Small manual downrigger?

I'm looking for a downrigger for my boat. I want a small manual model. What brands should I look at? Any features that I should get? And do you prefer top or side retrieve? Thanks.

How small are we talking? Cannon makes a small clamp-on model called the Mini-troll. It has 100' of cable, counter, can use up to a 7# ball, and is great for small aluminum boats. A step larger would be a Penn 600. It's a great manual downrigger for the money. You can get them with short or long boom, and a swivel base. I hear the regular Cannon's and Scotty's are good as well. The Penn is a side crank. The Mini-troll is a top crank. The only thing I don't like about the Penn is the spring that holds the dog in place tends to break after extended use in salt water. This causes it to go into freespool. I used to carry a supply of extras along just in case.

do you have some where to mount a base?

I had a buddy that had the Cannon mini troll and was not very thrilled with it. he had a hard time using them in any kind of current and the 8lb ball was all it could handle. I have a pair of Cannon Easy Troll riggers that I have used on my 14 footer for over 10 years and they work great. I'm thinking of getting a bigger boat next year (who isn't!) and was looking at the scotty electrics. I fish by myself quit a bit and would love to be able to hit a switch and have the downrigger cable and ball out of the way to play a fish without taking the time, and possibly losing the fish, to crank up the downrigger.

Yes, I have a couple spots to mount a base. I also have a friend who does awesome work with a welder, so If I have to fab something to get exactly what I want thats no problem. Size wise I like the looks of the Cannon Sport Troll. The clamp on style seems kinda funky to me,like it wouldn't stay in place very well. I don't need alot of depth, mostly silvers when they go down a little deeper during the day. It seems to me like the side crank would be faster than the top retrieve, and probably feels more natural, cranking the weight from 100' down

The Cannon easy trolls are quite dependable but have a really slow retreive (fishing anything over 100 feet is a pain. I recently bought a pair of scotty 1095 I like the retreive speed but they seem a little cheesey (I've already stripped the threads on one crank handle) If you can find them the old Lure Jensen (wacky wheels) were the best ever made. They're bulletproof ultra fast retreive no problem with 10# no moving parts to wear out and the drag system (a wedge) really works, beleive me I've tried them.

HBP, i have a small cannon downrigger if you interested make me an offer, i live by thrashers corrner if you want to take a look at it let me know i can meet you some where, i think its the eazy troll but not real sure, bought it years ago and since been given electrics, doug

I have Cannon mini Trolls for my lake boat and they work great, except the depth indicator gave out on one (so now I count the turns for depth). The mini-trolls work fine to about 50 feet deep. If I was fishing consistantly deeper I'd go with a Scotty model (not their version of the mini-troll but the smallest "regular" sized one). I like the Scottys for the durability and I like the manual crank on the top. It's easier to switch arms when you get tired cranking - can't do that as well with a side crank.