Tom Stienstra here, first post, downrigger Q

I'm a little late to the party, but from watching afar for the past few years, this seems like one of the best groups out there! Same with the Coastside Fishing Club out of Half Moon Bay.
[I've been in a lot of kayaks, rafts and canoes, and just worked with two NorCal members, Tom and Ron, to buy a Wilderness Systems Radar 135. I have a Design Customs with a 115 for the big lakes, and have had a Step 20 Wellcraft for the ocean, but the pedal kayak option is perfect for so many uses at mountain lakes.]
I had joined before, and I want to thank Tom & Ron for urging me to get active . . .
. . . and I do have a tech question . . . is there a rail mount platform available that I could insert in the gunwale railing on my Wildernesss and then attach a Scotty Laketroller downrigger?
I don't want to drill holes in my boat for a Scotty mounting kit, or have to fabricate something.

Not familiar with that boat but I see quite a few down riggers mounted on boards mounted behind the seat but there all the way across the boat  and bolted to both sides. That’s a lot of force for just one side in my opinion.

Right on! (I’ve been reading your reports & articles since I was about 15 years old)
I believe you should be able to find a pre-made downrigger base that attaches to the factory rail system on a WS. I don’t know of one off-hand but I’ll google around later today. In the past, I made a similar base for my WS T140 using cutting board material.

Hey Tom. Yes I use a scotty mount in my wilderness track mount rail. Scotty calls it a rod holder & accessory  mount.  You'll need a couple more parts to attach it to the track. I use one to mount my down rigger to my Tarpon.

Welcome to the community Tom!

I am sorry that I don't have any answers to your questions, but I would like to say that your book "California Fishing" is by far the most valuable text I have in a very extensive angling library. I bought a copy when it first came out (I think in '92), and I literally wore out two paperback copies before getting a copy on my Kindle. It is a rare day that I do not reference that text, and when I am in between books, I always revisit "California Fishing". I have taken multi week road trips with that book as my sole guide, and over the years it has put hundreds (thousands at this point?) of fish in the boat, and exposed me to amazing California fisheries that I would of otherwise never been exposed to. Thanks you!

Welcome!

No downrigger info here other than a hardy hello and welcome...

Greetings—your articles and books are the best! Hope to meet you on the water...

Welcome  ,

 Looking forward to your reports!!!

David.

I am also a longtime reader. I was pissed when they moved the Sunday column to the Travel Section. Old people do not like change. Great to see you on NCKA

I was a big fan of your TV show and still a big fan of ur written content.  And yes, this is a group nonpareil 

Welcome to NCKA




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Welcome! Big fan here as well. So are my dogs, they ate my copy of “California Fishing”   

At any rate what you want is the Scotty laketroller with bass. Then you need the yak attack adapters. Here is a picture of what it will end up looking like mounted sideways on a newer hobie outback.

This is the downrigger I use. It comes with a Scotty mount. The adapter in the other photo is one way to attach it to the track. There are other adapters to mount a Scotty on a track. I would stay away from any tall single bolt mounts. The downrigger can be pulled hard if you drag your weight on the bottom.

This is the downrigger I use. It comes with a Scotty mount. The adapter in the other photo is one way to attach it to the track. There are other adapters to mount a Scotty on a track. I would stay away from any tall single bolt mounts. The downrigger can be pulled hard if you drag your weight on the bottom.

This is the way to go Tom... Order them up and ti makes for a super simple install. I mounted mine in the side (drilled) with a backing plate to strengthen the hull area. Did Tom (worm guy) show you the pictures of the mounts and pole holders I use? I'll take a few more pictures of my crouded set up next time I'm on the water...