3rd down rigger????

[Fishnut]

is it worth having a 3rd down rigger? I would like to here the pro's and con's of having the 3rd rigger down the middle. Please.

[Sk8man]

A few things to consider right off the bat... Is your boat wide enough to run a third rigger off the transom? If you don't have enough separationyou could wrap the wire up in the prop (more easily than you think). Off the middle of the back is not the only option on some boats again it depends on your boat. I have three downriggers with extendable booms and I sometimes run two on one side and one on the other and on the other side run wires etc.You can manipulate things so that on the side with two one goes 45 degrees off the back or straight back (my choice) and it is on the opposite of my kicker so no problem.The other on that side is straight out at 90 degrees with the boom slightly extended. Never have had a problem. Mine are set up in gimbals so I can switch everything out as needed and even pull a downrigger and run other stuff in its place if I need to. Even with the downiigger at 90 degrees I can still deploy boards etc. Just something to think about. Unless you have a very wide transom having wire anywhere close to the prop of your main motor is risky (e.g. unforseen steep turn from wind etc.). It shouldn't prevent you from exploring the idea but just something to think about beforehand

Edited May 18, 2018 by Sk8man

[ifishy]

depends on your preferences for running as well 3 riggers is nice when running in tighter groups of boats because you can turn a little quicker but its more stuff at the back of the boat and in the way.  also if its not a rigger bite day than its better not to run it at all.  I have a third on mine and the biggest use it gets is as a probe rigger.  its a manuall so i drop it to where i want it but than dont have to crank it up till end of day. i didnt purpose buy it for that but it is how things ended up.  when fish are up high i tend to run three rigger lines but when running deep i only run two.  I find fewer lines overall can be more effective sometimes especially if it means you can more easily keep them running right in less than ideal conditions.  

[Fishnut]

Thanks for the input. My boat is a 2452 bayliner classic with a hard top. It’s 8 and 1/2 feet wide. I have tracks down both sides that I run my riggers and my rod holders for my dipsy divers on.

My riggers have extendable booms to 54 inches. I have another set of riggers that have 48 inch booms but I’m not sure I need 3 or 4 riggers? Maybe I’ll try it and if I don’t like it I’ll pull them back off.

It would be nice in high traffic areas but I usually avoid those areas anyway.

Do you think 2 straight out the back and 2 at 90 degrees would be far enough apart? They would only be 52 inches from each other.

If I run 3, I could run one off the corner at 45 degrees and my separation would be 8 feet. But it would be rite in my prop wash about 3 feet behind my prop???

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

 

[ifishy]

straight out the back is fine in the old days thats how a lot of boats ran 4 thats what we did off my dads 24 foot trophy bayliner.  try to run the same style weight on each that way they will all be affected similarly you can get seperation with depth as well as side to side.  i only run a sea nymph 195 and rigger tangle is not a big problem with 3 down and my side riggers are only 48 inches

[garywm]

I run a Lund 1850 tyee We run 4 riggers 2 right off the back corners and 2 with 4 foot booms strait out the side .

I also use 12 lb shark cannon balls and have never had the balls tangle!

I hope I didn't  just jinx myself good luck 

Gary

[Fishnut]

Thanks guys. I think ill give it a try. if I don't like it ill just pull them off.

[steelfire]

On 5/16/2018 at 12:51 PM, Fishnut said:

is it worth having a 3rd down rigger? I would like to here the pro's and con's of having the 3rd rigger down the middle. Please.

I have a 19'5 foot star craft islander. I always run 3 riggers. I usually run the third rigger down the middle with a clean spoon tail gunning what ever I'm running on my other two riggers. (Usually flasher fly's or meat) It can be killer some days when nothing else is firing! That spoon all by itself dragging behind the rest of the spread  is just asking to get hit.