I-pilot/new down rigger advice

Kokanee Fishing Forums

Help Support Kokanee Fishing Forums:

S

Scrminbanshee

Well-known member
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
132
Location
puyallup
So the tax return is in!!! Looks like im in the market for another down-rigger and the i pilot so i have a few questions for you guys.

I-pilot:
Im looking at getting the regular i pilot not the i pilot link.
Doe the cruise control maintain your speed regardless of wind and current?
If you have a track and the track is in a circle can you take it to the end and then restart from the beginning without it turning the boat around?

Down-rigger:
The down riggers im going back and forth on are from scotty.

I currently own a 1091 and am planing on keeping it and going to get an electric! So its between about three models.
1101
1106
2101

Not really sure about the high powered. How worth it is the high powered. I rarely go over 150 feet but am by myself allot so thats where this can come in handy so while i am playing a fish and handling the boat i wont have to worry about the down-rigger.

I also currently have a down-rigger with a long arm and also not sure how much i need this. I only really use it when im in a big crowd which is pretty rare. So for the extra ten bucks on the standard electric im game but the extra 100 bucks almost on the high-powered im thinking its not worth it.

Anyways sell me on what you think is best within my list please.
 
One other thing that i would like to add is that i like the counter allot on the highpowered. I like that its digital and can be reset easily it seems. Can you adjust it up or down from the +/- buttons next to the counter?
 
One more question about the down rigger is does it come with all the hardware when installing or what else do you have to get?
 
Hi Scrminbanshee - As far as I know the high power series costs more than a 100$ over the standard series and is not needed by us typical lake users. You might use a 10# ball at 150' and the standard retrieve is very fast...no worries by yourself; hit the up button and it takes care of it's self while you tend to the fish. As far as arm length it's up to personal preference. I have the 30" booms and they have been fine. I wired the downrigger power plug directly to the battery and used a 30 AMP circuit breaker instead of a fuse.

One of the things to remember is the HUGE force exerted by the long booms on the gunnel of the boat. ALL electric downriggers must be through bolted with stainless bolts (1/4" not included) fender washers if you have room and lock nuts. Mount the downriggers as far back as possible ( even with the splash well). Get the swivel base for sure and the ball retriever if you go to the long boom.

The + - is only for the digital readout scaling and not for control of the depth. Digital readout may be cool but do you really need the high powered series for what you do? Only if you want to spend the extra money....in my opinion. Alan
 
scrimin I had the 1106's and switched to 4 of the 2106's they come with everything the tilt and swivel base the heaver booms,bigger motor, wiring and the marineco plugs with the gunnel mount for the female plug in, so remember that when comparing apples to apples. the auto return is nice but the speed is crazy fast. if you are only going to use them for koke fishing at the shallow depths by your self and not stacking they would probably be overkill. but they are very well built units. and you will definitely want to use snubbers to take up the shock when they come to a screaming stop. as you know I am also experimenting with a couple of digi troll 10's but haven't got them wet yet. dfly
 
With the I-pilot, each route has a start point A and an end point B. You can tell it to start at either end, so if you end your circle (B) just short of your start (A) you should be able to tell it to pick up your route at point A and keep going in the same direction.
 
dragonfly said:
scrimin I had the 1106's and switched to 4 of the 2106's they come with everything the tilt and swivel base the heaver booms,bigger motor, wiring and the marineco plugs with the gunnel mount for the female plug in, so remember that when comparing apples to apples. the auto return is nice but the speed is crazy fast. if you are only going to use them for koke fishing at the shallow depths by your self and not stacking they would probably be overkill. but they are very well built units. and you will definitely want to use snubbers to take up the shock when they come to a screaming stop. as you know I am also experimenting with a couple of digi troll 10's but haven't got them wet yet. dfly
Click to expand...

I agree i also feel like they would be overkill. I do spend quite a bit of time stacked up but with another rigger i should be stacked nearly as much. I don't fish the sound enough to make it worth it. Im thinking that for the little time i spend out there the regular ones will be fine. I'm leaning towards the 1106. I like the extendable boom and its only 10bucks more at sportco and there prices are hard to beat at 473. So if i understand correctly, it doesn't come with the female plug part and the mount?

Also when it come to the i pilot i'm starting to lean towards that copilot at 150 bucks it sure does free up some money. Plus im trying to determine if its really worth the extra 300bucks. I really like the anchor feature and the auto pilot but dam is it expensive.
 
FOR THE MONEY i WOULD GO WITH THE 1106 AND BE ABLE TO EXTEND ESPECIALLY ON THE KICKER SIDE. THE 1106 COMES WITH A 1026 SWIVEL BASE (BUT THEY CAN ALSO SELL THEM WITHOUT SO ASK WHEN ORDERING) AND 1 ROD HOLDER BUT NO PLUGS I WOULD RECOMEND THE MARINECO'S / NEW SCOTTY STYLE AND YOU MAY NEED THE BASE TO BOLT DOWN THE FEMALE END. THE MALE/FEMALE COMBO PART#IS 2125 AND THE RIGHT ANGLE BASE IS PART # 2128 THEY ARE A LITTLE SPENDY BUT YOU WILL NOT HAVE PROBLEMS LIKE THE OTHERS. I LIKE TO THINK IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY THE CHEEP STUFF TWICE AND FIGHT IT WHY NOT BUY THE GOOD STUFF ONCE . DFLY
 
On the i-pilot I don't use the route recording a lot because the lake I troll is pretty tight so at some point I have to reel in, turn around and head the other way. I use the anchor feature a lot, cruise control some and as far as I'm concerned, the auto-pilot is a must have, especially if you fish much by yourself. Nothing worse than looking down to tie up, untangle, etc and then looking up to find you've spun 180 degrees and tangled your lines.
 
downriggeral you are right the new 1106's do have the marinco plugs and mounting plate. when I bought mine a while back they didn't. the base pad for the swivel is with it but may need to buy or fab a mounting platfourm depending where you are mounting them. dfly
 
The I-pilot has two controls for heading, the first just keeps it pointed towards a set compass heading and wind or current will not be compensated for, in the more advanced setting the gps will shoot a line when first set and will try to compensate for wind and current. It works really good unless wind is really blowing. I think on the cruise control in basic setting it just looks at mph no matter what direction?? In the advanced mode it will try and keep heading and speed. I have used both and usually just use basic mode and have great success, if it gets to windy it is usually time to call it a day. I really like the anchor feature. I would highly recommend the I-pilot, it has made fishing very enjoyable especially when by myself or with others that need a lot of attention, kids and wife 101shock1101. Don't skimp on batteries, cables and charger, I probably have $600-$700 in those three items.
 
Dan,
As for the Downrigger, I have a pair of 1101's which have 24" booms. They work well with my Hewescraft and have used them with 13lb balls at depths in excess of 100ft with no issues.
 
Man so i think i have decided on the electric 1106. I think this will be the best and i would save the money on the standard boom but for those few time i like to extend i think its worth the extra few bucks.

Now for the i pilot im just not sold for some reason.... prolly just the cost.
 
Well, you've had lots of input and that's hopefully great to help with the decision. Now on to the install and happy fishing. PS don't forget the ball retriever for when the boom is extended beyond reach. AH
 

Similar threads

Dr. Oc
Lake Nantahala follow up
Replies
0
Views
11K
Dr. Oc
Dr. Oc
K
2022 Blue Mesa Fishing Report
Replies
4
Views
13K
DuckHarvestor
D
D
finally got my second down rigger
Replies
0
Views
632
dwood
D
Cybersnow
New to Kokanee Fishing...need gear advice!
2
Replies
22
Views
11K
SuperD
SuperD
K
2020 Blue Mesa Kokanee Fishing Report
Replies
13
Views
39K
TroutScout
TroutScout

Latest posts

Back
Top