Read Dratherman's post on down riggers. It brought back a memory the tangles from Hell.
How are stackers used? Each time I have tried it there has been holy terror to pay. There must be some way to do this and help would be appreciated.
Thanks
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good question. I fixed up some old riggers last year, but have never tried the stackers.
humpy
I love running stackers and have found them to be very effective.
My biggest tip is to keep the line running out of your stacker as short as possible, thereby cutting down the chances of a crossed line if a fish grabs the bottom line and comes up quick.
The downside to running a stacker is re-setting two lines every time you hook a fish.
The boat turns in to a chinese fire drill if we run through a good school and both riggers, both stacked, all hook up.
I run two riggers, both stacked most of the time. Once dialed in or catching near our limit and wanting to fish longer, I will remove the stacker and fish one line per rigger.
Have fun!
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another bit of info is to keep the upper stacked line in the hot spot this will prevent you from having to reset both rods everytime
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keep your line 25 to 30 feet out with the upper line in closer to the keep at least 10 feet of separation on the stacker and like only child said keep the upper line in the hot zone , then relax and have fun with it, it gets easier over time .
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How short is "as short as possible"? My problem has been that my lower lure tangles with the upper on the drop as I am lowering after setting my upper. I have tried to lower slowly but with no success.
How far apart vertically are the two placed?
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Are you saying to put my lower line out 25 to 30 feet then lower rigger at least that much before attaching my stacker?
If that is what I am supposed to do I can see why I have tangled as I have only separated them by 10 ft. or so at the most.
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The deeper you fish the shorter your lines can be.
If you are catching fish and not scaring them with the boat there is no reason to long line out of the clips.
If you are fishing deeper than 15 or 20 feet your ball line can be as short as a couple feet, although I usually feel better running my ball line about 20' out of the clip. Your stacker line can be just 3-5' out of the clip. I usually vertically spread them out 10'.
A trick I use to avoid tangling while lowering is to run your heaviest or deeper diving rig on the bottom.
I also run a 7-8' pole for the bottom line and put it in the front holder. My stacker pole is 6' and I use it in the back holder. When I have a takedown on the bottom pole the action of the longer pole pulls the line away from the stacker line. Albeit it is only 2' or so, it is enough to miss the stacker line, especially because the stacker line is only a few feet out of the clip.
I only have an older Mag 5 on my Lund, it does not scream the ball down as fast as the newer Mags.
Don't get me wrong either, I still have the occasional tangle also!
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I have been fishing back quite a ways as I have figured that the fish were being scared by the boat. I have done this even when fishing 30 or 40 feet down.
I also have been back a ways as I thought the ball and downrigger line was a scare for them.
I'm going to shorten things up and give it a try that way.
Thanks a bunch.
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generally I will put the first line out say 40 feet then attach that one to the ball, then drop the ball 10 feet put on my stacker clip let my second pole out 20 feet or so, attach clip and lower to the range I want to fish at. then when you have your rods in the rod holder make sure they are divergent to each other so they don't tangle when the fish strike. if your lower line is in further , shorter than your upper line it will generally tangle. just stack on 1 rigger until you get a system that works for you then expand it as you feel more comfortable , also if your lower line is has a fish on you can release the other (pop it off the clip) before you start fighting the lower fish.
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Thanks for the help.
Going into a shut down at work so it will be 6 weeks of no fishing for me.
I will put these suggestions to work when able.
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Try this link. Neat way to keep the bottom line down while changing out the top one.
http://youtube/g4DoOpcp8uw
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[quote ReelMasta]Try this link. Neat way to keep the bottom line down while changing out the top one.
[url "http://youtu.be/g4DoOpcp8uw[/quote]"]http://youtu.be/g4DoOpcp8uw[/quote][/url]
+ 1 on the Shuttlehawk. They do work slick. Use the rubber band because they can pop off your cable and they do sink. Fishon
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You are very welcome.
I'm going to run my rigger tomorrow at Willard Bay for eyes.
I will lower the ball just enough to keep cranks barely ticking the bottom.
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There are usually two of us in my boat so I usually run two down riggers and two planer boards at the Bay. Good luck tomorrow, gonna try to make it out there myself this weekend.
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I hear ya.
I usually fish three:
Two planer boards. Two riggers. Two long lines=FUN!
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