Expeienced anglers know that downrigging the most accurate way to assure the bait is at the right depth-short of dropping anchor of coarse.Preferably you want to try to keep your bait at the same depth that you fish finder shows the fish are located. It will take a little trial and error, patience, and a bit of record keeping, but you can become adept at doing this.
I like to use the the best. I’ve tried some other brands but have never really been satisfied with them.Most of them fell apart tto soon or rusted out prematurally, so I didn’t think that I received fair value for the dollars spent.
But Cannon produces some really great downrigging systems. They have more complex systems, but I like to work with something a little simpler, like the Mag 10TS, for example. Experienced boaters and fishermen trust the Magnum because it has been proven to be extremely durable and dependable.It includes a fast retreival rate of 250 feet per minute, also has a short stop feature to stop the motor after the ball leaves the water so as to not hit the boat and can handle the work load of a deep sea fisherman. In particular, the Mag 10TS has a spool constructed of stainless steel that can deal with the “super lines” popular these days or monofilament.It has a stylish appearance with a nice white finish and includes Positive Ion Control which creates an electronic field around the ball making your boat a fish finding machine.
To begin you want to decide how deep you want to be and at what speed you will troll. The faster you go, and the deeper you want to be, the heavier the weight you will need.The reason is that you have to compensate for the extra drag produced by the water as you speed increases.One example is most Great Lakes fishermen trolling for salmon set a speed of 1.5 up to 3 miles per hour and aim for a depth of 15 to 30 feet down, so they don’t have a significant drag and can use a 5lb ball. But deep sea fishermen trying to catch grouper-which often run at 60 feet below the surface or even deeper-troll at around 5 knots.With water depth like that and a higher speed you get a lot more drag.So they likely will need a 20lb ball weight.
After you have determined the weight ball you need you will still need to experiment some to be sure you’re on track. Head out on the water to a depth similar to the depth at which you plan to fish. Adjust your boat speed to troll at the rate you plan to use based on the kind of fish you plan to catch.Now lower the ball all the way to the bottom were you will notice the cable becoming slack.Then stop it quickly and retrieve some of the cable to tighten it up. Now take a look at the depth gauge on your downrigger. Here’s where the record keeping comes in. Write down that depth along with your trolling speed, the ball weight, and the water depth.
Then try experimenting a bit.Each time you adjust your speed make a note of the information aquired. Adjust the cable depth at the various speeds and take note of that. Essentially you want to determine how much cable is ideal to let out at each particular depth and speed for the fish you are trying to catch. Using a percentage of the total length of cable required to reach the bottom-or some simple subtraction-you should then be able to calculate how much cable to let out if you want to run at 20 feet from the bottom-or 10 feet or 5 feet above or wherever you want to be.
Personally, I like to stay right around 10 feet above the bottom.For one thing, I’m sure fish will chase the right bait at that distance. They’ll come up to get it. But also, I don’t like the idea of getting hooked on something lying on the bottom and having to cut my cable.
I also recommend keeping the lead line at ten feet or less-from the ball to the lure or bait you’re using-so you can get the advantage of the negative Ion field that surrounds the ball itself.It has to be that close to use it.When there is too long a lenght of leader in between it will not work.
Beside the Cannon Mag 10TS there are some other basic needs to get started. With a nice sturdy 7′ rod, a conventional reel and line based on what you’re planning to catch, a good line released hooked to your ball, the perfect bait, and a nice boat, you’ll soon be in business.Downrigger fishing is a fun and enjoyable method of fihing and one that easy to master.
For more information about Cannon Downriggers and Accessories plus all types of other fishing and boating electroncs visit us at eFishBox.com.com website.
You will find great fishing and boating articles at MyTackleSpace as well as advise from your peers. There are also forums and blogs to help generate lots of ideas and great fishing discussions!Have a look.
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