DownRiggers ?

[Paul Tripodi]

My Buddy who fishes with me,Would like to put his downriggers on my boat, and try to catch Stripers with them. Neether of us has ever done that! Is it a good idea? Do we do it in the spring? or wait till fall? Should we use Plastics? Out front,or in the Bay?
Thanks, Paul

[Jim Mac]

Seen them used more often in the Chessy when they aren't wire lining. From what I have read they pull a lot of umbrella rigs along the rocks by the Bay /Bridge tunnel. Good luck.

[RottnCaptn]

Paul,

I plan on doing a lot of "downrigging" this year. Email for more information if you like.

[Paul Tripodi]

Thanks for replying guys.
RottnCaptn, You got mail!

[Paul Tripodi]

Thanks for replying guys.
RottnCaptn, You got mail!

[Paul Tripodi]

Whoops :rolleyes:

[Reel-ality]

I haven't tried downriggers for stripers, but I've used them on Lake Erie & Ontario to catch salmon, lake trout, and walleyes. They all like large blue/chrome spoons. I don't know why they wouldn't work for stripers. I just cruise and watch the fishfinder to determine what depth to troll. You just have to find out what speed they want to hit your lures at.

Dave Isanski

[spooled again]

A few years ago in the Fall I was picking up thick markings on the finder. The markings were in 25-30 feet of water. I droppped a rig on the downrigger and caught Stripers non stop. Probably 3 times as many as the boats without the downriggers.
Ive also use them for bluefish and have even caught Tuna with them.

[Paul Tripodi]

Spooled,
Thats great, Were you in the Bay ?

[CURIUS GEORGE]

Just put 2 downriggers on at the end of last season. Cant wait to play with them! :rolleyes:

[sunnydaze]

If fished with a guy for brown/lake trout in N.PA and we hammered them. Just like spooled again said, you watch your finder and once you know where they are suspended you are in the money. Also, in our case as well, the right speed was critical, 1.5 mph.

I forget where, but I read an article of someone fishing striper with downrigger and jigs. 3/8 jigs were placed about 20ft behind the ball.

Think real hard where and how you mount them. At some point in time, for some reason, they WILL get in the way.

What models are you looking at? Electric or manual? Are you planning on using positive ion too?

If manual, you probably want a vertical reel. Also check the ft per turn retrieve rate and whether it comes with a one handed clutch brake. I would pay the extra $ for the 2ft/turn retrieve models. In most cases you want that cable out of the water asap.

If you go with electric, decide whether you want a belt driven or gear driven model first. If you do go electric you will probably want one with an autostop. Otherwise you burn the motor out when the ball hits the tip and you are busy fighting fish and don't stop it.

Typically, you are fishing deeper than normal, so bright or even flourescent colors tend to work better.

Please keep posted, I would be very interested to see what you end up with.

PS: Also, plan on buying a new rod for use with the downrigger that is a little more stout.

I know Cannon has the name, but if you are on a budget (<$400) check out Walker.
http://www.walkerdownriggers.com/

And if you have the coin and like gadgets there's a product from Walker called Strike Vision, it allows an underwater camera to show the action.

[sunnydaze]

Downrigger Weight Recommendations
for Salmon, Stripers, King Mackerel
and other fast moving suspended fish
Trolling Speed 3.0 MPH

http://www.queenscreek.com/downriggerbook3.html


DOWN RIGGING
by
Captain Johnny Campbell

http://www.fishing-boating.com/articles/campbelldownrig.htm

[ 03-15-2005, 01:03 PM: Message edited by: sunnydaze ]

[Paul Tripodi]

Thanks for all the info guys,Now i have n idea on how to go about it..

sunnydaze, I`m not looking to buy yet,But thanks for the info.

[Jim Mac]

I have two Cannon manual downriggers I'll be putting on the Barn Sale board this weekend. Swivel bases, quick dismounts,updated releases( Blacks)More info this weekend on Barn Sale thread.

[lockjaw]

PT,

As often as not, in the bay, the fish aren't that deep (20' or so) and trolling drails or magnum plugs will get you down to the fish quickly and with less hassle than the downriggers. Also, due to the bottom fluctuations in the bay, if you plan on using the downriggers, pack extra balls because inevitably you're going snap a few off due to an inability to continually raise and lower the ball to keep it off the bottom (which is a great hassle as you can imagine). The bay isn't like the finger lakes in New York or Lake Erie where you're fishing for fish at 40' in 100' of water where hanging up the ball isn't an issue. Lastly, you'll need extra strong releases to hold umbrella rigs. You could use the downriggers for bunker spoons but that kind of defeats the purpose as noodle like rods are use to create the "pumping" action which inparts the action on the spoon. You won't get that action behind the ball. In my opinion, wire and trolling drails are a much more effective and easier method to fish the bay than the downriggers. Also, if considering an electric model, ask anyone with electric disk brakes on their trailer; electric plus salt water= one big pain the rump. Just my opinion and something to think about.