down riggers

[wally whacker]

i just starting using downriggers yesterday, if anyone could help me with just a couple of questions it would be great. Say i'm using a regular thunderstick, or a 4 inch rapela stick, how much line would i put between the lure and the fish clip? also, I have an old electric cannon with a metal shaft, is there a universal way to change your line counter on downriggers, because its about 10 ft. off. Thanx for any help i can get. Danny

[vetspet(ind)]

the distance to the lure would depend on water clarity and depth you are fishing at...last w/e i went to 85 ft in lake mich and fished 70ft deep...at that depth i do not believe you need more than 4-6 ft lead from the balls and of course the shorter the leads the less likely you will tangle...when the steelhead come in i fish from 6-30 ft down and use much longer leads at the shallower depths....50 ft usually....i connect the line to the cannon ball via a small rubber band...buy new ones and stretch them a few times...i loop the rubber band on my line three times so it does not slip on the line when i crank down...use line out clicks on your reels as you lower the downriggers...this will help very much to avoid tangles as you lower the balls...i attach the rubber band to cheap, large snap clips on the back of the balls...i just leave the snap open and the rubber band will stay put.....i have big jons and if they get off i just move the roller with my finger...real easy on big jons ...dont know the cannon but if you can reel up the cable all the way i would think you could move whatever it is that counts the line distance...steve

[ETT]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-16-01 AT 05:47AM (CST)[p] Leads: It depends on depth and clarity but also on species. Walleyes are alot more ball shy, while Steelhead and salmon are actually attracted to the ball (not at all freightend by it). For Steelies around Lorain most run fair short drops like 6 - 10', around 20 - 30' deep. Most walleye guys use a minimum of 30' drops and some go back as far as 80 or 100'. Remember with longer drops and diving lures you must add the lure dive to the depth of the ball to get the actual fishing depth.

To calibrate your depth wheel, I'd look for someone with a unit like yours and ask them or call the factory. Being 10' is really not that big a deal, just remember to adjust.

For the lighter biting walleyes you may want to attach a snubber to the ball, attach the line to the snubber & then crank the rod down pretty hard. This will cause the snubber to stretch and come up at an angle away from the ball. When you get a walleye this set up allows you to see the rod tip shaking indicating the presence of the hitchhiker.

Hope this helps, good luck.

[Finaddict]

on cannon downriggers you should be able to slide the counter off the gear and turn the counter by hand to zero look by the counter you should see a little plastic gear that rides on top of a bigger gear pull the counter to the side so its off the bigger gear and turn the smaller gear. it may be stuck if its old but you should be able to wiggle it loose. then put your ball at the waters surface and set it to zero... hope this helps good fishin........

[Phil T.]

Yup, they slide off for adjustment. I set the zero to the water's surface on mine.

[cisco]

In the old days when I used a paper graph (still the best images ever for locators), I would see fish move up to examine the bomb (downrigger weight), and then move back down. I tend almost always to use short leads behind the downrigger weight -- the only exception is when fishing shallow water for browns in the spring when my downriggers are really useful only to keep lines separated.

Use an aligator clip for your release. And, attach the clip to an 8 inch piece of coat hanger. Use longnose pliers to hook the end of the coat hanger piece to the bomb (there should be a half ring there). The advantage of this system is that you will come to see strikes even before you get releases -- the strike takes the piece of metal down, which pulls the rod tip down.

Downriggers are great fun. You'll learn all sorts of tricks with a little experience. To wit, start running sliders for second lures. Etc. etc. etc.

[Gumbo]

Great idea attaching the snubber to the ball! I'll have to try that.

Thanks ETT!