Downrigger Releases

Looking for info on which downrigger releases seem to be worth buying. Will be fishing for walleye and lake trout/steelhead. Are there any that will cover all of these? or go light for the walleye and heavier for the trout in deeper water? Any info is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

you can go on the cheap shower hooks and rubber bands cheap and it works if it seems like there not walkin down the line add a egg sinker if you do stacking same band on planer release

thanks. i was looking into those actually. they seem pretty fool proof. do you guys know if fish usa stocks them in the store?

do you guys recommend stacking for lakers and walleyes? if so, what is the best way to stack lines if you don't mind? i have fished single lines on riggers, but havent tried stacking or set the lines when i actually did fish off of stacked riggers.

thanks for the info. i was planning on trying the shallow lakers in the spring too. do you usually do ok?

I'd recommend 20 to 30lb mono on your rigger lines.

Recommended type of release...Blacks good, I bought Du-Bros last year and they are good too....you can adjust the tension on these and they work great.

Blacks are very good.. I also like Roemer's. They have a seperate adjustment for the release trigger so you can set it very light and still crank the rod down tight in the holder. As Bogeyjoker mentioned.. and I agree.. the planer boards and dipsies produce far more fish (especially walleyes) for us than the riggers. The only time I bother with them is on the eastern basin in late summer when we hit deep water and bounce bottom for lakers. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

ORIGINAL: Bogeyjoker

ORIGINAL: Ironhed

There is only one...
Black's.

http://www.fishusa.com/Blacks-Downrigger-Release-Clip_p.html

Ironhed

+1

+2 I use 30# big game on rigger rods and use the same rods for eyes, steelies and Kings on Lake O.

Well, it just doesn't make much sense to me....why even chance possibly losing a big fish? There is virtually no advantage to using 12 or 14 lb. test...and I'm talking about on a downrigger rod....If you're strictly flatlining for eyes thats one thing, but trolling for kings on a rigger....ummmmm I don't think so, not for me nor 99.9% of the guys who fish it on a regular basis.

I can think of at least 3 advantages to the heavier stuff....

-Less wear and tear
-Strength
-Takes less to fill a spool
-Longer life

No brainer IMO

Travis, I am very late in responding to your post, but I also like the Roemer's alot.   They can fasten directly to the downrigger cable as far above the cannonball weight as you would like such that you can stack multiple lines off of one downrigger cable to fish various depths.   They operate on the same simple technology as a vise-grip.   They have a tiny jaw that holds the line or leader.  There is a plastic screw that tightens or loosens to increase or decrease the force required to break open the jaw or close it.   Set it too loose and the slightest tug on your line will open the jaw and release the line or trying to get a little downward bow in your rod (while trolling) without activating the release will be impossible.   Set it too tight and you could have a smaller fish-on like a perch, or smaller walleye or bass and never know it because the jaw doesn't release.   The key is trying to find a happy medium.  
 
The newer model Roemers have a hole that's about 3/16" in size near the top of the release and you can run a snap clip thru this hole and fasten the release to the fin of your cannonball in that manner (if your cannonball has a hole or split ring clip attached.)   So you don't have to attach it to your downrigger cable if you don't want to.   Some of the older Roemers don't have this hole.
Let me say that I have only attempted to attach the newer model Roemers to the cannonball fin.   When you attach the Roemer to the cannonball she is only anchored at the top of the release and it will pivot.    You can get a clean release when using the newer model Roemers attached this way, But if you use an older model Roemer that is not anchored on both ends by the downrigger cable it has difficulty in releasing and often the line remains hung up in the forked lever at the bottom.    I really can't explain why this is.   It's just been my experience.  

A mistake that I made in the beginning is that when you create a little loop in your line and you insert the top of that loop into the Roemer jaws you have the little forked lever at the bottom of the release into which you insert both ends of the loop.   Then the one line goes up to the fishing rod, the other goes out to your lure or bait.    YOU MUST RUN BOTH LINES THRU THE FORKED LEVER IN THE SAME DIRECTION OR FROM THE SAME SIDE.   If you criss-cross them they will have a tendency to hang up on the forked lever either when a fish strikes or when you are trying to free a rod from the boat.  

Contrary to what you may have read in recent years about Roemer Releases they are back in business again somewhere near Rochester.  The daughter and her husband now run it.   They have a website at http://www.roemerrelease.com    Roemers are the only kind of release I've ever used (on downrigging) but that's just because someone recommended them to me and I just never tried anything else.

ORIGINAL: Rough House

These are great.  I also have started using the chamberlain releases and they are fantastic as well

 
I've always used Black's releases as well and have loved them...this year I tried the Chamberlains and I like them even better than the Black's.  I love the fact that you can crank your rods down tight, yet set the horizontal release tension very, very light so you know if you've picked up junk.