Looking for good down-rigger

Does anyone have any recommendations where I can get a down-rigger for my Hobie Outback? I live in Soldotna, but am making a trip to Anchorage tomorrow and Friday.


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Here's a good thread where we discussed it.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=17208.0

Edit: Sorry I read that as which one... You were asking where    My bad!

I've mounted a Scotty Laketroller on my 13' Trident and a Scotty Depthmaster and a Cannon Lake-Troll on my 13' Revolution.  The Cannon Lake-Troll is definitely my favorite downrigger.  For a description of how I mounted a Cannon Lake-Troll on my Revolution, and how I set up my kayak for downrigger trolling, see http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=12575.msg138905#msg138905 .  If you want to try out downrigger trolling, you don't want to spend too much money, and you don't want to troll below about 75 feet, you could get a Scotty Laketroller.  But the Scotty Laketroller is a pretty primitive downrigger with only a hand-nut to stop and release the cable reel, and is only rated for a four pound weight.  The Cannon Lake-Troll has a nice clutch or brake system, and can handle an 8 pound weight with no problem, which will allow you to troll down to about 180 feet. Because the gunwales of an Outback have large flat areas created by the edges of the trays, it's easy to devise a good mount for a downrigger.  My recommendation:  Get a Cannon Lake-Troll downrigger.  Where you can find one in Anchorage, I don't know.

You should have no problem finding a kayak-sized downrigger at Sportsmans or Cabelas. 

You should have no problem finding a kayak-sized downrigger at Sportsmans or Cabelas.

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I tried Sportsmans, and they only had transom mount small downriggers. I need to check Cabelas again. I was in a hurry last time I looked there.


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Try B&J's on Northern Lights if you can't find what you want in the big box stores.

Is this one too big for a kayak?  The Cannon lake troller only has 100feet of cable, but is definitely nice and small. Any recommendations?


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I recommend getting a Cannon Lake-Troll, even if you have to order it from out-of-town (or in Alaska, out-of-state).  It's the smallest Cannon downrigger with a brake, and small is good.  Better to wait for a Lake-Troll to arrive than to be stuck with a downrigger which is a bit oversized for a kayak.  I think I can get out to a local sporting goods store tomorrow night and take a picture of several models of Cannon downrigger mounted side-by-side, which should persuade you to go with the Lake-Troll rather than a bigger downrigger.  In addition, it's real easy to shorten the boom on a Lake-Troll; I don't know what's involved in shortening the boom on a Uni-Troll.

I recommend that you take off the 100 feet of steel cable which comes with the Lake-Troll, which has a nasty hum, and replace it with 300 or 400 feet of Scotty Spectra low-drag braided downrigger cable, which has less drag and no hum.  Get an 8 pound weight, which won't be noticeably harder to crank up than a 6 pound weight, and will perform better.  And get one of the Black's downrigger clips which mount on top of the weight; they work great with braided line, and can be adjusted quite precisely.

Is this one too big for a kayak?  The Cannon lake troller only has 100feet of cable, but is definitely nice and small. Any recommendations?


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If you switch to braid and ditch the cable, you get:
-As Pete said, more line capacity so a smaller model can get you deeper
-ability to more easily break off if necessary
-less drag in the water

I have the Cannon Easi-Troll and love it. It replaced a smaller Scotty Laketroller. I believe I have 65# braid on it.

Great information. Thanks!


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I have a Lake-Troll and can't imagine going any bigger on the kayak.


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Here are pictures comparing the size of the Cannon Lake-Troll with the Cannon Uni-Troll 5 ST.  The Uni-Troll is a lot bigger than the Lake-Troll.  I suggest that you order in a Lake-Troll rather than buying a Uni-Troll, which is a bit big for a kayak.

Definitely!


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Here's a tip about the Cannon Lake-Troll:  If you replace the steel cable with braided downrigger line, if you leave the weight hanging loose when transporting the downrigger, the braided line can come out of the notch in the pulley and get stuck between the pulley wheel and the inside of the pulley.  This is a pain in the ass, because the only way to get the braided line back in the notch in the pulley is to cut off the weight, pull the braided line through the pulley with a pipe cleaner or something similar, and then tie the weight back on the line.  To keep braided line from coming off the pulley wheel when you're transporting the downrigger, add a hook which you can hang the weight from to the downrigger's base or casing, hang the weight on the hook when you're transporting it, and keep the braided line under tension so it won't come out of the notch in the pulley wheel.  It's been a long time since I had this problem, but I keep a pipe cleaner in my fishing gear just in case it happens again.