3 or 4 Downrigger question

[Blue Heron]

I am seriously considering reworking the Downrigger arrangement on my Sabre and going from 4 riggers to 3.

I currently have 2 riggers mounted on the rear corners and 2 mounted up the gunwales that i run as out/downs. I can easily mount a 3rd rigger in the center of the back ( in line with the 2 corner riggers.) I would run the corner riggers turned 90 degrees out the side (with booms extended to get more reach) and the center rigger straight back

My sabre is an outboard with an SST ( extended transom) and I am trolling with a kicker but a longer arm rigger will easily reach over the main OB and I can swing to a 45 and use a retroease to set the line.

I think this arrangement will give me much better separation on my riggers and now that we are running more divers and copper rigs I am thinking 3 riggers will be enough. I also feel like it will open up the back of the boat more by giving me more open area on sides

So with all that said I am looking for input from others , feedback from folks running 3 riggers, etc

Thanks

Ted

[Paul Czarnecki]

I own/run a 10 meter trojan with a 13 1/2 ft beam. I could put a half dozen riggers on it if I wanted but 3 is all I need. I can do anything I need to do with those 3 riggers and my divers and multiple junk lines. I would be lost without my junk lines and divers.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[Gray Fox]

I'll second Paul...the best thing I did was drop down to three riggers.

[spoonfed-1]

Heres an opinion from the other side of the issue.

I got an 8 foot beam with 4 riggers. Two I run 90 deg. out the sides and two off the back corners. I love my 4 riggers. They are the quickest and easiest rods on the boat to set. When a fish hits and releases there is just you, the rod, the line and the fish. No bullsh-t in between.

For me that makes the battle of the fish all that much more enjoyable. I fish for fun and as far as I'm concerned I really dislike running any long coppers unless I'm fishing a tournament. Long coppers, while they catch fish just plain aren't much fun.

I can run a combination of lures that work well together placed precisely where I want them and quite often that contributes to an increased total at the end of the day.

During a good rigger bite I can do fish and actually enjoy smaller fish, and get set back up for another one quickly. With four riggers I can only run two or three if thats what the situation dictates, one of those less is more days but I can't run four if I don't have them.

Personally I would never go without the four as long as I have the room.

Glen

[Has Been]

I have 4 on mine And love them. They are my prefered way to fish deep. You can manuver around quickly to stay on the fish & waypoints when the bite is on . There are many days I use my 2 outdowns stacked & not the corners because I think the weights & wires scare the fish some days. Springtime I will put sticks back 50-200 ft down 2'-5' to keep lines out of surface tention on choppy days in shallow for browns & will pick up shallow water kings also. Long booms on the outdowns are a must if you run 4 IMO.

[chowder]

I don't have any of the credentials that the above anglers have but I'll put my 2 cents in anyway since you fish out of a boat similar in size to mine; I agree w/ Glen & Has been, riggers are easy lines to set, change out (and clear w/ limited hands available), and a pair of short arm corner riggers that don't stick out too far past the transom really open up the stern of a relatively narrow beam boat. My outdowns have long arms.

[on the lam]

Riggers create the most disturbance as well, sometimes less is more. I went from 4 to 3 a few years ago on a 10.5 foot beam. This past saturday morning the rigger bite was not happening for us, active fish were down 60. I went to two riggers. 300 350 copper and 180 wires took about 10 shots to 1 on a rigger. Just an example. It does work the other way as well. When trout are in 30' or less of water I rarely run three. two or one (probe) in shallow clear conditions. The rest are cores copper and dipsys.

[Yankee Troller]

Maniac has a Sabre and he went from 5 to 3 riggers on it last year. He is very happy with that decision. We have run 3 riggers for a while now, and other than when we had to BT fish this summer on the East end I didn't miss a 4th rigger.

[troubles]

I have a Thompson with an 8'-6" beam.The best option I've found is to have bases set up in 5 positions.This allows me to mount either 3 or 4 riggers.Fishing salmon I use 2 or 3 riggers.Fishing Browns or spring Salmon High 4 can be mounted.Just an option that provides more flexibility.

[Blue Heron]

Thanks for the replies guys!!

Guess I shouldnt be suprised that there are strong feelings both ways

I decided not to limit my options so I had already set up as trouble shooter suggested with a 5th base centered up on the back - I am gonna try 3 for awhile and see what I think - but will keep the 4th rigger up in cuddy and can make the change to 4 in about 3 minutes if I need to

[spoonfed-1]

Good decision.

Good luck.

Glen

[GAMBLER]

I ahve 4 on the boat but use 3 99% of the season. It is nice to have 4 there incase of a rigger malfuntion.

[Misty IV]

I ahve 4 on the boat but use 3 99% of the season. It is nice to have 4 there incase of a rigger malfuntion.

Ditto! I recently upgraded from 2 to 4 on the back of my Islander. So far this season, though, we've only been running 3. As Gambler mentioned, it is nice to have the 4th, just in case something goes wrong, as it did for us last weekend. Cable on an out/down got all tangled-up and it took a good 15-20 patient minutes (with an occassional grumble) to get it squared away. In the meantime, while we were untangling the cable, we put the 4th rigger down until we got the out/down repaired.

[kingslamon22]

i went from 4 downriggers to 2. stacking 2 riggers is esaier for me i think. 4 rods on 2 riggers seems easier and it woks just fine. i had the 90 degree outside ones and the corners. i did away with the 90 degree ones and now the 2 on the corners, i moved the mount to angle 120 degrees out from the boat and they have a good spread but fit nicely between my wire and the copper goes right down the middle. i have absolutly no trouble on turns with this method as long as my stackers are staggered on the riggers.

[Yankee Troller]

I have a Thompson with an 8'-6" beam.The best option I've found is to have bases set up in 5 positions.This allows me to mount either 3 or 4 riggers.Fishing salmon I use 2 or 3 riggers.Fishing Browns or spring Salmon High 4 can be mounted.Just an option that provides more flexibility.

This is exactly how I am setting up our next ride! It killed me to only have 3 riggers this summer fishing BT down East. Could have used another rod in the water.

[Paul Czarnecki]

I have a Thompson with an 8'-6" beam.The best option I've found is to have bases set up in 5 positions.This allows me to mount either 3 or 4 riggers.Fishing salmon I use 2 or 3 riggers.Fishing Browns or spring Salmon High 4 can be mounted.Just an option that provides more flexibility.

This is exactly how I am setting up our next ride! It killed me to only have 3 riggers this summer fishing BT down East. Could have used another rod in the water.

Oh c'mon Rick......one rigger wouldn't have made a lick of difference. 3 riggers, 2 divers, 2 leadcores on inlines and a copper down the chute----no problem!

[Yankee Troller]

Lead core can't get down to 100'! Lol I ran 5 rods most of the day and when it wasn't to rough I tosses in copper. Don't worry about me until my boat gets "felluca'd" lol!

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[Legacy]

i would say four riggers just for the sake of having more options. some days 5 riggers would be great and others 3 is too much.

[poverty stricken II]

Just my 2 cents, I run 3-4 riggers all season. Mostly three but not by choice. It seems to be the year for my cannons to start crapping out. I was able to fix 2 of the old styles and then my new style broke. Don't want to tear that apart to void the warranty. I think you made the right decision to add the mount in the back and you can run a season, testing it out what works better. I would like to hear what your results are if running 3 works better.