What weight downrigger should I use?
Six to eight pounds is typical for most moderate depth freshwater applications and ten pounds is typical for saltwater (see Weight Table). The amount of weight needed on a downrigger is a function of the speed you are trolling and the depth you are fishing.
Is a downrigger necessary?
Downriggers are an efficient way to put live bait and lures in precise zones of the water column , and all anglers know that being in the right depth leads to more fish in the box. Downriggers are consistently used to target king mackerel, amberjack, cobia, grouper, among others.
How fast can you troll with a downrigger?
Most people troll at 1.5 to 3.5 mph How do you know if you are at the right speed? Sure, you can look at your GPS speed over ground readings, but you see your downrigger lines are almost straight at 2 mph.
Are manual downriggers good?
Manual downriggers use a hand crank to retrieve cable. While they’ll give you forearms like Popeye if you’re trolling deep, they can be a great choice if you regularly troll above 75 feet.
How deep can you fish a downrigger?
A downrigger weight of eight pounds is adequate for fishing depths up to about 50 feet and speeds approaching 2.5 MPH. A 10 pound weight will be required for fishing depths in the 50 to 75 foot depths. When faced with depths ranging from 75 to 100 feet, a 12 or 14 pound downrigger weight is needed.
How fast should you go when trolling?
The best trolling speed depends on several factors including the type of fish, water conditions and lure choice. In general, trolling speeds between 1.5 and 2.5 mph , as measured by GPS, are a good starting place for most species like walleye, trout and salmon.
Can you troll without a downrigger?
The secret to trolling without a downrigger is being able to replicate success That is why I highly recommend a level-wind reel with a built-in line counter. If you don’t have a line counter for your reel, just find a repeatable method to play out line. Another consideration when choosing a reel is spool size.
How far behind the boat should I troll?
Bait Position and Distance Behind Boat Proper distance for most boats will be anywhere from 20 feet to 150 feet behind your boat. Whether you have inboard diesel or outboard gas engines, your power dictates the distance you troll your baits and lures.
How much line do you let out when trolling?
Let out 50 feet of line and clip into the release. If that’s not enough distance to prevent your lake’s wary walleyes from seeing the ball.then let out 150 feet of line! Just remember, the flat-line diving depth of your crankbait still applies behind the ball!.
What are the four basic accessories needed to fish with a downrigger?
Downriggers consist of four major components, the weight, cable, pole or boom, and the spool A fishing line is attached to the downrigger cable by means of a “line release.” The weight is normally a five-to-twenty-pound mass of lead which is connected to the stainless steel cable.
What is a downrigger rod?
A downrigger allows you to fish a lure or bait at a specific depth accurately behind a trolling boat A downrigger contains a rod holder for storing your downrigger rod when it is actively fishing. The cannonball weight is deployed to the selected depth and allows the lure or bait to run at a specific depth.
How much line do you need behind a downrigger ball?
For trout, you’ll want to run your offering from 50 to 200 feet behind the downrigger weight depending on the depth you are fishing. The deeper you fish the shorter your line can be. When kokanee and kings are the target you can shorten your lines considerably.
What is the best trolling speed for salmon?
Trolling Speed for Salmon Anywhere from 1.8 to 3 mph is the best.
How do you Downrig a lake trout?
The most common way to rig a Fish Flash is again 10 to 50 feet behind a downrigger ball Fish Flash is often fished tight to the bottom. The object is for the rotating Fish Flash to actually touch the bottom and stir up silt to simulate lakers feeding actively on the bottom.
What depth do you troll for trout?
Trolling for trout without downriggers Even without resorting to a downrigger, you can reach 25 to 30 feet of trolling depth simply by using heavy lead weights and letting out more line from your reel. This is usually deep enough to target rainbow trout, which rarely hold deeper than that.
Sources
https://www.amazon.com/CANNON-Cannon-Uni-Troll-Manual-Downriggers/dp/B07PB22HRT
https://www.fish307.com/manual-downriggers/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WacQ4oAXjk
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/cannon–uni-troll-10-stx-manual-downrigger–14124580
https://www.ebay.com/b/Manual-Downrigger/36151/bn_7023378551