Electric Downriggers or Divers (Idaho)

[RustynMtnHome]

New to the trolling aspect, spend most of my time fishing for Bass, Crappie, Perch and Bluegill.

I do live in Idaho, so most of my time trolling would be in Idaho ....

I have the opportunity to get 2 Scotty 1101 Downriggers for $350 .....

So, the question is would you have more success with Divers or a Downrigger ....

I am sure there will be many opinions, looking forward to reading all of them

Thanks In Advance

 

[kok-head]

New to the trolling aspect, spend most of my time fishing for Bass, Crappie, Perch and Bluegill.

I do live in Idaho, so most of my time trolling would be in Idaho ....

I have the opportunity to get 2 Scotty 1101 Downriggers for $350 .....

So, the question is would you have more success with Divers or a Downrigger ....

I am sure there will be many opinions, looking forward to reading all of them

Thanks In Advance

downriggers, and welcome aboard

 

[clawman]

Is that 350 for both or each? Either way a good to great deal.
My first experience with downriggers were manual Cannons which I liked down riggers enough to buy electrics for my new boat this year. With the elec. vs manual you will not be afraid to change lures in 50' of water. With manuals I did not check/change tackle as much as I should have.
Unless you quit fishing you will not have any regrets. And even then you can always get your money out of them.

 

[RustynMtnHome]

That is for both, and didn't think about changing lures. Thanks

 

[clawman]

I like Herzogs philosophy "don't be a lazy troller". I take that as meaning keep changing things until you start to get bites. It is a lot easier with elec down riggers than manual riggers.

 

[SuperD]

Rusty,
It's just plan a lot more fun to catch fish without a lot of hardware drag like a diver.

 

[Mharri333]

Buy them immediately. Worst case you will make a few dollars if you have to resell them.

 

[jacksonlaker]

You can use downriggers in shallow water. I troll Henry's lake with the balls down 3 feet. It telegraphs strikes better than flat lining and I think it's a better hook set. Buy them now !!!

 

[conservationist]

I have manual downriggers and use one of these ... never worry about changing tackle and the line is set back to the same place every time ... unless I change the depth on purpose.

http://shastatackle.com/tackleshop/show_Products.asp?ID=38&Name=Shuttle+Hawk

Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4DoOpcp8uw

 

[mtom938]

After experimenting with both, I prefer downrigging, even from my kayak.

 

[SuperD]

Where there's a will there's a way Tom. Very nice set up!

 

[kodiak1]

They recently took a poll of frequent fishermen in the western Washington, and got lots of responses. It was pretty unanimous....Penn for manuals, and Scotty for electrics. I have the Penns, and love them. They have quit making them for some reason several years ago, but are so popular that folks just buy them on Ebay. The Scotty's vote was almost unanimous, and there was lots of grumbling about Cannons. Mike

 

[Lunddude]

I did a lot of research before I bought my Walker electric downriggers and could not be happier with them.

Smaller and more compact (more metal less plastic) then the others with plenty of power + no belts to break. I can power down with no trouble at all unlike some of the Cannon models.

I know the Scotty's have a big West Coast following but the Walker Electrics Rule on the Great Lakes charter boats.

 

[kodiak1]

Lunddude is exactly right. Walkers are the go-to back there. Both areas dislike the Cannons, however!! And yes, trust Lunddudes research. It is thorough!

 

[Propnut69]

I did a lot of research before I bought my Walker electric downriggers and could not be happier with them.

Smaller and more compact (more metal less plastic) then the others with plenty of power + no belts to break. I can power down with no trouble at all unlike some of the Cannon models.

I know the Scotty's have a big West Coast following but the Walker Electrics Rule on the Great Lakes charter boats.

What do you mean when you say" powering down" are you talking about letting the d/r weight down? or unplugging the unit? I think d/r preference is stickily a regional thing. I see more Cannon's on the gorge then others brand,with Scotty's running a close second. Very few Walkers or Big Jons.

 

[SuperD]

I think d/r preference is stickily a regional thing.

Maybe. I was introduced to trolling with downriggers using Cannons. I'll fish with any brand because at the end of the day, it's fishing! But I'm a Cannon guy and it is because of all the standard arguments, I like the looks and the function. I wonder how much of brand preference relates to what we're used to. Did your family grow up with Fords or Chevys?

 

[clawman]

Last week I fished with a guy who has Scotty's on his boat thus have a good comparison with my Cannon DT-5's. I'll keep my Cannon hands down, thank you!
I bought the Cannon because of the ability to release ball with out power and more so because of the P.O.S. on the Digi-troll and up models. The positive ion control is a proven advantage to deep water fishing for salmon. You would pay a quite a bit to buy the Black Box to do the same thing.
I am not familiar with the Walkers.

 

[Lunddude]

What do you mean when you say" powering down" are you talking about letting the d/r weight down? or unplugging the unit? I think d/r preference is stickily a regional thing. I see more Cannon's on the gorge then others brand,with Scotty's running a close second. Very few Walkers or Big Jons.

Yes, letting the ball down while under power.

When I looked into the Cannons I found out that you had to lower the ball down manually by backing the clutch knob off, I believe Scotty's are the same way. I believe the reason being is that they travel to fast when lowered down under power that the reel will free spool when you stop it, leaving you with 100+ feet of stainless steel cable in a rats nest.

With my Walkers I can power down with the toggle switch with no problem, and the auto stop feature works great too while fighting a fish.

What I like best about the Walkers is that they are compact & easy to operate, along with not being made out of a bunch of plastic parts. Just my .02 worth, to each their own.

 

[Lunddude]

Why would that be a benefit? I hit the switch on my Walkers and they power down beautifully on there own. Are you saving some battery life by lowering your Cannons manually?

Outside of all the bulky plastic the Cannons are made of, not being able to power the ball down was the #2 reason I decided not to go with them.

 

[clawman]

Why would that be a benefit? I hit the switch on my Walkers and they power down beautifully on there own. Are you saving some battery life by lowering your Cannons manually?

Outside of all the bulky plastic the Cannons are made of, not being able to power the ball down was the #2 reason I decided not to go with them.

Lunddude;
Are you just trying to convince RustyMtn Home to buy a Scotty because you have one or carry out a discussion of what people like about a particular brand. By quoting only a portion of my stmt you seem bias, not objective. I also mentioned that the Cannon has positive ion control which is an expensive option to purchase. The Scotty does not offer that.
Since we are pitching one brand over another here goes:
The Scotty uses belts which require maintenance. The Scotty is slower retrieve. The Scotty also uses a plastic housing. Granted the Scotty is lower profile.
Having used both within days of each other I am convinced of my decision.