Downriggers....

What kind of rod holder will you use that could attach to a ram mount?

It's actually a Ram rod holder.  I have four 1.5" balls (Ram mounts) located around the kayak.  On these I use two Ram Tubes (sometimes) one Ram rod holder (soon to be two) and a mounting contraption for my GPS and fishfinder.  I'll have to re-add the photos to the gallery... I have a post that details all of this in the "Rigged Kayak" section.

Tried the downrigger setup in my garage last night.  Using the full length rod and a two pound weight will work, but I think I'm going to find that it torques the rod holder a little too much.  I'm sure heavier weight will be marginal.  I also tried setting it up so that the end of the rod (not the actual tip... about four inches up) rests on the side of the kayak near the bow.  This definitely alleviates some of the torque issue, but it crowds the cockpit a little bit... I'll try this on the water, but I'm fairly sure I'll end up cutting the rod down... no biggie.  By the way, the Convector is going to be pretty sweet... 2 feet per turn of the handle and the drag is good enough to use for lowering the ball... just back it off a bit, drop to desired depth, tighten a bit.  I'll also have that drag as a built-in safety in case of hangups.

Backslider

p.s. I indicated before that the only tricky part would be clipping in... not so.  All I have to do is lengthen the line on a Scotty release to whatever length will get the clip back next to me ... 48" to 60" will do the trick if I use the full length rod and I point it towards the bow, otherwise it'll be less.

p.s.s. Figuring this stuff out is pretty fun.

I finally found the picture of the cut down rod with the scotty rod holder attached that I mentioned earlier in this post.

Here is a link to the thread: http://www.coastsidefishingclub.com/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/463366/an/0/page/0#463366

And I also attached the pic.

I am still torn about using some kind of downrigger. It still just feels to complicated to me, on the other hand fishing with lighter line and less tackle between me and the fish really appeals.

Now here is a thought - What would it take to setup one of these homemade downriggers to allow you to be able to mooch or troll with one? Then either way no weight lost and no weight on your line during the fight.

To much thinking going on, it is time to get out and fish.

Jeff

Paul,

A 4 lb fish off the downrigger is tons better than 2.5 lbs off of the 9' Lamiglass. With that previous setup, I had the paddle shifted way over to the trolling side, doing a combined forward/sweep stroke, and barely propeling myself with forward strokes on the off side. With the downrigger dropping the weight just outboard of the gunwhale, and using the fish rather than the ball, there is a massive decrease in drag/pull to that side. My freshwater testing using a flasher/hootchie indicates that I'll be paddling in a near normal manner. This is with the weight only 30' down though. It will be interesting to see what happens with 120' out.

I'll post a picture tonight with my setup. I've got everything drilled and in place, just need to stop by West Marine and pickup some stainless 1/4" hardware.

Scott

Hey Scott,

Where'd you find the fish?

Backslider

Scott 4lbs is gonna kill your back.....

... 2 1/2lbs is my limit, I tried 3 and it was brutal over hours of grunt  In fact I may try 1 1/2 again which always felt too light Maybe I'm getting old but 1/2 lb feels like a big difference over a day

A 4 lb fish off the downrigger is tons better than 2.5 lbs off of the 9' Lamiglass.

Correct me if I'm wrong..... but I think dragging 4lbs is gonna be a bitch whether it's straight off your line or off the downrigger wire.  Either way, it'll probably feel like your dragging an anchor.  2-1/2# is about my limit too.

The 4 lb fish seems to have lower drag than a 2.5 lb ball. Fluid dynamics at work, I guess. This is just a seat of the pants measurement though. But as I said, it felt like I was paddling along normally. I'd have to do a GPS speed run to see how much I was really losing.

And it wasn't so much the drag from the ball that bothered me, as it was the horrendous pull to the side, due to the drag being so far outboard. I have no rudder, so I had to compensate with paddling technique. But that rudder that is keeping you nice and straight, is also adding further drag...

Regards,
Scott

Hey Blue, that looks like a simple setup that ought to work pretty good. Im planning on trying that next time I get out. Only thing is, I dont have a rudder on my P15, noticed that I have to compensate with my paddling as someone mentioned earlier.
good luck, kimo

Will you be able to see the tip of your rod from that angle while paddling?

This ought to work  It looks like it puts the tackle 2-3 ft from the yak   When you drop everything down the convergence should pull it even closer

Now if I can just sneak away in the middle of the night and drive down to Pinos

That little scottie clip rig simplified everything

Paulo aka simpleismymiddlename

Please forgive the picture quality. My camera battery was very low, and these were shot just before dark. So "shutter speed" was rather slow as the flash was disabled.

Downrigger mounted in it's final position. The fishfinder is just sitting there for the moment. When actually installed, the screw holes in the mount closest to the fisherman will actually be centered in the A-Bar.







A shot of what I'm calling the A-Bar. It's made out of 1/4"x2" Aluminum. The accessories will all mount into threaded holes, so that the screws can be cut flush with the bottom so nothing protrudes. It will be powder coated eventually, when I have a couple more things to go. I might also raise it 3/4" to get more clearance for my feet, but right now it feels good, and the lower the better.







I'm going to put Scotty mounts on both sides, and run an adaptor and RAM tube.








My take on the Pool Noodle transducer mount. I used 1 3/4" minicell and shaped it as desired. I need to come up with a way to allow the rod tips on rods over 8' long to slide past the float bag when the bag is fully inflated. That's an NRS medium sized touring bag for those that are interested.







The rods stashed in the rear. Again there's a float bag. The rod butts look like they'll stash neatly in there, and use the float bag to hold them in place. Again I used an NRS medium bag.

Hey Scott... you're making miss my ol' Scupper Classic.

The thing I like about Blue's setup is that it's very simple and practical.

1) His outrigger doubles as a back-up rod.
2) When he gets a fish on, the downrigger ball should swing forward away from the fish.

Chuck,

The more I work with the boat, the more I like it. right now I'm putting my mind to figuring out how to deal with stowing quantities of smaller fish above deck, as I don't really want to be getting into hatches after every Blue/Olive. And I don't want to be dangling fish on a stringer to be gobbled by any aquatic predator that happens by. Once that's figured out, then I can only see moving to another yak when someone comes out with a real NorCal Special.

Regards,
Scott

Chuck,

The more I work with the boat, the more I like it. right now I'm putting my mind to figuring out how to deal with stowing quantities of smaller fish above deck, as I don't really want to be getting into hatches after every Blue/Olive.

How about using the existing hatch straps to secure one of those shallow (4.5" high) rectangular crates on top of the hatch to hold your catch.  Also, a deck bag or fish bag upfront might do the trick.

Chuck,

Yep, one of those low Coke (soft drink) crates is one way that I'm thinking. I'm tempted to put it on the foredeck. Sort of a poor mans MacSki fish well? And there is that fish bag that REI sells...

I'm also going to be running grab lines fore and aft so I can actually use bungie cords off those lines to attach whatever I end up with, rather than using the hatch straps.

Regards,
Scott

one of those low Coke (soft drink) crates

That's the one!

Will you be able to see the tip of your rod from that angle while paddling?

I think the real question is: Will you be able to paddle comfortably with both lines entering the water within the paddling zone?
Because it looks like the Convergence rod will put the line in the way of your left-hand paddle.


I'm planning to install a 'rigger too so this conversation is great!

PK