Line releases....is it Voodoo?

[Full_Monte]

I don't think I have the line-release approach down yet. I'm using the yellow off-shore releases you guys seem to favor. I've tried sliding the spring around in the slot to get the correct release tension on my 8-pound test line. I get either too little tension, which causes the line to release prematurely, or too much tension, requiring me to release the line from the clip by giving the pole a big jerk straight up.

Another thing I notice is that when I crank up the tension to get a nice bend in my Jared Johnson pole, the line seems to slide through the clip pads, causing me to lose tension on the line. The releases are new...never been used before.
What am I doing wrong? worthy12worthy12 Thanks for any help!

 

[Bduck]

Monte, I have the same rods, same offshore releases, and 8lb line. My releases are set on the light side but I insert the line all the way in the clip. It doesn't always release when a strike occurs and fish on, but I help release it. Not all fish strike the same. I've been known to drag a fish around for a while without knowing it was there. Maybe thats a good reason to get a bell that was talked about in a previous post. Whenever I get a hard strike or a larger fish, there is no problem with the release. As far as the line pulling thru the clip when release is adjusted tight, that shouldn't happen. Check your drag setting to see if its set to light or maybe too much arc on your rods is causing too much tension. Too much tension on the line will give a premature release no matter where the spring setting is. When I first started using downriggers a long time ago, it was alot of trial by error for me until I got use to seeing certain things. Those certain things is just way it was going to be. My opinion is your doing it right, just need to work with it to understand it better. Good luck. Roger

 

[HiTechKoke]

Hey Monte - That line should not slip through brand new yellow clips with the line clear in the back then the spring set towards the pads. That's what I have been using for years. I crank my rods down very hard, JJ rods amd Lami / Rogues. One possibility is the line.... what size / brand line are you currently running?

As for the lines not release that is not always a bad thing as I know plenty of guys that like to set it tight so most fish will not pull them out until they do it themselves with the rod as the theory is it gives you more control directly to the fish right away. Also you can make sure the fish is hooked by watching the rods as opposed to a quick swipe and release. I run them both ways by usually on the tighter side.

Kevin

 

[Kokonuts]

Monte, I got the release fro Seps. They a a screw to adjust it & seem to be working well so far. Like the others have said it dosnt always let the line go, I think it depends on the line & size of the fish. If it dosnt let go theres no doubt if you have a fish on, the pole is jumping around like crazy.
Another thing is where you put the release, I use a flasher on the ball & put the release about 2/3ft. above it.

thumbsup.....Kokonuts

 

[HiTechKoke]

Monte, I got the release fro Seps. They a a screw to adjust it & seem to be working well so far. Like the others have said it dosnt always let the line go, I think it depends on the line & size of the fish. If it dosnt let go theres no doubt if you have a fish on, the pole is jumping around like crazy.
Another thing is where you put the release, I use a flasher on the ball & put the release about 2/3ft. above it.

thumbsup.....Kokonuts

Kokonuts - You have me confused... the Sep's release do not have a screw mechanism, only a spring to move back and forth.. were you thinking of the red Shasta Tackle ones? Here's a pic of the Sep's ones from their site attached.

One other thing I thought of for Monte is how fast are you sending your line down to the depths? Definitely don't free fall it and also don't put a lot of tension on the way down, just light tension. This is something I have to coach the wife and older daughter on is to let it down in a controlled fashion and not too tight on the rod tension. In the end the more you go out and practice the more you will get them down... I like practicing.

Kevin

 

[Full_Monte]

Hey Monte - That line should not slip through brand new yellow clips with the line clear in the back then the spring set towards the pads. That's what I have been using for years. I crank my rods down very hard, JJ rods amd Lami / Rogues. One possibility is the line.... what size / brand line are you currently running?

As for the lines not release that is not always a bad thing as I know plenty of guys that like to set it tight so most fish will not pull them out until they do it themselves with the rod as the theory is it gives you more control directly to the fish right away. Also you can make sure the fish is hooked by watching the rods as opposed to a quick swipe and release. I run them both ways by usually on the tighter side.

Kevin

Kevin,

Thanks! I'm using 8-lb. Maxima Green line.

 

[SuperD]

I set my line in the middle of the pads for Kokanee trolling and set my drag so that the handle will spin before over tightening or premature line release will occur. Now if your drag is set too loose, line can slowly creep out and your bent rod will start to loose its bow. Maybe that is what you are thinking line is slipping through the pads.

 

[Full_Monte]

Monte, I have the same rods, same offshore releases, and 8lb line. My releases are set on the light side but I insert the line all the way in the clip. It doesn't always release when a strike occurs and fish on, but I help release it. Not all fish strike the same. I've been known to drag a fish around for a while without knowing it was there. Maybe thats a good reason to get a bell that was talked about in a previous post. Whenever I get a hard strike or a larger fish, there is no problem with the release. As far as the line pulling thru the clip when release is adjusted tight, that shouldn't happen. Check your drag setting to see if its set to light or maybe too much arc on your rods is causing too much tension. Too much tension on the line will give a premature release no matter where the spring setting is. When I first started using downriggers a long time ago, it was alot of trial by error for me until I got use to seeing certain things. Those certain things is just way it was going to be. My opinion is your doing it right, just need to work with it to understand it better. Good luck. Roger

Thanks, Roger...I am using quite a bit of tension on the line, unlike my wife.
I do see the fish bite on the pole, while my wife hardly ever does with her tension set lighter. Another thing I have been doing is using a tighter drag setting on the line to keep it from pulling line out of the reel while the ball is down, and then backing off the drag to fight the fish once I get one on the hook.

 

[Kokonuts]

Kokonuts - You have me confused... the Sep's release do not have a screw mechanism, only a spring to move back and forth.. were you thinking of the red Shasta Tackle ones? Here's a pic of the Sep's ones from their site attached.

One other thing I thought of for Monte is how fast are you sending your line down to the depths? Definitely don't free fall it and also don't put a lot of tension on the way down, just light tension. This is something I have to coach the wife and older daughter on is to let it down in a controlled fashion and not too tight on the rod tension. In the end the more you go out and practice the more you will get them down... I like practicing.

Kevin

BIG OOPS! Yes I am using the Shasta Release!!! It was another Senior Moment! laugh hyst

I did buy the Seps Release with the Gismo to send the line down to the ball but havnt used them yet!

tooexcited....Kokonuts

 

[Kokaholic]

Use the yellow ones and bury the line in them if you need to. Dont even look back on any of teh others.

 

[SilverBullets]

Another thing to consider is to extend your release cable to be able to see a strike better when you have a good arch on the pole. I change out all of mine to around 18-24". I have about 5 different kinds of releases on board to try out. I use the yellow off shore alot, and also the white off shore release (light tension one). With the white release I have to pull up on the rod to get it to release, but I think sometimes that is an advantage for a good hook set. If the clip releases when a fish is on, alot of times that fish is jumping in back of the boat before you get a chance to take up the slack...resulting in missed fish.

 

[SuperD]

Watching a Kokanee bust water behind the boat but not being able to figure out which rod it is on is one of the funest part of Kokanee fishing for me. They can move 40' in the water column and never make the rod twitch once.

 

[Full_Monte]

Kokonuts -

One other thing I thought of for Monte is how fast are you sending your line down to the depths? Definitely don't free fall it and also don't put a lot of tension on the way down, just light tension. This is something I have to coach the wife and older daughter on is to let it down in a controlled fashion and not too tight on the rod tension. In the end the more you go out and practice the more you will get them down... I like practicing.

Kevin

Oops! I didn't respond to this question. I do tend to send my line down to depth fairly fast. I keep peeling off wire, leaving the clicker in "on" position while the Tica free spools just to keep it from over-spinning. My wife starts and stops the downrigger spool on the way down. Maybe this is another thing she does better than I.

 

[Kokanee Slow]

Thanks for the post guys. A lot of information and tips for those of us who have less experience.thumbsup

 

[HiTechKoke]

Oops! I didn't respond to this question. I do tend to send my line down to depth fairly fast. I keep peeling off wire, leaving the clicker in "on" position while the Tica free spools just to keep it from over-spinning. My wife starts and stops the downrigger spool on the way down. Maybe this is another thing she does better than I.

I'm going to guess this is the source of the problem if the pads are brand new. Keep taking your wife as she has been your key to giving you and and everyone here some ideas... it's time for some more experimentation in backwards dodgers and sling blades as I tried that once a long time ago but it didn't pan out.

My only complaint on these releases is the pads wear down over time and become smoother and may become unglued.. I am going to experiment with some Scotty style releases from a nce set of custom releases the FishinTrippz made up for me recently which have a pinch system that won't wear out from what I can tell.

I do like Silver Bullets mention of long releases, a lot of that is that I am tall and can reach over into the water and grab the clip and pull it up and connect easier than a shorter cable.

SuperD - Yep those moments are priceless and I've had two of them at Berryessa this year with the shallower and longer setbacks.

 

[SilverBullets]

The longer release cable length does make them alot easier to handle like HTK mentioned. Also, think about it...if you attached the clip by itself directly to the downrigger cable your not going to see your rod bounce much at all due to the weight of the ball on the downrigger cable. The added length on the clip cable (I checked mine...most are 24") makes it alot easier to detect bites when even a small koke is hooked up. I take the extra length into account when targeting a specific depth due to the rise of the clip cable when the rod is loaded up in the holder.

 

[DLM]

I'm going to guess this is the source of the problem if the pads are brand new. Keep taking your wife as she has been your key to giving you and and everyone here some ideas... it's time for some more experimentation in backwards dodgers and sling blades as I tried that once a long time ago but it didn't pan out.

My only complaint on these releases is the pads wear down over time and become smoother and may become unglued..

You can buy replacement pads. I found them at Sportsmans Warehouse, not near the releases but by the planer boards.

Another thing I found is that braid does not hold at all well in the release, it is too slick and will slip out easily. That is yet another good reason to run about 30 feet of mono on the end of your braid.

I too am tall and can reach the short clip, but I also carry a 3 foot dowl with a cup hook in the end for She Who Must Be Obeyed to use.

 

[Kokonuts]

DLM....Good Tip! I use my boat hook to bring in the release.

Silver Bullets......I am also using longer line on the release, I have the Cannon Mag 10 & I put the boom out as far as it will go, I think about 4 ft.

 

[Full_Monte]

DLM....Good Tip! I use my boat hook to bring in the release.

Silver Bullets......I am also using longer line on the release, I have the Cannon Mag 10 & I put the boom out as far as it will go, I think about 4 ft.

This last trip, I made up some extended releases due to a suggestion by Kokonuts. We are using five foot releases right now, with downrigger booms of five feet, and are using a boat hook to bring them in for hookup. It does help with reaching the releases without having to lift the boom so often to bring the weight aboard.

 

[ceejay77]

I use 6lb line with a light release still learning and I notice a few good ideas here that I will be trying out,practice makes perfect