Adventure Kayak Downrigger Suggestions?

Hey gang,
Thinking about adding a downrigger to my adventure and wondered if there were any suggestions for the following:

Best rigger for salmon.
Any old how to forum topics specific to adventure?

I haven't installed one but if you do a search for downrigger you should get a few.

Heres mine on my outback...kinda goofy,but it works!

What's that Koke doing bungeed to the board, posing for his taxidermy session?


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Is that the lake downrigger?  Will that be okay for fishing Salmon in the sound?

Also how stable is that crate, is it just held down by the bungie?

Yeah,its the little one...with a 2 lb ball..probably a little light weight for the sound.I think its only rated for 3 lbs max. The crate works ok...doesnt  tilt.At first, I didnt like how it slides a little, but kinda like how I can pull it closer to me to crank it up. Just posted it to show how simple you can make it...theres lots of guys on here with more solid and cool rigs.I do like being able to deploy while peddling...its in reach.Good luck

Here's a good place to start:

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=9995.0

Okay so I decided to attach it to the crate and tighten the crate on the kayak.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x138/tenhunter/close.jpg

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x138/tenhunter/full.jpg

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x138/tenhunter/photo-3.jpg

Nice job! Looks great


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Perfectly timed post! I'm thinking of stealing some ideas as I was just talking with some people about a downrigger setup for my Revo!

Looks good !..it will probablly work for ya,then you can mount more solidly if need be...which is what I said last year , and haven't changed it. How heavy ball will you need out there? Would love to get into those pinks in the sound..

Heres mine on my outback...kinda goofy,but it works!

mount that dr to your crate. You want your dr weight as close to your hull as you can get with out the cable hitting. Try it you will not have to have your rudder cranked the whole time your fishing.

 Go with a Scotty they have the most universal mount out there. As said above get your cable as close to the centerline of your hull to prevent your boat going in circles. Another thing is to get a shuttle hawk from Shasta tackle its a diving planner that rides on the cable so you don't have to crank up the dr after each time your line comes out of the clip.
 I use my dr all the time down to 100' for kokes. I use a 4lb weight and a shuttle hawk. I have it down to a science if you need more specific info pm me. If I can ever find someone to do se on the water filming I want to make a how to video for the forum. I have only taught a few people my technique and within minutes they went from  giving up on a dr to loveing it.

I've been thinking of just using a fishing pole half with a reel for my down rigger. Either use that color coded line or a line counting reel or usually I can see the ball on my fish finder anyway. Or a board with a reel mounted to it. One reel that might work is one made from a 100 foot tape measure

I really think with a little thought I could make something that would  work better with a kayak rather than try and figure out how to make an existing one work.

This is the rigger you need and the way to mount it:

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x138/tenhunter/photo-3.jpg

bracing the arm on the crate not only gives it support, it balances the ball under your kayak so you don't feel like you're tipping over.

two downriggers is a nice idea but is going to create a giant amount of drag.  it will be hard to push that for very long, especially if there's a current.  you can easily clip two lines to one downrigger.  saves on drag and reduces the amount of gear you have to manage.

that's the same rigger I have and it couldn't be more perfect for a kayak.

Sitting on top of the crate with the arm extended so far outboard creates a long lever arm and may make the kayak more tippy than if it was mounted with the arm close to the gunwale and just the pulley extending over the side.  Also reaching out to grab the cable to clear debris could be an issue. 

You may want to mount it on the other side of the crate and extend it across the crate/kayak and over the side.

I found a 6 pound ball to be a sweet spot for Puget Sound.  Even then an 8 pound would hang straighter, but one does need to move the yak in a straight line.   I have a 4 pound for fresh water.  I also replaced the stainless steel cable with 100lb PowerPro.  Still, be gentle and do not drop the ball such that is jerks the line.