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Fitting Down Rigger to AI
http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=27827		 Page 2 of 2
Author:  cliffs2yak [ Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fitting Down Rigger to AI
ELM wrote:
The deeper you go, you probably need a bigger ball, and if you are like cliffs2yak and fishing in 150' to 300' with all that extra line drag, then I would say you may need that 8 pounder (glad it's you winding it back up) :lol: .


Haha! :lol: It gives me a good workout. The Scotty Longarm has a 2 feet per turn retrieve. Had to take three breaks in between to get it all the way up. But it's meant to stay down until you're done working the system.

The reason I'm going with an 8lb ball is that I plan to troll a flasher or lure around the grounds. We were going about 4-5knots on the boat. When we marked fish on the FF, we would drop to a drift - 2knots and send what I call a weighted shower curtain ring down rubberbanded to the leader line of fresh bait.

The lighter downrigger balls would result in too much blow back. Even 8lbs is on the lighter side for downrigger balls. But I think it's doable on a kayak with reinforcement. Something to play with on an AI or TI since it stabilized with Amas. Not sure if I would've attempted this with a non-ama'd kayak.

c2y
Author:  ELM [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 3:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Fitting Down Rigger to AI
How heavy is your weight XD, I did see some weights shaped like you said, was easier for me to mold the shape I did but may have another go at a different shape, still got plenty of lead.

Have any of you experimented with teaser umbrellas or spreader bars for two releases ?
I think the teasers will have to much drag, but quite keen to try running two lures at once.
Author:  xdcammer [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fitting Down Rigger to AI
G'Day Elm it's about 3kg and is good enough for the fresh stuff. I'd probably want something a little heavier for the salt. The good thing about it is it's lack of front on surface area and it has like a nose fin at the front of the bomb so it keeps the front down. I reckon you could make a mold fairly easily using a toy plane for the bomb body and vary sizes for fresh to salt.

Mate I've only used one lure at a time so far (that was dangerous enough) and not used cow bells or ford fenders, but I have thought about spreader bars for two lures. Drag I suppose would depend on the size of lures and the thickness of the spreader bar.

Oh and well done on the downrigger it looks perfect for the job. :wink:
Author:  ELM [ Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Fitting Down Rigger to AI
As said mine is 2.5 kg and in salt, but not the depths that some have been talking about.
Love the idea of casting a toy plane, guess where I am going tomorrow; TOY WORLD !!! :lol:

Thanks for the comment, on the downrigger, have to say I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I have made a few changes since the photo's were taken that have made it a lot better. First I have removed the clamps that were holding the reel on and replaced them with hex key bolts, nylex nuts and backing washers making it a lot stronger.
Second, where (for the want of a better description) the reel to the T that the "fishing rod" section passed through was only a few inches long and the rest sticking out was 2' long, I have now reversed it with the reel section now several feet and the rod only a few inches. By doing that I reduced the amount of leverage on the kayaks stability and that of the downrigger itself but also brought the reel forward so it is almost right next to me when seated and a lot easier to use, specially with my stuffed neck and back.

Another little trick I was playing with was creating a mixed bubble stream & tuna oil slick by creating a venturi siphon. It was a little awkward to play around with due to the 6 meters of tubing to the surface but once setup and going worked quite good, mind you there is a lot of drag on the tube.
All I did was, drilled a hole through an old cupboard door knob then stuck some 6mm plastic tube (6 meters long) into it with silicone, I then attached that to the weight so the tube end and knob was facing the rear. The pressure drop as the water passes over and past the knob creates a vacuum and pulls air from the surface as well as the tuna oil that I just squirt into the tube, I clip only a very short leader into the downrigger release so the lure hangs of the end of the bubble/oil trail.

A lot smaller tube with small funnel on the end or better still a special hole in the weight would have even better results but depth will be greatly restricted due to the drag on the tube. You would also need a really large reel so you can actually wind the tube and line on together and hope the tube does not squash closed when rolled on.
Author:  cliffs2yak [ Mon Sep 20, 2010 3:01 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Fitting Down Rigger to AI
@ ELM - Your downrigger setup is pretten engineous looks to be a good fit for kayak fishing.

@xdcammer - Looking forward to seeing pics of your setup. Your tuna slick producing system sounds interesting.

Here's a few pics of my downrigger setup:

Image

It starts off with a Scotty base plate and a cutting board used as a reinforcement backer board.
Image
Image

And I intergrated a Scotty swivel base.
Image

I'm planning on installing a bigger cutting board backer.

Aloha,

cliffs2yak
Author:  ELM [ Mon Sep 20, 2010 6:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fitting Down Rigger to AI
Hey that looks good cliffs2yak, could I suggest not taking the larger cutting board base not too close to the scuppers, it may introduce extra flex where there is less give and cause cracking at the scupper. You may also be able to create a brace that plugs into your molded rod holders, having the strength of the side wall moldings would increase strength/stability I think, food for thought?

It was also me who tried the tuna oil/bubble slick, I was happy with the result apart from the drag on the hose running down and the hose was also a bit of a pain in the ass not being wound on to a reel or anything, If I could find a better substitute tube (smaller diameter) and make a larger spooled downrigger that it could wind onto without squash, would certainly use it more often I think.

Really enjoying reading of others that are trying the downriggers on there kayaks, not a lot doing it and the benefits (I think) are great, finding out what others are trying and using is also very interesting and am learning a lot from what others are doing.

Have you experimented with lure choice much, I know down here the snapper are very shy of the bomb weight and you need deep diving lures so you can keep it up and away from them, salmon on the other hand don't seem to care and will swim with it, I have found I can clip a very short leader for them, in fact I do way better with a very short leader clipped in when after the salmon, they also loved the bubble/oil slick. Flathead don't seem to mind the weight either, but I am still in deliberation about them with mixed results as they are more of a hidden assign style of feeder, I think they just lay low hiding as the weight passes over and if the leader is to short they stay hidden, a long leader has a better chance of a strike, slow trolling also.
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