Down Riggers and poles

[Belchy]

Been looking at all different kinds of down riggers and poles, and have come to a conclusion on which kind of riggers i want, and i think i am gonna go with Big Jon. <br /><br />However finding the rigth combination of rod and reel right now seems to be the hard part, and i was just wondering what you fella's were using. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.<br /><br /><br />Thanks Belchy

 

[Salmonseeker]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

Hi Belchy. I usually downrigger fish on Lake Ontario for salmon and trout. I have a 11.5 foot rod and a shorter 8.5 foot rod. The longer one is fun for playing the fish, however it is more difficult to net the fish. It also gets tangled near the tip when changing lures and such holding it straight up. The shorter one is deffinatelly easier to set up land fish etc. I have also used a 6.5 foot which worked okay. The only problem I had with that was my personal preference. I like the pole to have a large bow in it while trolling, so when a fish strikes the rod snaps up and takes some of the slack out. <br />In conclusion I would go with an 8.5 length rod, this is the norm for most downrigger fishing. As far as action goes, it depends on the size of fish. I would stick with a medium for versatility. As far as a reel goes size depends on what size line you plan on losing. Just remember to get a fair sized one. Alot of lines is used to get the lure where you want it. I here reports all the time about guys getting spooled or almost. A bit more line won't cost much more and is a great insurance policy for that trophy.<br />Hope this helps<br />JASON

 

[DangerDan]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

First I wonder what has sold you on Big Jon. Secondly the average pole used for down riggers is between 8'3" to 8'9". It's the arc that sets the hook when the line pops out of the release. Personally I found some 7'6" poles that I like for my downriggers. These poles are marginal in effectiveness but I sacrifice the extra length for the ability to use the same rod in different applications. I also have the 8 1/3' rods I use on my riggers. The line weight varies about 10-25# line. You really don't need to break the bank on a rod. The important thing is to set up with a good reel. There are many on the market depending on the type of fishing you plan on doing. Penn is a solid brand and can be used on just about any big lakes fish to be had. There is also a brand called Okuma. The Convector and the Star Drag series are two modestly priced reels for Great Lake's fishing and a pretty good value. I use the SD45 models for ledcore. As said in the previous post the amount of line you carry can be pretty important. 330 yds. of 17# to 20# is common if your fishing for Salmon or Trout. A Penn 209 or a Convector CV30 or SD30 would be a good choice for a downrigger as it will hold all the line thats necessary. <br /> Again to touch on the downriggers. I would do a little more research before I would decided on a downrigger. I myself have Big Jons but mine are 1984 models and they were built quite differently back then with much better parts, especially the motors. When Big jon sold the company some of the parts put into newer model riggers are not as high quality as the older models and thats what the name was built on. They just don't seem to hold up for most. I understand the old owner of Big Jon's later opened a new company called fishlander. These are a better downrigger in my opinion whith the same characteristics and the higher quality like the older Big Jons. Vector is also a very good choice. Walkers dont tip up but have a better retrieve rate. There is a great deal of information to be had on this subject.(I'm assuming your considering big lake gear). This link is and excelent source for Great Lakes fishing information and gear if you want to get the most out of your money.<br /><br /> http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=14 <br /><br />The guys at Fishdog Co. on this site can give some of the greatest info on great lakes fishing that can be had and the cold water forum is the most informational I have seen for passing info on this sort of fishing. <br />Good Luck.

 

[Belchy]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

Hey Guys<br /><br />Thanks for the opinions, I am definitily open to any suggestions about poles and down riggers. A few buddies of mine run newer big jon without problems, but I am still looking so we will see what happens...thanks again<br /><br />Belchy

 

[peterc38]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

Hi,<br /><br />I just use a regular 7 ½ foot medium action spinning rod with my downriggers. I use a Penn 4500 spinning reel that holds about 250 yards of 10 .lb test mono. To me, that is one of the advantages of downriggers, that you can use lighter tackle. I don’t know what you are fishing for, but you may need a reel with more line capacity, as previous posters have mentioned if you are talking great lakes type fishing. I’m in Maine so typically I am targeting landlocked salmon or lake trout. For landlocked salmon 7-8 .lbs is a big fish and for the lake trout here 10-15 .lbs would be considered a nice fish too, so the tackle I use is great for these conditions. We don’t have anything like a king salmon in freshwater here that will spool off 100 yards of line before you can blink. Me and my son usually fish 4 lines, 2 on downriggers and 2 on lead core trolling rods. I have a Cannon and a Scotty downrigger. In my opinion, the Scotty is a much better built and engineered setup, which is why I use the Scotty and let my son use the Cannon, hehehe. I never used a Big Jon, but I have heard good things about them. One more thing, if you are regularly going to fish say deeper than 75 ft or so, you might want to start thinking electric instead of manual.

 

[Belchy]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

Thanks for the advice there Peter, most of the fish I will be going after will be salmon and trout. Right now any information someone can give me the better. Thanks for the advice..<br /><br />Belchy

 

[jt57]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

After years of trying different length rods for my downrigger's,i have gone back to using a 7ft rod.for me its easier to set the hook,cuz i have short arms.I use ugly sticks for all my poles ,a light/ medium action for kokanee salmon, rainbows and browns,or a med/heavy when trolling deep for big mac's.All my reels are okuma's with line counter's.I have never used Big Jon riggers ,but from what i hear of them they seem to work well.

 

[Barlow]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

rigger rods are made light.. medium light action fiberglass rigger rods from 7-8' for fish out to 35lbs handled everything well.. <br /><br />sure they load up fast but the extra flex the medium light gives you is priceless on thrashing fish.. especially closer to the boat.<br /><br />*edit addition*<br />almost forgot.. you're in the right frame of mind with the Big Jons ...

 

[Sylvanowner]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

Cannon makes some darn good downriggers, electric and manual. I have 2 older Marlin electrics and 2 Unitroll 6 manuals and all 4 work great. Even at depths greater than 15 fathoms, my manuals are easy enough to crank in.

 

[Belchy]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

Thanks, <br /><br />I have heard some good things about cannon, and am still in the research stages, so any infomration that you fella's could tell me would be great!!!<br /><br /><br />Belchy

 

[dmonwai]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

Scotty electric downriggers are very popular around here. <br /><br />I have three and would not own any other brand of electric downrigger. I use mind hard, I fish 50-60 hours a month. I troll with downriggers fishing for salmon in Puget Sound 99% of the time. I fish the surface to 300 feet deep in water from 50-400 feet deep. <br /><br />Scotty's have a very simple drive system, a belt drive directly from the motor to the spool, no gears or gear box.<br /><br />You can set them to auto stop at any point on the cable. <br /><br />They do not use power to let the ball down. <br /><br />They use less power then most other electric downriggers. <br /><br />They are very fast when bringing the ball up. <br /><br />They have no problems with 15lb or 20lb balls. <br /><br />They have a lifetime warranty. <br /><br />They are less expensive then most other electric downriggers. <br /><br />For rods, I use a Rainshadow 1263 10'6" medium-light all graphite rod rated for 8-12lb line. For derbies I use a Rainshadow 1265 10'6" medium-heavy all graphite rod rated for 10-20lb line.<br /><br />Most people around here use 8'6" to 10'6" long rods on downriggers. A lot of it is just personal preference. A lot of people use the 8'6' rods in fiberglass. I like using the 10'6" graphite rods because I like feeling every bit of the fight that I can, with graphite rods you can feel more then with glass rods. The drawback is that graphite rods are more expensive and a lot easier to break then glass rods, especially when using them on downriggers.

 

[Belchy]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

This may sound like a stupid question, but a rod built to hold 10-20lb line hold a bigger fish, say 20-30lb? <br /><br />Thanks <br /><br />Belchy

 

[Salmonseeker]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

Hey Belchy, yes a rod built for lighter line can handle bigger fish. It might just take a little longer to get them in. One rod I use for Salmon rigging is a 11 1/2 foot rated for 6-10 lb test I use 18-20 lb test on it. My largest fish was a 31 lb Chinook Salmon from Lake Ontario. It was taken on this rod. This rod is kinda long however it is a pain in the butt to maneuver around the boat. I would recommend a shorter one. 8-9 foot is my preferance.<br /><br />As far as downriggers go I use electric scottys. I have had no problems with them(5 years old). I use 10lb weights which they bring up quite well. They claim to be very efficient as well drawing less power than most. <br /><br />Hope this helps.

 

[Belchy]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

Perfect, thanks for all the great advice, and anyone else that has a suggestion, please post to let me know<br /><br />Thanks a million<br /><br />Belchy

 

[DangerDan]

Re: Down Riggers and poles

Not sure if you've made any decissions on downriggers yet but I do have some info in a brand that someone is putting on thier boat. Info is as follows:<br /><br />Getting alot of custom work done for the boat at Fishlander...Mike has been a pleasure to deal with, the communication has been great and the customer service is better than anyone can expect...He is working on 4 Captains Choice Riggers, a 8ft downrigger board, a bunch of single rod holders and a couple of dual mount rod holders and of course a rocket launcher...all in a custom powder coated color to match the boat... He sent me samples last week and it looks amazing and I get a few free goodies!!<br /><br />It is nice to actually find a company that stands behind it's products and is looking to help people catch fish. There are items that he recommended that I would have never thought of...hopefully everything will be complete before Christmas...the boat is going to be a completely new fishing machine next year!