Downrigger Configuration

[obifishkenobi]

I pulled the trigger and bought two more Downriggers for my boat, I will have a total of 4. Right now I have 2 Cannon Mag 10 mounted on factory mounts that are welded several feet from the back of my boat. I am debating where to put the 2 new Cannon 10 STX manual Downriggers. My thoughts are either rail mount them in front of my existing downriggers or mount them on the back corners in front of my offshore platform. My boat is a 20’ Wooldridge Super Sport Offshore, I would love to hear from some of you guys with similar boats and see some pictures of how you configured yours, any others thoughts from anyone are also welcome.

[dubob]

I pulled the trigger and bought two more Downriggers for my boat, I will have a total of 4. Right now I have 2 Cannon Mag 10 mounted on factory mounts that are welded several feet from the back of my boat. I am debating where to put the 2 new Cannon 10 STX manual Downriggers. My thoughts are either rail mount them in front of my existing downriggers or mount them on the back corners in front of my offshore platform. My boat is a 20’ Wooldridge Super Sport Offshore, I would love to hear from some of you guys with similar boats and see some pictures of how you configured yours, any others thoughts from anyone are also welcome.

I have 4 Cannons on my ThunderJet.  I have a pair of Mag 10s on the same side mount platforms as on your boat.  My TJ also has 2 more mount platforms at the rear corners and I put 2 Mag 5s on those to fish directly behind the boat.  I fish the side mount Mag 10s straight out to the side of the boat to get the lines separated from the rear lines.  Looking at your boat, I would suggest replacing what looks to be 2 rod holders on the back with the 10 STX units.  Click on the picture below to see where they mine are mounted.



Since your new riggers are manual units, I would recommend getting a set of Shuttle Hawks to get the lines down to depth as apposed to hand cranking the weights up after every fish hit/release.  The Hawks will float to the surface as you fight the fish and will be waiting at the surface to reattach the line and send back down.  Unless you have kids along that need the exercise.    

[obifishkenobi]

I pulled the trigger and bought two more Downriggers for my boat, I will have a total of 4. Right now I have 2 Cannon Mag 10 mounted on factory mounts that are welded several feet from the back of my boat. I am debating where to put the 2 new Cannon 10 STX manual Downriggers. My thoughts are either rail mount them in front of my existing downriggers or mount them on the back corners in front of my offshore platform. My boat is a 20’ Wooldridge Super Sport Offshore, I would love to hear from some of you guys with similar boats and see some pictures of how you configured yours, any others thoughts from anyone are also welcome.

I have 4 Cannons on my ThunderJet.  I have a pair of Mag 10s on the same side mount platforms as on your boat.  My TJ also has 2 more mount platforms at the rear corners and I put 2 Mag 5s on those to fish directly behind the boat.  I fish the side mount Mag 10s straight out to the side of the boat to get the lines separated from the rear lines.  Looking at your boat, I would suggest replacing what looks to be 2 rod holders on the back with the 10 STX units.  Click on the picture below to see where they mine are mounted.



Since your new riggers are manual units, I would recommend getting a set of Shuttle Hawks to get the lines down to depth as apposed to hand cranking the weights up after every fish hit/release.  The Hawks will float to the surface as you fight the fish and will be waiting at the surface to reattach the line and send back down.  Unless you have kids along that need the exercise.    

I’m very familiar with shuttle hawks I have used them for years to stack. As far as cranking up the down riggers I figure it will give my guest something to do while I’m re-rigging. My one concern with going strait back off the corner is the kicker prop clearance but that shouldn’t be an issue with the extendable booms.

[liketrolling]

My boat has all wide flat surfaces 
I like the way Bob build up his front  mount..   

The ones you have now can they hold a 10 lb ball and turn them out sideways without rolling over in a 14 mph wind??  
I bot me a cannon optimum for Xmas paid $1000. for it. It is nice used it 2 times this year.  have a spare now, could have sold it to you. ( elect mag 10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v...utdoorLine
you will love 4 down riggers no more stacking unless you want 6 lines out

[obifishkenobi]

My boat has all wide flat surfaces 
I like the way Bob build up his front  mount..   

The ones you have now can they hold a 10 lb ball and turn them out sideways without rolling over in a 14 mph wind??  
I bot me a cannon optimum for Xmas paid $1000. for it. It is nice used it 2 times this year.  have a spare now, could have sold it to you. ( elect mag 10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v...utdoorLine
you will love 4 down riggers no more stacking unless you want 6 lines out

Robert, send me a pm let’s talk about your mag 10. I don’t understand your question, I have had no issues turning my downriggers out to the side with 10# balls but I have never extended the booms. My current mounts are welded.

[Downriggerer]

Of the options, I'd rail mount the new downriggers in front of the existing downriggers. You can fish the rear downriggers straight out the back and extend the booms on the front rail mounted downriggers to fish off to the side. If you didn't have mounted riggers now, I'd say mount them on the back of the boat where your rod holders are now. But, since you already have them mounted, I don't see you'll get any benefit from moving them that justifies the effort in moving them, especially if the mounts are welded to the rail.

If things get windy or snotty, you don't want to be sending people out onto the offshore platform to bring in the downriggers. You also can't see them as well from the driving position which could result in some unpleasantness.

I think Liketrolling is asking if the mounts you have are strong enough to prevent your downrigger from being slammed backwards in rough winds and seas with a 10 pound ball.

I'd also consider some electric riggers. It increases fishing production significantly.

[Bduck]

I like the option right off of back corners keeping it slightly offset from fwd riggers. This helps with a stowed position when in road travel. Most river runners learned to put a prop guard on the kicker for shallow purposes. The prop guard also serves a good purpose of preventing the DR cable from tangling in the prop. I have one on my kicker with my cable right at the prop but I keep it angled away from the prop anyways. Never had a problem with cable getting into prop as close to it gets at times. Depending length of DR boom it could extend out past kicker prop but the DR is usually on a swivel that can be locked in an angle. Also having the fwd DR's straight out to the sides keeps separation of rear DR's right off the back. You have good options but you need to use what works best for you.
 

[2knots]

In the process of adding these to both sides

[muirco]

Put your other 2 on the back corners just like was mentioned before. We have that setup and works well!

[dubob]

I’m very familiar with shuttle hawks I have used them for years to stack. As far as cranking up the down riggers I figure it will give my guest something to do while I’m re-rigging. My one concern with going strait back off the corner is the kicker prop clearance but that shouldn’t be an issue with the extendable booms.

I've been fishing off the back corners of my TJ for 4 seasons now.  I have never had an issue with either the DR cable or a fishing line being tangled or cut by the kicker prop.  I do not have a prop guard on mine and didn't even know about them until this thread - cool.  Don't run shallow, so I'll pass on them for my boat.   

I do swivel my back DRs out to the first notch (port side) or second notch (starboard side) on the swivel base. This does a couple of things for me. This gives a little more room to attach the fishing line to the release and gives me more netting space on the starboard side of the boat, away from the kicker on the port side.  This is also required because of my 2-foot wide back deck and short DR booms on the rear set.

I'm sure your boat design/configuration will be a player in your decision as well.  My rail based mounting plates are factory installed/placed so that's where my DRs had to be attached.  With flat gunnels and no rails, there is more leeway in mounting positions.  Good luck and tight lines always. 

[BearLakeFishGuy]

I agree with what others have said. Remove the two rod holders and replace with the new downriggers. My Cannons have rod holders attached right to the downrigger, so you really don't need the extra rod holders. I angle my rear down riggers just slightly off the sides and I angle my side mounted downrigger at 90degrees to my boat sides. I only use 12 lb. pancake weights which allows the weights to track pretty much straight down from the rigger without much swing back. I'm still puzzled why people use the lighter weights that swing back when you are trolling. Unless you angle your transducer to shoot backward, its difficult to see your weights on the sonar. Seeing the weights on the sonar is VERY important to me at Bear Lake and Flaming Gorge where I routinely troll with the weights in close proximity to the bottom. If I can't see the weights in relation to the bottom, you can easily snag a weight and lose it. Pretty expensive!