Downriggers Are Valuable Tools

Downriggers are a valuable tool to use inshore and offshore when fishing. Downriggers are used for trolling baits down in the water column just like you would troll baits along the water’s surface.
In case you didn’t
know already, waters in the ocean are layered in different temperatures.It may be 80 degrees on the surface, 70 degrees a few yards down, and 60 degrees on the bottom. These layers are called thermo clines. Offshore fish will be found in different thermo clines, depending on what that species likes best. For example, you typically won’t find bottom-hugging Grouper in the same thermo cline as Mackerel.

This is where your Downriggers come in handy. When trolling along you may see a lot of big fish 60 feet down on your Fishfinder. At this point, you will want to put your Downrigger bait down to those fish.

Downriggers come in about the same styles. Make sure that you buy the swivel mount plate too – they help you in swinging your Downrigger into the boat and out of the boat when hooking you line to the clip. Cannon and Scotty are the two most popular Downrigger brands. We personally have two scooty downriggers, both with 24″ booms. The shorter booms are easier to use, but if you want, you can use 48″ booms.

You will want to mount your Downriggers at the very back corners of your boat. When you mount them, use backing plates and stainless steel bolts. We have even coated our bolts with marine sealant to keep them water tight and sealed.

You still need to spool your downrigger, get a Downrigger ball, and a release clip to be complete. Typically you want to spool your Downrigger with either cable or braided line. Choose at least 200 yards of 200lb test line. You rather have too much than too little. Next, you need a Downrigger ball, the heavy metal ball that serves as the weight to keep your baits down in the water. I suggest using an 8 to 10lb ball – any color.
Finally, the release clip. It is a clip that you squeeze your fishing line into. When a fish hits your bait, your line will be released from the clip and Downrigger. Then you can grab your rod and start reeling. You
will attach your release clip to the Downrigger ball which is attached to your Downrigger cable or line. To attach the release clip to the fishing line, take the line and pull a off piece about 4 inches long and form that 4 inches into a loop. Twist that loop 2 or 3 times and put the end of the twisted loop in the jaws of the release clip.

So you’ve seen fish 45 feet down. You’ve let out your fishing line 20 yards behind the boat, then attached your fishing line to the release clip and finally let your Downrigger down about 40 feet using the number gauge on the side of the Downrigger. Troll along at around 2 to 4 knots, depending on the fish you are trying to catch. When a fish hits and the line is released from the clip, pull the Downrigger in. If you don’t, it can easily get wrapped around the cable or line. (This is where a two person team comes in great – one to bring the Downrigger in while the other fights the fish.)

Downriggers are not the cheapest items to buy, but they come in useful and could be your only way to catch fish in waters whose surface temperatures are around 90, as in Florida during the summer.