positioning downriggers on a 25' Sailfish

[Peanut]

Hi guys. I need advice on where exactly to mount my downriggers. I have two cannon digi troll iv's modified onto scotty swivel mounts. I was originally planning to mount them on the transom corners but my port side has a deisel gas tank cap there so I was thinking of somewhere between the two rod holders on each side.

I was hopin you guys wouldn't mind posting pics of your downrigger setups so I can get a better idea of where exactly I should mount them. I don't wanna start drillin holes into my grady unless I know exactly where I want them.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ROBERTH]

I am interested as well. Never had or used downriggers before. Not sure how you work them in regards to angle of boom over side or over back of transom, ect. Pics would explain a lot.
Also, for retrieval, how to ensure ball does not swing into motor or side of boat. Just can't seem to get the picture on how to handle what I am sure is very simple if mounted correctly. I can see the advantage of having one for kings or wahoo.

 

[thunder3535]

Hey Guys, I just bought my Gulfstream and it came with downriggers on it. They are mounted on swivelbases that go into the rod holders. They just pop in and out. They are Cannon and I need to find some for my electric Walkers that I plan on putting on. May have to get some made up. Check ebay they have some on there and it will give you an idea how they work. I dont want to drill holes either!

 

[Peanut]

Those are gimbal mounts. Some ppl advised me not to use them. Bolted in mounts seem to be the preferred choice. But I hope they work well for you!

 

[ROBERTH]

I wonder what the negatives are for gimbal /rod holder vs bracket mounts. Only negative I can think of is if the strength of the rod holder will support the downrigger and stress from the ball?

 

[UpGrady]

I've been fishing Lake Ontario for 30 years and my voice of experience tells me that Gimbel mounts are a very bad idea especially for trolling at ocean speeds and sea conditions. The stress and strain on the mount is not worth the risk. I have seen too many of them fail in a Lake O application. Attached is a photo of my Sailfish with my gunwale mount location. I have the ability to add two more to my stern corners as well, but rarely use them, i like an open area to net salmon directly off the stern.

 

[Peanut]

Thanks UpGrady for the pic.

That's exactly where I was thinking to put the riggers. The pic helped alot!

 

[ROBERTH]

Nice Pic! So the boom extends to over the transom. No need to swivel it around the side. I guess you can just put a double snap swivel on the line with a rubber band and it will slide down to the ball allowing one to keep ball down and not retrieve unless needed due to a big fish.

I wonder how it would work out with outboards in that position. I have the full swim platform, so would have to mount on the back corners I would think in order to extend out past them. But, I think that makes the line way too far out and would have to swing them around to the side to get to the down line. So with that, would have to get the swivel mount. I do like the dual rod holders!

Anyone else with pics and outboards? How do you handle and where to mount considering transom swim platform makes the down line too far to reach.

 

[UpGrady]

Sorry, I neglected to say that the riggers are on swivel bases! So in trolling position they are at 90 degrees to the hull, not parallel as shown at the dock.

 

[hangman1176]

This was from my '90 Sailfish. I have 30+ years fishing/trolling/tourneys on the great lakes. I have run this set up on three boats without issue. I have two cannon digitrolls with bottom finding on gimbal swivel mounts. I did have the mounts welded to match the degree in which the gimbal mount was offset on my 22-8. Cost $20.00 for both an a can of gloss paint. The big jons are mounted forward and I used Berts 4" adjustable risers. I don't like drilling holes but I like the big jons pull out more on the port and starboard vs the line retrieval. It's just a little faster to me.

Being that the cannons are $1000 apiece I never had a near miss where I thought I will take them out. It was nice to be able to take them off the boat in the event I was leaving for a week or two. I usually always kept the big jons on. Not sure if you use rod holders but if you move them forward further than whats in my picture. Most of the times I'm running high lines and dipseys from the triples which more produces more action on turns.

As with fishing, just my program............and not to say its the best but it worked for me.

 

[ROBERTH]

Thanks Upgrady. So in trolling position, out to the side to give more spread. Also, do you need to swing them forward in order to reach the line? I assume if needed, it is easy to do this.

Thanks for the Pic Hangman.....assume these are wired up to plug in under gunnel for ability to remove quicky and easy?

I am curious to how you use the triple rod holders mounted forward of the downriggers? Are these for drifting sideways?

 

[UpGrady]

Big Jons tilt upward, so i just lift the aluminum bar with the weight attached to reset. Cannon and Scotty also make a weight retrieve system with a rope that can be attached to the cable to retrieve inward for reset.

For a saltwater application, my personal feeling is that the Cannon manual riggers with extendable booms are the most robust design to handle the saltwater, have the best clutch to deal with the trolling speed with the best manual free spool down and retrieveability upward. Theya re super easy, everything is controlled with the crank handle, no additional knobs or levers to turn.

I like my Big Jon electrics for freshwater due to the lower profile design than the Cannon's and feel that the aluminum arm flexing in rougher seas provides more forgiveness to the cable.

Many Lake Ontario guys are beginning to run electric Scotty's due to speed up and down and price, but I personally do not like their appearance.

Each manufacturer has its Pro's and Con's and EVERYONE has their own opinion.

The triple tree rod holders ratchet to allow us to run dipsey divers off rods parallel to the water as well as provide additional rod holders for moving rods around when fighting fish. We also run planer boards and additional surface lines so these triple trees in the upward position allow us to place rods to utilize these techniques. I wish I had a photo at work here of my spread in trolling mode, but I cannot find anything right now...

 

[ROBERTH]

Yeah, a pic is worth a thousand on this spread for sure.

The idea of having some blank open rod holders is one of my current issues. When fighting a fish and need to move some rods out of the way, all my rod holders in quick reach are full. So looking for a solution on that as well.

Thinking of a rig like No Regrets made for his with the V-Lock system, but mine would be on the transom inside of the boat. Definately a Winter project when I get the boat near home and have time to sit in it and study and think more on it.