Electric Reels

Does anyone have any experience with electric reels?  I have been thinking about the possible use of one on a stiff rod for use as an electric downrigger while out and about.

Pros? Cons?

A kayak downrigger needs to have a pulley which is located within arm's length of your kayak seat, so you can grab the ball and take it out of the water, and clip your line into the downrigger release.  If the pulley is located further away, you could install a retriever ring and leash on the downrigger cable, but that would not be as convenient as having the downrigger ball surface where you can easily grab it.  You don't want the downrigger pulley to be too far behind the end of your rod, because that could result in your fishing line crossing the downrigger cable, rather than running behind the downrigger cable.  And large downriggers used on motor boats often have long arms which extend out to the side of the boat, so multiple downriggers can be trolled at the same time.  However, on a kayak, you want the downrigger pulley and cable as close as possible to the side of the kayak, to minimize the effect of the downrigger on the stability of the kayak. 

So it probably doesn't make sense to use a stiff rod to raise and lower a downrigger ball.  If you locate an electric or manual reel which is suitable for raising and lowering a downrigger weight, it would make way more sense to mount it on a pulley arm which is only a couple of inches long, just long enough so the cable is an inch or so from the side of your kayak.  If you mount both the downrigger device and the fishing rod which you are using with it next to your thigh or your calf, it will be easy to operate the downrigger and monitor the tip of your rod.  For more suggestions about kayak downrigger setups, see my postings at http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=11954.0 and http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=11486.0 .