Manual Downrigger survey

[steelhead597]

I have been told Scotty downriggers are functionally better but break down more than Penn riggers do. That is why there is so many replacement parts for Scottys at the sporting goods store.
Penns are more simplistic and not as user friendly but never break down.
I have operated lots of downriggers on other peoples boats but never owned one of my own.
I am in the market to get a downrigger or two for my smoker craft 15ft, I fish freshwater %90 of the time lakes and rivers, (closer to %100) but I may decide to fish the sound on a calm summer morning if the coho show up this year.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Toni]

I am an oddball. I have a Walker. I like it and have had it 2 years now.

[edge540]

Ive owned quite a few scottys and never had a single issue. Wouldn't consider anything else

[steelhead597]

That is interesting, I have a friend had an old Walker on his boat was a nice little downrigger, kind of a knucklebuster if you haven't used one before but once you bonded with it, it worked nice.

[steelhead597]

Thanks edge, I was at Sportco talking to a smart old fella there that I trust and he is the one told me about the Scotty breaking down a lot, honestly I have never heard a Scotty owner say they have to buy parts and repair their unit often if at all.

[Toni]

That is interesting, I have a friend had an old Walker on his boat was a nice little downrigger, kind of a knucklebuster if you haven't used one before but once you bonded with it, it worked nice.

I have a newer model.

[steelhead597]

Now that you mention it Toni I just remembered my Grandfather had a Walker on his boat many years ago, he loved it. It was just a coil of I think aluminum tubing that straitened out to the pulley, and center retrieve. I never used it I was too young but I remember it on his boat.

[A9]

Penn Manuals are bulletproof. Scotty's aren't bad, there's certainly nothing wrong with them. There are a lot of Scotty parts and accessories available, which are nice, but there isn't much to a manual downrigger for it to wrong.

Another reason I like the Penn manuals is that they have a vertical instead of a horizontal spool. So when there is slack in the cable and it unwinds a bit, it can't really go anywhere, whereas sometimes the Scotty Manuals can wrap around the break device, underneath the spool....

[steelhead597]

Thanks A9 that makes sense to me.

[steelhead597]

While on this subject please comment on wire -vs- braid. I fish out of an aluminum boat and cannot afford a black box so I am planning on spooling my rigger with braid, if nothing else it will be quieter than that annoying whine of a wire downrigger cable.

[The Quadfather]

This is a subject that is close to my heart. A9 said it best I think..... how much is there to go wrong with manual downrigger? I have 2 Scotty 1080's. I think that is the number? In 6 years of serious usage. I fish year round, and troll every time I am in the boat. In that time I've only had one problem which I caused. I was in a lake with a lot of sunken stumps. I wrapped the ball on a stump. Found out the hard way how even with a 1.5 mph troll speed, the boat will lerch very hard and do all kinds of weird things when the ball hangs up.
What it did was sort of torque the breaking system inside the manual Scotty. It messed it up, such that with the breaks wide open, I could not run line off of it. Point being..... it was no problem. I took it to a friend, "Motoboat's" house and we unscrewed about 3 screws and re-adjusted it. It was pretty easy, and required no special service.
There is nothing on a manual Scotty that you can't figure out yourself.

On the braid or wire thought. I say forget about black boxes and voodoo. The reason you want to stay away from wire DR line, is that if it jumps off the rigger, it is a PIA , it can shoot off, like a overly filled spinning real. It can get twisted also, and is awkward to untwist without leaving bends in it. etc. etc.
Braid is SWEET. It does not hum like wire line, if a few loops come off for any reason, it is easier to manage, and get back on the spool. All around easier to work with. If you want to spend time worrying about electromagnetic bs, then braid can help with that too. (somebody will probably jump on me about the dissin' the black box thing) Whatever... braid is just a lot easier to deal with.

[G-Man]

I have electric Penns and also a manual Penn that I will hook up when I need a third downrigger. I really like the Penn drag/line payout system, which is the same on both versions. It works just like the drag on a level wind and if you do get hung up, will play out line, unless you've reefed on the drag. The Scotty line payout/clutch system that is used on both their manual and electric versions is the one thing that puts me off from switching. Unlike the Penns and Cannons, you have to keep your hand on the clutch lever and "feather" it to maintain a steady payout. On the Penns and Cannons, you simply loosen the drag a bit, let her go and re-tighten once the right depth is reached. One other brand that I'd recommend, if you find at a good price, is the Cannon manual downrigger. There are various models from which to choose and a few have telescoping booms like the higher end Scottys. Shop Craigslist and Ebay for used and you'll save a ton of $$, on a manual downrigger there aren't any electronics to worry about. As for braid vs wire on a manual, go with the braid, you'll never regret it. If you were talking electric and you had a scotty, I'd suggest staying with the wire as I've seen them snap off several weights because of stop bead issues.

[Augwen]

I have fished with a Walker Lake Ranger (like Toni's) for years. It is a nice, easy to use and reliable manual downrigger. I also have an electris Scotty which when I am fishing alone is the one I use. Both have 300 lb braid and if you put on 3 of the "made for braid" stop beads on your electric you will have no problem. No black box and no whistling!

[steelhead597]

Thanks a million everyone I really appreciate the input. I had pretty much already decided to go with braid, I have no interest in a blackbox system I would much rather spend those Benjamins on gps and sonar equipment.

[Anglinarcher]

Thanks a million everyone I really appreciate the input. I had pretty much already decided to go with braid, I have no interest in a blackbox system I would much rather spend those Benjamins on gps and sonar equipment.

As long as it is manual, the braid is best. I went with an Electric Cannon and it uses the wire conductivity to shut the automatic lift off when the ball clears the water. With braid, it does not sence the ball is in the water and the button must be manually pressed the entire lift.

[The Quadfather]

It works just like the drag on a level wind and if you do get hung up, will play out line, unless you've reefed on the drag. The Scotty line payout/clutch system that is used on both their manual and electric versions is the one thing that puts me off from switching. .

As much as I like the simplicity of the Scotty... that might be enough reason for me to look at a Penn next time. As I said, I was able to make the fix to my drag system on the Scotty when I hung up on the stump, without having to pay for service. But if it would have had it's own level wind type of drag... that would have been even easier.

[Bodofish]

The drag on the Penn's can be a blessing and a curse, I've seen them drop their entire load of line with the ball. It was total human error but you wouldn't be able to do that with a Scotty. Then you've just put the down riggger in the base, set the boom over the side, hooked on the ball and there she goes. Forgot to tighten the drag..... And then there's the ooops, snagged it on a rock at point no point and snapped the base and broke a drive gear. Game over, send the unit away for 6 to 8 weeks while it's repaired. With a scotty either nothing happens because the base is unbreakable or you have to replace a belt. Worst case, you take it to a local repair station and it's fixed while you wait.

Scotty's are just about as local as you can get, but then I wouldn't waste my time with a hand crank either. The first time you loose a big fish because you couldn't play the fish and wind the downrigger at the same time..... down rigger tossed from the boat, electrics installed. My brother is still running the 1106's we bought in the mid 80's for the Sally Anne. The only thing that's ever been done is a belt replacement.

[Mike Carey]

scottys on my boat, generally no problems. I like the horizontal spool for the manual rewind. It's easy to switch from one arm to the other for retrieval. I think it's what you get used to.

BTW, I did find a killer deal on E-Bay last summer for a 1080 (I think that's the model number) longarm boom - $76, used. Couldn't believe I got it at that price. And it was in excelllent condition with braid and a rod holder. Pays to check E-Bay, sometimes you really can get a good deal.

[steelhead597]

Found a Penn Fathom master 600 on CL for $125 spooled with braided spectra line, comes with mounting plate and swivel base. That's gonna be my project for the weekend. Again thanks to everyone for all the great advice.

[beemer1954]

If it isn't too late, save a few more dollars and get an electric. Over the long haul, your shoulder and elbow will appreciate it. I had two electric Scotty's and I wouldn't use anything else. They were always dependable and worked without problems. Just think of manually cranking up a 10 to 12 pound ball 50+ times a day out on the Sound when you're fishing down 200 to 300 feet or more. It's your choice but I think most people would say to get an electric if at all possible. Good fishing and stay dry.