down rigger

I run two Lake Troll DR on my 15' Outback in the very rear of the gunnel trays. Rails towards the front for scotty 438 gear-head track adapter and rocket launchers. I also use PowerPro Depth Hunter 80# braid on the DRs, 150' worth. This line is marked with different colors and segments - 25ft per color = 100ft/4-color. Color repeats every 100 feet. 2” Black hash or tick marking every 5ft- for precise lure depth placement. Once I got use to the colors/ depth, targeting fish was much more productive with a good fish finder.

Something else I've been experimenting with is attaching my flashers directly to the DR weight and the release clip after the flasher. I'm still working on this but the fish I have caught had a much better/ direct feel. With nothing between the fish and rod, I'm hoping to try this technique with salmon to help the barbless stick a bit better.

Mike

I successfully used a scotty laketroller DR mounted on my scotty rod holder which is positioned in my forward port mesh pocket on my Hobie Revo11.  I was using a 4 pound ball for kokanee down to a depth of 90' or so.  Worked great...got me some kokes on a really hot summer day trolling down deep.  I have a second MacGuyver style downrigger that is just a stiff butt section of a flounder rod with a line counter reel on it.  I used that thing in my scotty rod holder as a downrigger, and that did the trick too.  Pretty excited to have two Downrigger solutions!

Barb, got pics of your flounder McGyver rig?  Sounds interesting.

Here's a pic.  The tip is a roller tip (like something from a halibut rod), I whittled a stick to attach the roller tip to the ferrule of the butt section.  Then I attach the downrigger weight to the corkscrew swivel.  I have 80lb spectra on a linecounter Daiwa SG47LCA reel.  To let out the weight I loosen the drag, the ball drops as slow or as fast as I desire.  Cranking up is easy as halibut bait checks.

Don't have a pic on my kayak in use...should do that next time, or get a camera installed (Pete, you're not the only one without a camera).

Barb

Thanks Barb, lloks doab looks doable 😎

I run two Lake Troll DR on my 15' Outback in the very rear of the gunnel trays.

Wingshooter, what are your techniques for avoiding tangles when running two downriggers at the same time?

I run two Lake Troll DR on my 15' Outback in the very rear of the gunnel trays.

Wingshooter, what are your techniques for avoiding tangles when running two downriggers at the same time?

Different depths(at least 20') for each rig and take wider corners when coming back around. I also keep the leader (from the clip to the bait) length of the top (closer to the surface) rig long. Having a short leader on the top rig and a deep setup for the bottom rig, this could bring them together, especially while cornering. So keep the top leader long, 6' - 10' is usually safe depending on the bottom DR angle. You can also use a heavier weight for the bottom rig to alleviate some of this angle.

Keep the boat moving as you setup/ drop each rig. When I get a fish on, I also continue to peddle in effort to keep the fish from getting into the rigs and keep the rigs from tangling themselves. Just like a reg boat with multiple DR, you don't stop. This can be difficult sometimes with wind and current, so have a mind set while fishing.

Mike

I use the Scotty Lake Troller on the right side of my boat, rod holder up front. I restrung with 300' of 100 pound test Spectra, but I've never needed that much. Typically, when I've used the DR, I use either a 3 or 6 lb weight. But, like Kardinal_84, I don't use it much. May use it in Seward for silvers this summer. Guess it matters where you are fishing, whether it's worth the effort or not.

As for mounting it, I put a surface-mount and backed it with a 1/4" cutting board (whatever material that is...). Still, when I've needed to bring my DR ball up quickly, I've noticed what seems like a lot of pressure being put on the kayak. Wish I'd made a template that was a 1/2" wider in each direction to distribute the force a bit more widely.

One thing I had to adjust to was either the difference of the Spectra to the metal line...or the stretch that happens over time...but the turns of the DR have become about 1.25' per turn rather than the 1' per turn advertised. It makes sense, but it was important to acknowledge for my count.

Here's a pic.  The tip is a roller tip (like something from a halibut rod), I whittled a stick to attach the roller tip to the ferrule of the butt section.  Then I attach the downrigger weight to the corkscrew swivel.  I have 80lb spectra on a linecounter Daiwa SG47LCA reel.  To let out the weight I loosen the drag, the ball drops as slow or as fast as I desire.  Cranking up is easy as halibut bait checks.

Don't have a pic on my kayak in use...should do that next time, or get a camera installed (Pete, you're not the only one without a camera).

Barb

LIKE.  I don't have an old line counter but love the idea of using an old Rod.  May have to try that one.