Down riger Info

[DATCOL]

Hi all we are trying to set up a down rigger
We have built a alloy boom & mounted a large Alvy real on it
can we use a heavy nylon line to the bomb or has it got to be wire
Cheers DATCOL

[Lovey80]

Heavy Nylon line is fine mate. In fact some guys take off the wire and put mono or real heavy braid for the times that it may get snagged up it can be cut instead of doing damage to the boat or worse the wire snapping under high pressure. I considered making my own considering the outrages prices of them over here, but after seeing the prices on Cabelas website I'll be going that way again soon.

Cheers

Chris

[Horse]

Wire or braid are the answer. The mono will have a little too much resistance and will blow back too far

[two up]

Unless you almost always fish in areas with toothy critters stay away from wire, had the mispleasure of catching the wire between the 2 propellers of my duoprop, 2000 dollars later, As such I won't touch it again. use braid instead, you wont need more than 100lb breaking strain. If you manage to snag your ball there is a pretty good chance you won't be getting it back anyway and the thicker the line the more dropback you will have.

[culbara]

200lb braid i have it on mine and yo get no humming in the water like yo do with wire and yo can go deeper

[BarraBandit]

Unless you almost always fish in areas with toothy critters stay away from wire, had the mispleasure of catching the wire between the 2 propellers of my duoprop, 2000 dollars later, As such I won't touch it again. use braid instead, you wont need more than 100lb breaking strain. If you manage to snag your ball there is a pretty good chance you won't be getting it back anyway and the thicker the line the more dropback you will have.

Not looking for a fight, but, Its not the downriggers fault... you do need to be more careful when you have them down... be it with your motor, the depth ect.

Heavy Nylon line is fine mate. In fact some guys take off the wire and put mono or real heavy braid for the times that it may get snagged up it can be cut instead of doing damage to the boat or worse the wire snapping under high pressure. I considered making my own considering the outrages prices of them over here, but after seeing the prices on Cabelas website I'll be going that way again soon.

Cheers

Chris

I agree that the prices for MOST downriggers these days are abit over the top, but if your looking for the best price... you wont get it at Cabelas!!

I find the best downriggers are Scotty's... they are so good I have 2 on my boat!



Cheers,
Bandit.

[DATCOL]

Thanks all For the info looks like we will buy some Brade
We haven't spent much on the set up yet
$90.00 for 2 fish shape bombs a 8 lb & a 10 lb new off eBay
$ 10.00 for a line counter new off eBay
I had a old wooden Alvy real about 9"
My mate fabricated the boom from 45mm alloy tube & turned up a alloy pulley for the end should work a treat
So should cost about $200.00 completed
Thanks to all again for the in put Cheers COL

[BarraBandit]

Hi Dat,

Just wondering how deep you are downrigging and in freshwater or salt? The 8lb and 10lb sound abit heavy... I know alot of people make the mistake of buying a bomb that is too heavy (I did my first bomb!) You also overpaid for the bombs... alot overpaid

I might just say... You could have got a Scotty for less than $200 depending on what size you wanted and where you looked...

Anyone who wants info on a guy down here in Melbourne, he sells the Scotty's in the 1050's for around $450 a set! Not bad considering they are $699ea. Dont always get sucked into needing a huge downrigger and/or bomb, you dont! The 1050 will go for anything from trout to marlin... thats a fact! Your not using the downrigger to catch the fish, only to get your lure down there.

[DATCOL]

Hi Barra we are going to use it in 50 to 100 m in the salt
I thought $200 was ok as they want $400 upwards for a factory setup around Brisbane & 10lb bombs round only not fish shape starting at $55 each
Cheers COL

[webby]

Use 120lb wire on both my D.R.
Then only problem with wire is if your using the d.r. on a plate/tinnie boat, it gives off a acoustics sound which does deter fish.
Also depending on what release clip your using (i use cannon) dont clip braid onto to them as it will slip, just use your mono leader.
regards

[GPB]

Webby, as others have said, change the wire to Braid and then no more high pitched acoustics, easyer to work with as well.

[Horse]

I have used both wire and braid and if you have a glass boat I would suggest wire to start off. It is much easier to handle. Definitely go braid on a tinny as the noise drives me crazy. Cannon suggest it attracts fish but it gives me the sh#%s.
Get a good clip and invest in a stacker to run a second line.
I would never run a second rigger as the chance of the rigs getting tangles is quite high

[BarraBandit]

Hi Horse,

Mate, I have had a read of many tests to see how the noise affects the fish, including some underwater video... I can tell you it doesnt attract fish... far from it. I seems that the noise is picked up by the fish, but more scares them away than attracts them.

I sometimes run both my downriggers at 1 time, say one at 35ft and one at 50ft... And I dont have any problems. I always have my mind on the water though.

[Horse]

Yea it sounds like a bit of Cannon hype about the accoustics. Why don't you just run a stacker on one rigger. I don't like the idea of two wires down there. The yanks seem to be moving towards stackers with larger (10lb etc ) bombs rather than multiple riggers like they used to

[BarraBandit]

Oh well, I am fine with it... I am carefull and havent had a problem. Also, like I said... you dont need 8lb-10lb bombs... Even in the salt! The max you need (for down to 100ft or so... possibly deeper) is 4lb-6lb... Bigger isnt always better.

We have been running riggers for awhile... And they help alot in my books, depending where the fish are... that being said, I would'ent use anything other than a Scotty now... Tried alot of others, they just dont stack up.


Good luck with the fishing boys!