Scotty Depthmaster Downrigger with Gimbal Mount? (Hobie Outback)

I thought I remembered you leaving the ball down in your SC salmon video (nice fish, by the way!).

I think splitting my focus between winding the downrigger and keeping pressure on the fish would be a recipe for disaster. For some reason all the salmon I've caught this year have bee-lined straight for the boat as soon as they're hooked. Then they see the boat and go ape sh*t crazy. Being ready to take in a lot of line in a hurry has been critical.

If I were fishing barded hooks for trout, I might be more inclined to leave the rod in the holder for a second and crank like mad on the downrigger. Salmon on barbless hook, not so much...

I've just about got my milk crate DR setup completed. The more I think about it, the more I like this design.

It may not be the "perfect" location on my kayak, but it has some unforeseen advantages. My girlfriend and I like to rent skiffs sometimes. Santa Cruz, San Pab reservoir, Twin Lakes, etc... I should have no problem ratchet strapping this milk crate to the seat of any skiff and dangling the DR over the side. Voila! Instant downrigger on a rental skiff.