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hey guys, so i'm thinking about making a homemade downrigger to get out and do some deep summer fishing, primarily lakers and kokes. problem is i dont have a boat or else i would just buy an actual one. my landlord got a bayliner about 2 months ago and we've been wanting to turn it into kinda a fishing boat. i dont think he'll break down and buy some downriggers so i've been thinking about making some sort of homemade makeshift one that will get the job done without me buying someone else a couple hundred dollars worth of gear . was wondering if anyone has tried to make a downrigger out of pvc or scrap metal (preferably pvc since i dont trust my welds). if so any ideas and pics would be useful.
also, a few months ago moved from aberdeen to idaho falls for work. not the biggest move but trying to find some people in the area who might want to hang out and do some fishing.
thank in advanced
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It's just a matter of putting a pulley and spool together. Don't have to use a clip. You can just use a rubber band or redneck a clothespin. Could also buy lead line if you don't want to go through the hassle. Good luck
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idk how i feel about the snap weights, do they stay inline even after the bite? and if so wouldnt that take away from the fight, especially on smaller fish?
i do have one rod that is rigged with leadcore just really havent gotten the hang of it. any advise on that, still trying to figure out my depth per color. i cant remember what brand i have, its the one from sportsmans, 18lb test metered. i know i havent been going as deep as i should before because we were trolling too fast before, boat owner just bought a trolling plate a bit ago so this problem should be fixed soon.
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Just throwing this out there, but there a few manufacturers out there that have a low cost/portable option as far as downriggers are concerned. I think they even come with adjustable clamps to be able to attach to various types of boats... May be an option for you.
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There are plus and minus to all other setups, when it comes to getting to those deeper fish. Yes, you will lose a bit of the fight when using a snap weight setup but as mentioned, it is one of the less expensive options. Yes, they stay on your line even after the bite, that is why they have the tit in the center of the pad, so they won't come off. If you already have a lead core setup, I'd recommend using that. I have down riggers set up on my board but I still like to use my lead core as well. When I first started using lead core I thought it went down 10 ft for every color, later I learned that was the case and that there are many factors your need to figure out to know how deep your line is running. The speed you are going, the weight of the lead core and of course the lure you are using. On average, if you are trolling at 1 to 2 mph, using the line you have, I'm guessing you can expect it to go 5 to 8 ft deep for every color you let out. Of course that is a guess but that is how I figure it. So if you are seeing fish at 30 ft on your fish finder, you let out 4 to 6 colors. I would start off at 4 colors, then let out another color, every time you see fish on your finder at that same depth, until you start catching fish. Of course that does not take into account if you have a good lure on, that the fish like but that is how I fish lead core. Good luck, hope that helps.
WH2
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Have you looked into a dipsy or jet diver. They will take your line down to 40' on some models.
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I started with paracord, clothespins and a chuck of steel for weight. Worked great for years. As time went on I bought some real releases an finally a real weight.
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found this:
[url "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw0cDXTCnso"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw0cDXTCnso[/url]
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lol. I think i might be looking for something more simple, idk if i could wire all that . while we're on the subject maybe yall can educate me on downrigging, figured i would just try to teach myself but why not learn from those who do it all the time. you said 6-8 oz but that seems kind of small from what i read, a lot of online sites say something like 8-12lbs. ideas on that? also what kind of releases should i look at? seen two types, the clips on some type of leader and the ones that stay on the dr line and are connected by twisting the line or with rubberbands....again never done this before but kind of leaning towards the clips on leaders.
lol