Opinion On Clamp-On Downriggers?

[nickbell]

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Anybody use these? Do they work well? Any gripes with them?

I'm thinking about picking up one of these for whenever I rent a boat, I'm sick of divers. I imagine they would handle well in smaller lakes, but what about out in Point Defiance? I am NOT missing out on trolling for pinks this year, but divers are an absolute pain. Do these hold up well? Do they do their job?

[ridgeratt]

I see they now come with a depth gauge thats a +.
Used to be one turn equaled 1 foot. My Father used one for a lot of years on a 12 foot boat.

[ncwflounderer]

I use one, it works ok. If that top nut comes off, and goes in the water you can get replacements, damhik! I use line counters and the little gauge on the pulley to figure my depth, my depth finder picks up the ball down about 50'. The gauge is kind of a pita to reset. It is a sturdy unit, i hang a 6# ball from it on my boat. I think i picked mine up for a little less over at that other major sporting goods store. It is supposed to be 1 turn= 1 foot, but i changed the cable out to some heavy braid because it only came with 100' of cable, so now its about 1 turn = 14-15 inches or so- i adapt, it works for what i need

[BentRod]

I use the Scotty equivelant. Max ball weight is something like 4#. Works well enough. Need two hands to set or retrieve with mine though. One to crank and the other to loosen or tighten the tension nut.

[Larry3215]

Might be a good idea to check with the rental guys before you buy it to make sure they will allow you to attach it to the boat.

[strider43]

They work. Two hand operation for me as well which can be tricky steering. I have to lean out over the edge of the boat to attached the release to my line and that can be dicey if I have no ballast in the boat(fishing buddy).

[ncwflounderer]

I would like to add that, after some practice, I am able to raise and lower the ball 1 handed, I have a long leader from the ball to the clip and just reach down and pull it in to the boat.