Down rigger newbie

[Larson 1750]

Hey LOU gang. Just picked up 2 cannon Mag STX down riggers. Never used riggers before. Looking for some set up tips. Was thinking to set 1 ball deep (say 90') with a fixed cheater at around 60' and the second

Ball at 70' with a fixed cheater at 50' to cover the water column. Sound good or will I just spook fish and beg for a nightmare tangle? Any tips from you experts would make life easier

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[Steve.e]

Not an 'expert" but sounds loke a good start . If you like to zig zag ,which gives the spoons more action, don't run further then 15 feet from ball on bottom sets when running same depth if that's where the action should be. Cheaters are normally around 4-8ft as to make netting easier . The cheaters will twist around main line when retrieving at quitting time unless you go to neutral and wind sloooowly. There's always a chance for tangles whether a fish is on or not,but that's just part of the deal. Have a blast.

[Big Dave]

It all depends on the temp of the water, and what you are fishing for.  It will vary day by day because of the action of the wind and such.  In Mex bay  west wind will push in the warm water and make the temp drop down..  You may need to be down 120'.   Where an east wind will push the warm water out and bring the temp up, and you may have temp at 50' or less.   With no way to get temp look at your fishfinder and set to that.  Your fixed sliders can be as close as 10' with out tangling  , just be careful lowering it down.  Remember the ball will blow back so100' of cable may only put you down 80'    Trolling is never boring !!

[Has Been]

Put one spoon on each 15-30'back, run one 5' off bottom & one 10' up and go find some lakers on the bottom.  Let rigger down till it hits bottom & reel back up a few feet. When you get good at that , run a cheater or stack another rod 15' above that.

[Sk8man]

Considering the fact that you have never used downriggers before you might want to consider getting an initial feel for the downriggers themselves and the basic process before getting too far afield with the additional stuff. Most of us have been using them for years and it has become a pretty much automated process and we may forget that it did have a slight learning curve to it in getting use to them very basically. I would suggest running them with just one main line each and pay close attention to where the lines go on turns and the placement of them on the boat in particular to make sure the wires don't get tangled for example....because you don't want to have to deal with that scenario   Once you get used to them then add the cheaters and SWR's etc. and really start messing with them. I would also suggest not running them near the bottom to start out unless you are totally familiar with the contour of the bottom. make sure the drag on them will engage when you put excess pressure on the wire tooas I have seen a case (during a derby) where a guy hung upon bottom and the drag didn't work on his downrigger and it pulled a section of his gunwale right out of his boat and the downrigger went to the bottom. In short just start with the basics for a while.

Edited July 20, 2014 by Sk8man

[Larson 1750]

Thx for all the tips. Yeah I think I will try to keep it as simple

As possible until I get used to

The way things work. Don't think I'm brave enough to go anywhere near bottom right now. Targeting chinooks anyway. May head out this afternoon depending on weather. Keep you posted. Thx again.

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[Sk8man]

Good luck....keep a close eye on that weather.....I opted for rigging stuff inside today

[Larson 1750]

Might launch out of port credit this afternoon. Calling for light winds. Looking at the lake right now...looks dead calm but they're calling for chance of shower in the afternoon and you just never know what's going to blow up on you out there. Rather be cautious and not go then get caught in a down pour. Thx for the warning. No fish is worth the swim.

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[Larson 1750]

Might just head to sail and pick up some more gear and watch the race...maybe safer

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