downriggers

lookn to c what most of you guys prefer for the cabels on the riggers. i got a total of 8 riggers on my boat 2 manual uni troll10s, an 6 mag 10s.  on the manuals they came with that cloth cable.... an the mags got the steel cable. which on do most of u prefer to use??? the only difference i have notice is with the cloth line, u dont hear them at all, while the steel cable you do.  but im woundering if i should change them all to cloth or steel?? thanks for any info.

I prefer the steel. Cloth or braid can get full of fleas in the summer in Ontario. Tiny hairs on the line and the fleas just stick like glue. I run mono on my reels, 30#, for the same reason. Thicker diameter so the  spring tails can't hook on. If your running shallow and not for long trolls you may get away with it.  As far as the humming from steel, some say it atracks fish, others say it chases. All's I know is all my buddies and charter capt's I know run steel.OTH

Where are you fishing? oth

8 RIGGERS??????
 
What is the beam on that boat?
 
I think the most I have ever seen is 5!  2 corners, 2 out-downs, and 1 down the chute.
 
I tried the braided a couple years ago, switched back to cable and think I'll stay there.
 
 

yes i do have 8 of them an i never had them all going at once! toooooooooooooo many dang lines. an when i baught the boat it had a long bord going across the back with 6 mounted al ready. i dont know the size but talk to me in spring an i can get u a pick an all that stuff. i mounted the 2 man off the sides.  they are all cannons. but like i said i cant get them all out at once. i think the most i used at one time was 4. lol. an i fish outa north east pa, an sodus point NY. i TRY for kings up there. haha never got one yet. last year was my first.

King,
 
     I have two walkers and two mag 10s.  Too much drama, so I took off the walkers.  All have steel cable.  I fish mainly out of Walnut, but will be in northeast after ice out for the lakers.  I started my king salmon tryouts in oswego, but found that I catch just as many out of Wilson.  I fish out of Wilson, because you can fish east toward olcott or head west for the niagra bar.
 
HH

CB - got new cannon HS and seems to get up and down PDQ . I know the older ones were slower but the HS much better. And I was wondering about all the riggers and no dipseys. Two riggers is all we need.  Dave

King,
Leave them on till after May, stop by east ave. boat launch you can run out with the hill Billy and myself . Pick up three more Anglers and we will introduce you to drift fishing live bait off a rigger for lake trout. No trolling. 8 riggers will be just fine.
 
Andy

If you want electric riggers....www.FishLander.com i dont think any1 makes em better...
 
Cannons are nice riggers but not speed deamons by any means...Bout 1foot per second....Big Jon boasts about their speed, but personally i dont see the whole point behind 200ft per/m retrieve...but i guess its a selling point...

ORIGINAL: eyesandgillz

The braid should be a thinner diameter and have less water resistance as well.  You shouldn't get as much "blowback" when fishing the riggers deeper and your actual ball depth will be closer to what the counter is reading.  They should definitely be less noisy, too.  8 riggers, especially on Erie, is definitely too much.  Take off four and add a planer mast and side planers if you don't have those already and get dispy rod holders set-up so you can run at least two off each side.  A good program for 12 lines on Erie starting off the AM would be 6 planer lines, 4 dipsies, and 2 riggers.  You can switch up if the bite seems better on one or the other.

And if you are not fishing dipsies up on Ontario, you are definitely missing out.

Good luck.

If you can get 12 lines out on Lake Erie I salute your ambition cause your obviously not catching too many fish....

Come to think of it if you have 6 guys and the TIME to get out 12 lines on Lake Erie I salute you...You need a very wide boat and alot of rod holders to run that many lines without problems...Ever see 4 planer board lines tangled....not a pretty site and very frustrating...This is not something your going to just do without any experience... 

Personally I never run more than 8 rods EVER....6 rods is actually my favorite way to go even with 4 or 5 guys on board...Planer boards become almost useless and seem like more trouble than they are worth, in my opinion once, once the fish stack up under 40 feet.  Especially if you only have 2 or 3 guys on board!!

With just a few rod holders and very little effort any1 can run 6 dipsys out of their boat...You can turn faster and stay on the fish...Not to mention if it is rough pull your lines effortlessly and run back through where you were gettin em....Id like to see some1 pull 12 lines and 2 boards in to run back to the hotspot...probaly take almost an hour just to get the lines in.

If you take the time to get those 6 rods in the strike zone you will load up a cooler in no more than a few hours where the fishing is hot and heavy.  No matter if you have 5 or 6 guys with you.  This isnt about being technical your average fishermen isnt out there in a 30ft sportfisher with 45 rod holders and 4 downriggers...Keep it simple, trust your electronics, adjust to the conditions, and you can always be consistant.  This fishing stuff isnt exactly rocket science... 

Ill take my Big Dipsy setups anyday trolling open water over any planer board downrigger setup...Its simple, its easy, and it works just as good if not better than anything else...
 
When you are fishing in tight and running plugs in the spring your planer boards are much more useful...but when the fish stack up deep its alot simpler to run a dipsy back 150' than to have to put out the boards and have to contend with them all day...

does any one prefer walkers over cannon? i got all cannon, an two walkers laying around.

ORIGINAL: Carpet Bagger

ORIGINAL: eyesandgillz

The braid should be a thinner diameter and have less water resistance as well.  You shouldn't get as much "blowback" when fishing the riggers deeper and your actual ball depth will be closer to what the counter is reading.  They should definitely be less noisy, too.  8 riggers, especially on Erie, is definitely too much.  Take off four and add a planer mast and side planers if you don't have those already and get dispy rod holders set-up so you can run at least two off each side.  A good program for 12 lines on Erie starting off the AM would be 6 planer lines, 4 dipsies, and 2 riggers.  You can switch up if the bite seems better on one or the other.

And if you are not fishing dipsies up on Ontario, you are definitely missing out.

Good luck.

If you can get 12 lines out on Lake Erie I salute your ambition cause your obviously not catching too many fish....

Come to think of it if you have 6 guys and the TIME to get out 12 lines on Lake Erie I salute you...You need a very wide boat and alot of rod holders to run that many lines without problems...Ever see 4 planer board lines tangled....not a pretty site and very frustrating...This is not something your going to just do without any experience... 

Personally I never run more than 8 rods EVER....6 rods is actually my favorite way to go even with 4 or 5 guys on board...Planer boards become almost useless and seem like more trouble than they are worth, in my opinion once, once the fish stack up under 40 feet.  Especially if you only have 2 or 3 guys on board!!

With just a few rod holders and very little effort any1 can run 6 dipsys out of their boat...You can turn faster and stay on the fish...Not to mention if it is rough pull your lines effortlessly and run back through where you were gettin em....Id like to see some1 pull 12 lines and 2 boards in to run back to the hotspot...probaly take almost an hour just to get the lines in.

If you take the time to get those 6 rods in the strike zone you will load up a cooler in no more than a few hours where the fishing is hot and heavy.  No matter if you have 5 or 6 guys with you.  This isnt about being technical your average fishermen isnt out there in a 30ft sportfisher with 45 rod holders and 4 downriggers...Keep it simple, trust your electronics, adjust to the conditions, and you can always be consistant.  This fishing stuff isnt exactly rocket science... 

Ill take my Big Dipsy setups anyday trolling open water over any planer board downrigger setup...Its simple, its easy, and it works just as good if not better than anything else...

When you are fishing in tight and running plugs in the spring your planer boards are much more useful...but when the fish stack up deep its alot simpler to run a dipsy back 150' than to have to put out the boards and have to contend with them all day...

 
Back in my heyday of fishing my dad's boat regularly and first mating on a charter, I could get set-up with 10-12 lines in 20 min. to 40 min. depending on fish bites and help from customers/experienced friends.  Charters regularly run 16 legal lines but most have the extra room on the boat required. 
 
Our personal boat was 24' with an 8'-6" beam and we ran 12-14 rods regularly, when we had enough people.  An experienced driver is key to preventing tangles, especially when letting lines out.  We never ran more than 3 planer lines per side (need to keep them far apart to prevent said tangles).  Lots of little things you can do to speed up the whole process that you learn from experience.
 
As far as planer boards go, I wouldn't fish walleyes on Erie without them.  On clear water, clear sky days when the fish are spooky, you can't beat them sometimes.  Dipsies just can get out to the side far enough sometimes or, when you are out that far, your fishing below the active fish.  Every tool has its time and place.  Again, an experienced driver is key to running boards.  We almost never picked up and ran back over a spot if we didn't have to.  Mark your spots and plan your turns to stay on your lines and you could pick them up running both directions, even in 3-5's.  Our Patco redwood boards would run in the roughest of waves and never dove or flipped on us. 
 
For the deeper fish off the boards, we used weighted lines w/ plugs and jets and small dipsies.  You can "feel" the fish a little better and get a better fight out of the bigger eyes off the smaller board line tackle compared to the heavier dipsies rods/reels/line. 
 
To each their own though and whatever puts fish in the box is what counts.

I prefer steel. U can use it for walleye an salmon. We set our boat up with 4 dipsys an 2 longlead rods off the riggers for walleye, works great even in close.

Guess it depends what ones good at.

i dont want to start any wars over this but i just gotta ask... which ones better boards or riggers