Yeah, I remember the old sinker release in pre-downrigger-historic days - even had a pool cue of a halibut rod I used, with a huge Penn, Dacron line, and a soup can full of concrete for a weight. Really beyond miserable, esp. if you hooked a shaker that was too small to release the weight

Look on eBay or in the adds for a manual 'rigger - maybe someone on the BB recently got electrics and would let the old hand-cranks go for cheap. I picked up a Penn on eBay for less than $100 delivered and put another $50 or so into it for ball, new cable, clip, and release - pretty cheap for the dramatic improvement in fishing