I never liked leaning out over the side of the boat to put the line in the release. I make a dropper about 6' long for my boat that has a snap swivel on both ends. One attachs to the ball (I don't like hooking snaps on to the cable) and the other end gets the release. I set my Scotty's to stop the ball about 6-12"" below the surface. I use my boat hook to bring the release in-board. I drop my gear back an appropriate distance and then put the line in the release and drop it over the side. While it isa safety issue with me, I also think that it make detecting weeds/shakers on the line a little easier as there is some "flex" by having the release point 6' back from the ball.