Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Sandhead]

Bought a set of downriggers off ebay (amazing deal  ) and was wondering what the best practices are when mounting them?

I would imagine they require some sort of support underneath the gunnel? Would a block of wood work? Does positioning of the downriggers matter? I'm planning on mounting them fairly close to the transom. My boat has a bit of raised platform before the outboards. I'd like to mount them as close to the stern as possible while still allow access. Any one have any experience they are willing to share?

Cheers

[Sam Salmon]

For backing use something like a white plastic cutting board bought cheap in a dollar store.

You can work it more or less like wood and it's impervious to water just remember there's no need to buy an expensive cutting board as long as it's thick enough.

Since I can't see your boat it's hard to advise just remember that the further back you are in that corner the faster things can go wrong-and something always goes wrong, wind over tide, cable wrapped in the prop, log wrapped and  jammed between the boat and the cable-now you're going in a circle/headed in the wrong direction.

So just be sure you can quickly reach the steering from the downriggers that's very important.

This from http://www.salmonuniversity.com

"When it comes to mounting downriggers there's a couple of things to keep in mind. First mount them where the wires will clear the motor(s) on a sharp turn. The best way to do this is hold one downrigger on the boats gunnel then have your trusty assistant pull out 10ft of wire at a 45 degree angle towards the rear of the boat. Now simulate a turn by having him walk towards the centerline of your boat and see if the wire will clear the motor(s). You can change the angle of the wire by moving the downrigger forward or backwards along the gunnel until you find the best spot to mount it."

[Sandhead]

Thanks SammySalmon. Never seen that site before.  Wealth of information there.

[bigguy]

I went through the same, all depends on ur boat.  Try sportsfishingbc, there are a ton of guys who give quality advice.  I agree though, depending on how much room u have, putting them too far back can be akward.  Make sure as well that u do support well under the gunnel;  What type of bracket are u planning to use?

[Eightball]

I agree with the above posts. I mounted mine in the back and they were a pain to get to. I moved them to the middle, close to the steering wheel and it made it much better. When a fish hit I could get to business in short order.  If you pay attention to turns, you will have no problems with the cable getting in trouble. Don't learn the hard way, keep them close at hand. It is easier to get to them when you bring them up to check on things and make adjustments.

[Steelhead King]

Sandhead, should also look into Scotty downrigger parts.. They got many different type of mounts for different style boats and such.    As for the location, dosen't matter much where you locate them, but i perfered to be 36-40 inches from the stern. This way, it allowed you to work around it, from one side to another.  

[Sandhead]

Going with a full Scotty system.

Planning on using the Pedestal Swivel Base 1026 to mount the 1091 long arm downriggers. The boat's a 18 foot Lund and I want to avoid drilling unneccessary holes into the gunnels as much as possible. My first thoughts were to put the downriggers right at the stern of the boat but the more i've thought and read about it, that just doesn't make any sense. Especially if i'm out by myself and have to drive the boat and adjust the downriggers.

[allwaysfishin]

i agree with steelhead king..... with havin them farther into the stern. On my 16foot the riggers are 32 inches from the stern... on the 23ft.... 2 go straight out the back and the other two are exactly 40 inches. Have had ZERO issues with clippin the cables in the props.

[kellya]

allways are you fishing 4 rods off those riggers? How do you like it? 4 always look tough to handle