Down rigger questions

[andrewscag]

I'm hoping some of you pros can give your opinion to a down rigger newbie.

I just got a boat that's set up for two Scotty electrics and also has two of the slide in mounts. I'm thinking about springing for an electric for a couple of reasons. One is that since I often fish solo it would be easier to pull up if I have a fish on that I need to chase or don't want tangled. The second is that I've only seen really small downriggers with the slide in mount.

So the questions are: how often to you pull your down riggers up in the course of a day? Am I right in thinking that an electric would be better? If so, is a 60" boom a benefit over a 30" I'm only in a 17' boat

Has anyone seen a full sized down rigger that uses the slide in mount? As nice as the electric ones are, $600 is a bunch of $ not bring spent on more fishing or beer

Any input appreciated!

[Bro 300]

Electric are the only way to fish. check craigslist regularly as you can usually get a pair of electric for 600. Just got to keep looking, as they go quick.

[Salty]

So here's the deal I was just looking in to this today. The slide in mounts were the original Scotty DRs called depth king or something like that. Anyways I've done most of my fishing with this style and have my small outboard skiff set up for these. I've been out of the loop on new fishing stuff for a while and was surprised that you they don't seem to sell these DRs anymore not up here anyway :( Just the little lake models no good for the chuck. Manual DRs big enough for the ocean now use the same swivel mount plates that the electrics use. So if you want to use your slide in mounts you'll have to buy used.

Anyways that out of the way today's 24" manual DRs are nice looking units again use the swivel mount and its about 2 bills for one. You can get an electric for about 400 and up. If you do much fishing by yourself you definitely want an electric. If you're going to have two or more rods in the water even with company you really will prefer an electric or two. When things go wild a lot of fish get lost not getting a manual out of the way quick enough and things getting snarled. Manuals are fine I fish them by myself but only want to deal with them these days on smaller boats with no charging.

[Jagermeister]

go 60" and make sure you use a weight retreiver. Keeps you inside the boat. I presume that you can walk about in your boat.
Scotty DRs generally suck less power and have a faster retrieve speed than other brands. Make sure you wire them independent of each other, no sense in blowing a fuse sucking them back in from a couple hundred feet or so.

[andrewscag]

Thanks guys

The boat has a second battery for the dr so I should be ok on that front

why go with the 60"?

[pnbrock]

get the lines further apart especially when stacking rods.

[andrewscag]

Got it. Makes sense. Thanks!

anything else I should know?

[Jagermeister]

Thanks guys

The boat has a second battery for the dr so I should be ok on that front

why go with the 60"?gets you further away from your prop. nothing as devastating as wrapping line around the prop, well except for maybe losing a rod from a holder. if you have a need to get it closer in, you have the choice.
I run both, the 60" is on the kicker side. I don't make tight turns to starboard.

[Salty]

If you go electric spend a few bucks extra for good heavy wire. 12 gauge within 8 feet or so 10 gauge if further. Like said wire each one independently with a 30 amp inline fuse close to the battery. Use that black plastic accordion loom to protect the wires tuck them away so nothing can snag on them. Do it right do it once. A boat isn't a good place for bubba wiring. lol

[Sitkaspruce]

I like the 30" ones, used them for years on boats from 16-22', had a set on my lasy 18' Hewescraft, never had a problem. Don't really need the 60" ones, but they can be handy sometimes like when you mount your riggers just off the back, then you have to watch your DR lines on a turn. Use 6' lines off your clips to make it easier to clip the line in and to help spread/stack the lines. To do the weights, just turn the DR to the side of your boat to pull the weights in, no need for the retrievers or leaning over the side of the boat.

The side clips are for the old hand cranks, used to guide with those ones, get popeye arms in a summer, especially the right one......If you want to fish heavier that 12 lbs, go with the electrics.

Wire your DR's with fuses to a battery selector switch and run 2 batteries. I wired mine to the switch with inline fuses and heavy guage wire, shrink wrap all your conections and use Dialetic Grease for all your exposed connections, especially your plugs.

Lots of used ones come up for sale on the Sportfishing Forums (Sportfishing BC is a good place to look) as well and the usual buy/sell sites. Scotty has a lifetime warranty that is usually for the original owner, but they have been pretty good at fixing them under warranty w/o any card or receipt. Most sport stores also have Scotty Tune Up days, where they tune up your DR for free.

Replace the SS cable with braid, I ran 130 lbs Tuff XP in neon yellow for 5 years with no problems. It cut through the water better, you could see it if it ever got caught up in your prop and there was no more nasty burs catching your fingers or kinks braking your line off. Just wrap on 50' of cheap parachute cord from CT to cover and protect the drum, then attach 150 m of braid and a scotty DR ball clip at the end. The red stoppers work well with the braid.

Good luck

Cheers

SS

[Sasquatch]

I have the 60" booms on my 17' boat and have never extended them once also have never wrapped the cable around the prop on the main or kicker. Just figured I'd have the length if I ever needed it. Not a big deal either way I think, 30" is plenty for a 17' boat.

I don't like the weight retrievers or turning the booms to get at the ball, have tried both. I run clips with 48" lines and use a gaff to hook the clip line and pull it into the boat. That way I don't have extra gear attached to the line and I'm not messing with spinning the boom. Everyone has a system they prefer and I've found that to be the easiest and cleanest for me.
Have also seen people just lift the boom straight up to access the ball - tried that and it's like having a wrecking ball on board when the water gets rough.

As far as manual riggers.....it's for young guys with strong backs. When the fishing is hot, winding is a full time job and you can really break a sweat with those things. I remember when you needed a doctors note to run an electric....I fortunately had a GP who fished.

[andrewscag]

Thanks for all the advice. Much appreciated!

[Sofa King]

lose the wire and rig them with braid.
definitely go electric.
as soon as your fish pulls free from the clip and your rod is in your hands, just hit the button and the rigger raises and stops while you are concentrating on fighting walter.
and myself, I know I am constantly raising and lowering my rigger to get it on the fish when I see them on the finder.
electric is the cat's-ass for this and the only way to go.
it'll be money very well-spent.
and you'll have a free hand and plenty of energy to drink those beers that you'd never be able to while busy hand-cranking your old one all day.