Hi all-

I'll be switching to power down riggers here shortly. I'm looking forward to having 30" booms instead of the 24" boom on the hand cranks. The wire gets a little close to the chine at the stern of the boat and the kicker prop. No problems yet, but I have to pay close attention to turning with or against the tide, wind, etc. Someday a guest might have to steer and then we'll have a problem.

So, 30" booms will help.

The option at this point is to pony up a few bucks and get 36"-60" booms for added insurance. That little bit of money to make the jump is not the issue.

My concern is all that added reach required to set the line in the clip, etc. I'm already reaching plenty with the 24".

How do you with the 36" boom deal with the extra reach? Just seems like a lot.

Can one have too much down rigger boom?

Thanks

Mike

PS...already tried the search button and soooo many hits when searching "downrigger" on a fishing forum. Lots of hits to sort through. Hoping to get some quick ideas from those willing to supply them. Thanks.

I use the boat hook to pull my lines into the boat and just slowly drop the ball when I re-deploy. Sometimes I use the rod tip to snag the line and pull it aboard too.


Fishy

There is cable retriever that you can put around your cable that allows it to slide up and down. Scott makes it... Actually I may have a pair of them I'll make you a deal on.

The telespcoping booms with a #3025 weight retriever. Fish 'em fully extended with no inconvienence because of the leashes. Cross your cables in a turn in the current or saw a cable off in the kicker and you'll wish you had 'em. Long booms are especially helpfull when forced to fish with excess of 100ft of cable.

(Like what Charles said.)

Theres a couple ways, get swivel mounts so swing it all in close.
Theres also mounts that swing the arm up bringing everything towards you.
You can get a "leash" that will always stay on the cable and rigger to pull it in.
A boat hook will work to.

Use 48-60" leashes, You can use the boat hook to snag the leash. If you are looking at Scotty's I just grab the boom & lift it up & bring the clip to me. Another option is to swivel the DR fwd to bring it closer to the boat. Also the above mentioned donut & leash around the cable. Several options to bring the clip to you instead of you going to it.

Sounds good! Lots of ideas.

Seems all the Scotty dr's come with the swivel base, plus I have the tip-ups from the old down riggers.

Thanks!!

Mike

I run my release off the cannon ball. I used some weed eater line (tuna cord or heavy 100# + mono, etc will work, too), got some aluminum sleeves big enough to take the line, measured out what it takes to be able to drape the "leash" over my gunwale, crimped a loop and swivels on both ends and I'm ready to go.

I stop the cannon ball about 6" or so below the surface so it isn't swinging, reach out with my "stick" which is a piece of oak furring about 5.5' long with an angled notch to catch the "leash" and bring the release clip on board. Don't have to reach out over the side of the boat, work with the Scotty retriever, etc.

I drop my gear back whatever distance I'm going to, clip it in the release, and drop the cannon ball. The "leash" will pull up at an angle when fishing, so your gear might be a couple of feet higher than the cannon ball - not necessarily a bad thing if you're dragging the bottom with the cannon ball. A lot safer for folks running the gear, especially if it is choppy or your have heavy swells.

I am also of the opinion that the extra length to the release gives a little more flex to the gear and you can detect changes to gear action (ie weeds/shakers) easier than if you're running the short releases like Scotty sells.

boat hook is cheap and can fashion ur own..period! work fkn great too!

I use 30's and they work fine..but I'd suggest a longer boom, at least on your kicker side. I've been thinking about getting one for 4 years

For setting gear, let your stuff out, use 60" releases, and dip your rod right under the clip in the water and pick it up, then lift so the clip laynard slides along the top of the rod right into your hand.

As with Bushbear I build my own releases that allow me to stay securely inside the boat - especially critical when fishing alone. As a hook I use a long piece of dowel with a metal hook screwed into the end. The dowel is also marked for length thereby doubling as measuring tool.

Be safe!

I use these setups from scotty. They work great for ease of hookup as well as getting the line out of the way if fighting a fish. I didn't get them here, just found the sight for the pic. Most places that carry any amount of scotty stuff will have them.
http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/pr...cID=GSHOP_84221

Bret

Holy buckets!! Prices do vary from place to place!

I have had mine for about 9-10 years and do not remember what I paid for them and I didn't price shop to post the above link. Just googled and posted to show the product. I am sure there are cheaper places than Gander, Cabelas, etc. Just have to shop around. They do work great. I run snubbers on my DR balls and when I pull them in they come right up to the boat and the ball just stays in the water so it doesn't swing around and smack the side of the boat if you are in choppy water. I run the blacks releases between the cable and the snubber. Really like the set up quick and easy. I mounted the cleat for the retrieval cord to the base of the scotty DR so when I them off they whole works comes off together.
Bret

All of the above, leashes etc. I have two electric scottys on my Seahawk. One with a telescoping boom on the same side as the kicker and a fixed boom on the other side. Works for me. I find a dont need a telescoping boom on the side where the kicker isnt. I used to do the same thing when I had two manual Penns on my old Glas Ply, long boom on the kicker side, short boom on the other. I've used this system since 1985, never had a motor fouled cable yet.

Sounds like you've got plenty of ideas Mike! Just make sure you go out with one of these ideas or you'll have trouble touching your balls from 36" out from the gunnels.....