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Clamp on dowriggers for a small boat. How well built are these things? Are they secure? Anyone used one and had thoughts?
I have....concerns over putting $200 worth of rod/reel/tackle on to one of these things then having the whole $400 worth go overboard at the bump of a wave.
Thank-you
My buddy uses them out in the Queen Charlottes with no issues....I think he uses an 8 lb ball though...
Used many of them fishing salmon on Vancouver Island (Swartz Bay Area)....a lot were home made, some cheap professional types and we never had an issue. Some guys used a tether safety snap secured to their boats to prevent a possible accident. They would clip it the cage on the Peetz reel and was easy to remove with a strike if it got in the way.
I use one and never had a problem.
What brand do you have? And is the rod holder attached or seperate?Quote:
Originally Posted by Deer Hunter
Thankyou
Its a Scotty with rod holder attached.Quote:
Originally Posted by blasted_saber
I glued 2 pieces of Teflon on either side of the boat aluminium tight up against the gunwale.
It reinforced sides for better clamp down and helps removed the flex.
Once the downrigger is clamped down, its stuck under the gunwale, it cant slip up.
That's how I was set up with my Ungava which I sold, I now want to do the same thing on my Seasprite.
I would take pic, but its at the camp.
Funny how things work
I was talking to my grandfather last weekend about the price of new riggers and he says "My old manual rigger is in the shed somewhere, you should come and get it". So off I got today (while maintaining social distance) and dig through the shed to find a Walker manual downrigger with rod holder and line counter. It is older, but appears to be in fine shape. A bit more rooting around and I find the line release and the cannon ball. Then he hands me the trolling rod with a Penn reel to go with it.
He had built a custom swivel mount for it that bolts down to the gunnel of his aluminum boat. Took me about 30 minutes to modify it to work on my boat.
So ha. Saved myself some money to see if downrigging is for me. Will not be getting rid of the leadcore and steel line rods though....
Those old manual riggers worked great, you should have no problems with it. Downriggers are a great rig, once you get used to using them.
Cleaning up the shed last week I came across my old 'deep' fishing tackle a few lead balls, releases and huge flashers. Bought back some good memories.
I had the cannon clamp on one and sold it..it was fine on calm days but that clamp would work itself loose on days when the water was choppy.
i ended up buying the big jon portable one and also purchased a base plate for it. I fastened an "L" bracket to the transom with the place plate thats permanently there then just attached the downrigger when needed. See the links below. For a few extra dollars its a much better set up and you dont have to worry about losing your gear overboard.
https://www.bigjon.com/the-gadabout-slim-line-base/
https://www.bigjon.com/quick-slide-mounting-base/
Now that I see the name Big Jon, I'm not sure the brand I have lol? Will check when at the camp.