Down Riggers

[grant6336]

Hi all, I want to get a down rigger and it will probably be either a Cannon or Scotty. I wanted to hear from you who have them what you believe are the positives (or negatives) for either brand.
Also the best way to mount it. (i.e. pointing directly starboard or on a 45 degree angle to the starboard) The boat is 5.10mt (if this makes a difference as to what I should get?)
Cheers for your feedback.
Merry Xmas!

[suzy81]

hey mate.....i have a boat like yours and i just purchased a scotty 1050 depthmaster (about 20min ago) i got it off a web sight which was recomended by fellow ausfishers...it is called cabela's...its american so their price for this item was $129us plus air freight was about $50 and then all up currency converted was about $220 australian.....so b4 you buy this sight is sure worth alook.............jez

[StevenM]

Grant

Have a Scotty 1050 also. Mounted at 45 degrees at the stern. You get every thing you ned except for a bit of wood backing for under the gunnel and a bomb.

Its easy to use by yourself and has the counter on top.

Cheers

Steven

[grant6336]

Thanks for that Steven. Cheers!

[charleville]

Ditto to all of the above except that I took the cheapest delivery option from Cabelas and just waited a few weeks for the downrigger to arrive. BTW, their price included the lead bomb which was quite a benefit at the time. My DR cost me about $190 in Aussie dollars landed to my door a couple of years ago - these cost about $500 in local tackle shops which irks me considerably.

They mount on a base into which they slide and are locked into place. I have mine with the ball dropping over the side - mainly because the engine mounting pod would be in the way at the rear of the boat and also that I did not want to risk the wire fouling on the motor if I turned too tight when trolling.

The only disadvantage with this arrangement is that the real estate is at a premium in that spot on the boat because of the side rail, a bollard and a rod holder and it means that I had to mount the DR base in a position that renders the boat's rod holder useless when the DR is mounted on the base. It is OK to use when I don't have the DR mounted on its base.

The DR has its own rod holder which sits over the water and I have to admit that I am never confident enough to sit a $600 rod & reel in it over the water, especially as you should have the drag on and the line under tension - I worry that a sudden charge by a fish will yank the rod out of the rod holder. Accordingly, I mount the rod in a separate rail mounted add-on rod holder. Nonetheless, the integral rod holder on the DR does look pretty solid and secure - I just cannot get used to sitting a rod in one sitting over the water.

I find the DR pretty easy to use. It winds horizontally with a big handle and that works well. The depth counter is OK but I usually just monitor the position of the bomb on the sounder. The brake and clutch mechanism works well. The stainless steel wire is said to hum in aluminium boats but I have not noticed that to be an issue on my boat.

Think about this though. You need to be able to get at the bomb and release clip when you are bouncing around on the water. That means that you need to lean over the side of the boat or back or corner as the case may be. If it is rough weather, that can be a little bit of a nuisance so you need to ensure that you are not overstretching yourself or constricting yourself because of baitboards etc in the way. Scotty sells an accessory thingy that is essentially a ring that slips over the wire and has a lanyard so that you can pull the bomb and release clip over to the boat. I would not be bothered spending money on that but a GI fencing wire hook or something similar on a short stick would be handy to grab the wire and bring the bomb in. I should make up one of these today for myself - been meaning to do this for ages. Anyway, the point is to ensure that wherever you install the DR, make sure that the bomb is easy enough for you to get to and retrieve when the wetaher suddenly blows up 15knots+.

Cabelas' service, packaging and delivery were all spot on. I have no hestiation in recommending them. There are US firms who can be a few $ cheaper but I went with Cabelas based on their reputation and I was not disappointed. They include details in the box about how to handle returns etc.

"Mono" has written a couple of great articles on DRs in the past couple of Bush & Beach mags. Worth a read. He does comment about monitoring the rod tips for small movements when you are using the DR which is good advice. Sure, a good bite will take the line out of the release clip in a spectacular way and the excitement begins but pickers can steal your bait and you can have an empty hook sitting down there if you don't check. Also, you will catch pickers occasionally which need to be taken off ( or alternatively left there as livies, I suppose . ;D )

BTW, a lot of blokes build their own. I started to do that when I saw what they cost in local tackle shops but stopped when I realised what the thing might cost to build if I wanted to use something like an old Alvey snapper reel etc relative to the cost of importing one.. A bought one will have a resale value of course whereas a home made one probably would not.

I only have experience with my Scotty DR so cannot comment on the Canon. However, I could not imagine any better build quality than the Scotty that I have. The only thing that would make it better would be to have the electric version linked to the sounder so that it automatically adjusts its depth according to the sea bed terrain. Maybe on my next boat.... ;D ;D ;D

I hope that these few observations help...

[grant6336]

Cheers for that Charlie, I will check out Cabela's.

[Charlie]

Scotty and Canon are both great products,Scotty good cause most are compatable with the Scotty rod holder mount whist Canon has the tab lock base for mounting on a flat surface. Brought my Canon downrigger from Cabelas a few years ago but the price difference has really narrowed greatly and it's worthwhile checking out the local price.
Charlie

[StevenM]

The DR has its own rod holder which sits over the water and I have to admit that I am never confident enough to sit a $600 rod & reel in it over the water, especially as you should have the drag on and the line under tension

thats why I mooved mine and mounted it on the side rail, woorks a treat

[suzy81]

mine will be set up like charleville's......my boat sounds like his with the bollard,rod holder and rail all living together in that corner.....there will be some rearanging going on!
..............jez.

[nofrills]

i have a cannon sports troll i have been flogging for the past 10 years and its never missed a beat.west marine in the states is also worth a look and get it sent via DHL also i like to mount the DR so the bomb is on the same side as the transducer if you hane a decient sounder you will see it on the screen .

cheers scotty

[charleville]

The DR has its own rod holder which sits over the water and I have to admit that I am never confident enough to sit a $600 rod & reel in it over the water, especially as you should have the drag on and the line under tension

thats why I mooved mine and mounted it on the side rail, woorks a treat

Now why didn't I think of that??!! :o What a boofhead, I am! ;D I have been thinking of buying a new rod holder to mount there.

Thanks for mentioning this.

[StevenM]

Dont go spending any more money Charlie.

Take it off the DR arm , drill a hole in your side rail. Wallah.

Cheers

Steven