Outriggers?

[JCarp]

Anyone ever use them? Especially interested in possible Lk St Clair muskie applications and inland lake contour trolling for walleye or saugeye. There are times that flatlines outproduce boards when saugeye fishing and muskie can be tough on clips. Keeping looking at the telescopic church tackle jobs in Cabela's ($20). Good, bad? Hassle to use?

I will appreciate any opinions or experiences.

jc

[Fin Addict]

I have used them quite a bit in saltwater applications. Excellent way to get more lines in the water when trolling very fast or in very rough water for billfish and wahoo. I would think they would be nice for fast northern or muskie trolling as they are not boat shy. For eyes, I would think standard boards would be better as you get more spread. Normal outriggers are very pricey. I would think a $20 outrigger would be a frustrating waste of $20.

[Thom]

JC,

I would find it hard to understand what they could be selling you for $20 in the outrigger lineup. Mine are nothing special and they cost me just slightly over $1,000. They are a set of 18.5' Lee's poles with single spreaders with wishbone holders. I fish two lines off of each rigger and then another pair of lines off the corners. We also sometimes fish another two lines from either the chair or a rocket launcher, depending on which I have installed on any given day. Of course you could install a set for a lot less than that, and it occurs to me that a set of Perko holders would run you a bit over a hundred bucks and a set of 15' poles would cost somewhere around a hundred I'd think. Then you have to rig them and buy clips, but that's not to bad, maybe $50 for a two-line rig. If you were to go to a better quality set of gunwale mounted riggers it would run you about twice that much, and Lee's Tackle makes a very nice set with heavy poles that you could put on a boat for around $600.

Overall I don't know how good they would be for freshwater fishing, and the difference isn't at all about the water type but more on the way the fish act. There are some saltwater fish that can't be caught on outriggers and some that are very hard to catch any other way. As an example it would be almost impossible to catch a Spanish Mackerel on outriggers simply because the fish are so very fast. Its the drop back from the riggers that kills you on the Spanish. The fish will hit the baits, that's not the problem at all. The problem is that the fish are so fast that they will shake the hook before the line comes tight. So the result is that you get knock downs and loose plenty of bait, but get no fish for your trouble. On the other hand there are some fish that will hit a bait and then turn and come back for it as it lies dead in the water. Marlin do that. With those fish you need the dropback the riggers give you. So its really a matter of how the fish you are after feed. I'm afraid I don't know anything about Walleye fishing or how the fish feed but it could be that they would be just the thing for you and it could be that they would be a useless adder to the boat.

Anyway if you have any particular questions about how they are set up or how you fish them just give a yell. I've been using them litterly for decades now and so I can probably answer your questions.

Thom