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How far behind the downrigger should the lure be?
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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.
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?
Downrigger 2.0: 4 to 7 knots
Now, if you’re pulling dead baits at 4 to 7 knots, you don’t have to part with your downrigger, but you’ll need a different setup if you want to get a bait deep. A downrigger ball—especially on thick mono—won’t cut it.
Get your rods set up by rigging up a sling blade attractor to a 2-foot fluorocarbon leader tied onto a quality lure like a 1-3/4-inch Mack’s Lure Cripplure Spoon or a Humdinger Lure.
How far behind the downrigger should the lure be? – Related Questions
What are the four basic accessories needed to fish with a downrigger?
Operation of 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 fish do you catch with downriggers?
Downriggers are designed for trolling, and they can be used to catch a huge variety of freshwater and saltwater fish. Some of the most popular species to catch include lake trout, steelhead, brown trout, kingfish, chinook, coho, walleye, and striped bass.
Why use a snubber on a downrigger?
This is to absorb the shock of your downrigger weight on the boom. Furthermore, this snubber is ideal for connection between your downrigger cable and downrigger ball.
Can you use any rod with downrigger?
Fast action graphite rods, like the type you would use for casting, do not belong loaded onto a downrigger. So again, select an all-fiberglass or graphite-fiberglass blend construction fishing rod.
Do you need a line counter reel with a downrigger?
They’re not line counters (they do not have a high speed retrieve either) but if you’re using downriggers it isn’t necessary. Not that line counters are needed for fishing down there (B-10) anyhow, they aren’t.
Synthetic braid line was introduced to downrigger fisherman in the early 2000’s as an alternative to steel cable. Braided downrigger line is composed of a weave of multiple, strong, synthetic microfilaments.
What size weight should I use on my downrigger?
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.
How many lines should a downrigger have?
It makes it easy to repeatedly place baits at the same depth, or to accurately change depths as needed. With a downrigger near the stern on both the port and starboard sides of the boat, anglers can fish two lines or stack two lines per downrigger and fish four lines.
What is the best line for downriggers?
Where should I mount my downrigger?
Downriggers work best if they are mounted near the stern of the boat. They will work at any location but the risk of tangling wire line in your prop during a turn is minimized the further back the downrigger is mounted. The downiigger should be mounted in a location where it is easy to reach and operate.
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.
How do you use the poor man’s downrigger?
What is blowback on a downrigger?
Blowback is the angle or horizontal distance between your downrigger weight and your downrigger. It is created by the resistance of the water to the downrigger weight and line as you pull it through the water behind your boat.
Spinning reels tend to twist your line when used for a trolling reel. Which is why a person uses a quality ball bearing swivel. And Yes spinning gear is fine and the baitrunner feature makes using it on the downrigger very easy.
What is the difference between a trolling rod and a downrigger rod?
Usually rigger rods are longer so you can “load” them while running & take up a little more slack on the release . Trolling rods tend to be a little shorter , & some a little geared towards lighter line . Shorter length can be an advantage in the wind also .