Down rigger ball replacement

I found this old planner in my dads old bag of tricks
And thought this is a great alternative to hauling a heavy ball weight
Any of you trying a planner

Many of us use Deep Six, Double Deep Six, and Pink Lady divers to troll for salmon. They work great.

That thing looks neat. How big is it?


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The tube section is probably an co2 tube filled with lead
About six inches wide and another six long I found 3 this one has more adjustment options the other 2 they have only 2 options I believe they are manufactured not home brew but no names stamps or other I'd

Seem like it's much less cumbersome than the standard ball

That is clever.

Here's a modern version:



I bet that thing puts up a LOT of drag...


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How deep are you getting with the deep 6 and other
Planners ?

The Double Deep Six works well down to about ~60-70 feet I'd say, but it's best suited for the 15-50 ft range. You can get a little deeper by running braid and avoiding baits/lures/flashers/dodgers that cause a lot of drag. I personally prefer mono for the stretch. You can probably get deeper than that, but it gets difficult to tell how deep you actually are since you get quite a bit of blowback with 120+ feet of line out.

The Double Deep Six (DD6) in the smaller size is pretty much standard for kayak trolling for salmon. They make a bigger one, but it produces a LOT of drag.

At my usual trolling speed of 2-3 mph, my line tends to hit the water at about a 30% angle. That makes it really easy to tell how deep you are. Just let out twice as many feet of line as the depth you'd like to fish.


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Downriggers can get kayakers in trouble.  Quickly. Replace the cable with braid and have a way to cut the line in an instant. There is a recent cautionary tale on NWKA about the dangers of kayaks and downriggers.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=19045.0

That could happen on a lake just as easily if there is any submerged object. stay safe.

I'm not a fan of diving devices because you have only a vague idea of how deep they are running, and their depth is affected by the speed at which you are trolling and by turns which you make while trolling.  I prefer downrigger trolling because you can see your weight on your fish finder and know how deep your lure is running with respect to fish which you see on your fish finder and the bottom.  Another disadvantage of diving devices is that they stay attached to your fishing line while you are playing in a fish.  When your line pops out of your downrigger release, you can play in the fish without any interference from the downrigger.

Downriggers can get kayakers in trouble.  Quickly. Replace the cable with braid and have a way to cut the line in an instant. There is a recent cautionary tale on NWKA about the dangers of kayaks and downriggers.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=19045.0

That could happen on a lake just as easily if there is any submerged object. stay safe.

Oyster Boy is correct that downrigger fishing in current is pretty risky, as is trolling with high breaking strength line.  If you snag your downrigger or your lure in current, the fastest thing to do is to release the downrigger's brake or your fishing reel's line spool so you can turn and pedal or paddle up-current to try to un-snag the weight.  You should only need to cut your downrigger line or cable or your fishing line if you can't dislodge the weight or lure.  If the current is so fast that you can't paddle or pedal upstream, it would be a bad idea to either downrigger troll or to longline troll with high breaking strength line.

I have occasionally snagged my downrigger weight while downrigger trolling in a lake, and it isn't a problem.  My kayak grinds to a halt, and may turn to the side a bit.  On some occasions, I only figured out what was going on when I noticed that while I was still pedaling or paddling my kayak, my fishing line was no longer leaving a wake.  When I realize that I've snagged my weight, I turn back in the direction I came from and pull the weight off the snag.  I've never lost a downrigger weight.

Downriggers can get kayakers in trouble.  Quickly. Replace the cable with braid and have a way to cut the line in an instant. There is a recent cautionary tale on NWKA about the dangers of kayaks and downriggers.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=19045.0

That could happen on a lake just as easily if there is any submerged object. stay safe.

Yes. Definitely switch to braid, definitely keep a safety knife handy (do this even if you don't run a downrigger), and definitely keep your downrigger's brake/drag loose enough to pay out line if you snag.

Also, I really recommend attaching your ball with a rubber bungee (made specifically for the purpose). This adds a "weak link", but it also acts as a shock absorber to keep from snapping your braid if you accidentally free-fall your ball and try to stop it. As a bonus, the bungee makes it a lot easier to lift your ball out of the water (no braid cuts...).


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As a bonus, the bungee makes it a lot easier to lift your ball out of the water (no braid cuts...).

I added one recently (scotty brand) and like it a lot.  Always takes me a while to figure out how to attach my weight to it though 

Have any of you tried attaching the diver to the down rigger rather than the pole line then Rivas you you would for the ball weigth I'm thinking next week I may try this for stripers just got to get down 20-30 feet but I would not have to fight the planner

The DD6 really doesn't put up much of a fight once it's tripped. I wouldn't worry about that.

Also, I always keep pedaling forward while I fight salmon. I'd rather not have to avoid a planer that's also dragging behind the boat (if it gets tripped, it'll rise up toward the surface instead of staying down like a downrigger ball would).


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