours do you think you need to make it through a day of fishing?

Good idea on the separate battery. How large is it? How many amp hours do you think you need to make it through a day of fishing?

I use a small 22Ah motorcycle battery in a "waterproof case"  -- I can go multiple days of kokanee fishing and also multiple days of halibut fishing.  This year, I'm trying out a 7Ah battery which is smaller, so we'll see how long that runs.  There's always the manual crank on the reel if the battery happens to die, so worst case I'd be relegated back to a manual downrigger.

The battery operated reel is nice to just flip the lever to lift the lead weight, it'll stop right at the surface -- I get to have all the fun of reeling in the fishes with no extra lead on the line and no downrigger line to tangle with.

Yes, that was a pretty waterfall.   

Yes, that was a pretty waterfall.   

   Let's just all agree right now that the video was pretty dorky!  It doesn't even really show the "electric downrigger" in action, it shows one adjustment pulling the line up by a few meters.... ooooh  really hard to do that!  I think I'll make a new video this year which shows the complete setup and in-situ application of deployment and retrieval.

I think it conveyed the ingenuity and utility of your electric powered downrigger, Ms. Fish.  I don't use downriggers, but that doesn't diminish how clever I think your setup is - nor how pretty that waterfall looked.

I think I'll make a new video this year which shows the complete setup and in-situ application of deployment and retrieval.

I'd really appreciate it! I'm teetering on the fence about buying a used electric reel to use as a downrigger... If you don't mind my asking, where did you buy yours? Do you have any advice, or considerations that I might want to think about as I look into purchasing one?

@bb2fish - Where did you get your roller tip? I have a sacrificial rod, but the diameter is fairly large and I can't find a tip that will work.

Harry's Bait and Tackle in Newport has a scad of roller tips of varying diameters -- $1 each.  I picked up a few rollers, they have a variety of applications.  Ebay has a bunch with various diameters, just depends on what size you want.  Good Luck.