10 Tips for Hooking More Fish

The most important thing to remember with downriggers is that they have a learning curve.  Take some time to familiarize yourself with your downrigger before you leave the dock, this will likely save you time and money, as lost downrigger parts are expensive to replace.  Downriggers take some time and patience to understand, but are well worth the investment.
There are some tips and tricks that are important to keep in mind when fishing with a downrigger.
Keep a taut line.  As you let the downrigger weight down with the boat trolling, you will notice some ballooning in your line.  Keep a light drag on your reel to minimize this, not too much or you will cause early line release from the clip.  The trick is finding the balance between the two, and takes some practice.

Watch the rod for fish hits.  If you have a taut line, there will be a small bend in your rod.  When a fish strikes, it will pull the release clip downward and cause the rod tip to jiggle.  A jiggling rod tip lets you know that you have caught a small fish not strong enough to trigger the release.  Your rod tip will also bounce if you are dragging the bottom.  Take some time to learn the difference between bouncing on the bottom and fish hits.

Watch for slack in the rod.  When a fish strikes the lure and triggers the release for a brief moment, because of ballooning, there will be slack in the line.  Enough slack, and the fish may be able to shake the hook out of its mouth.  Balance this by using a light, long rod, which will spring up after the release is triggered and help take out the slack.

Use a sharp hook.  Sharpen your hook with a hook file before using, even new hooks.  A good sharp point will penetrate the fish’s jaw enough so that you have a chance to get to the rod and set the hook. 

Run the lure as close to the downrigger weight as you can.  This will help eliminate line stretch and will help your hook to set better.  Additionally, this will make it easier for the fish to trigger the release and notify you about a strike.  Note – this technique isn’t as effective in clear water, see the next tip.

If you are trolling shallow or in clear water with a downrigger, use a longer set back to get the lure away from the boat.  This will help you attract any fish that are scared by the boat.

If you only have one downrigger, run two rods off the same downrigger to increase your fishing spread.  Set your bottom rod first and lower the rigger, keep the rods separated about 20 feet in the water column.  Then use a stacker release and attach your shallower rod/line.  A stacker release will grip the downrigger cable so that the line stays attached at that depth. 

Use a fish finder to fine tune your depth adjustments.  If you see your weights on the screen while trolling, and you see that fish come up to the level of your downrigger and then go back down, then try raising the downrigger about 5 feet while the fish is following.  This will trick the fish into thinking the bait is getting away and may cause the fish to strike.  Most gamefish feed up.  Changing the trolling speed when you see a fish will sometimes create the same effect, experiment and have fun with these techniques.

After a strike, set your hook quicker.  Put your rod in the holder in a way so that the rod can be cranked while still in the holder.  When the rod tip pops up from a strike, grab the rod but leave it in the holder and start to crank the reel until the rod bends from the weight of the fish.  Then, lift the rod out of the holder and set the hook in one fluid motion.  This takes practice, but is worth it.

Use dodgers and flashers to attract more fish.  Keep in mind that more release pressure is needed to keep the flasher from tripping the release.  One suggestion is to use a flasher hooked to the downrigger weight with a lure above the flasher at roughly the same distance back.