Adventure Kayak Downrigger Suggestions?

I found a 6 pound ball to be a sweet spot for Puget Sound.  Even then an 8 pound would hang straighter, but one does need to move the yak in a straight line.   I have a 4 pound for fresh water.  I also replaced the stainless steel cable with 100lb PowerPro.  Still, be gentle and do not drop the ball such that is jerks the line.

Sound advice. I lost a 4 lb ball by not paying attention. Not because I dropped it and the snap back broke the line, I was bringing the ball up too quick and want paying attention when to stop cranking the handle. It popped off when the swivel hit the boom.
I have started using a downrigger snubber to take some of that pressure off of the braided line. It works well and it's cheap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Absolutely use a snubber.  I lost a ball before the snubber too.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/54098312/kayak/HMR/Downrigger/00.HMR.Downrigger.Mount.html

In the photo note the downrigger is low to the gunwale, the cable hangs 8" over the side, and the blue snubber.   You can also just barely see the yellow PowerPro.

I considered using another 'T' in the design and mounting the downrigger a few inches off-center to port.  Subsequently I have added 8" verticals for rod holders so I can carry a spinning rig to cast buzz bombs for pinks without having to re-rig my trolling rod. 

Pink jumps, yank the trolling gear off the pincher and reel it in fast, grab pre-rigged spinning gear, cast ahead of pink - FISH ON!

That rig looks an awful lot like mine Rory. I've not used it on the Addy yet, but it works beautifully on my X-13 and Revo. I just cut the bottom off another crate to make the lid. Lee and I made another one almost identical for him, but he offset his DR mount to keep the boom closer to the boat.

I've been thinking of just using a fishing pole half with a reel for my down rigger. Either use that color coded line or a line counting reel or usually I can see the ball on my fish finder anyway. Or a board with a reel mounted to it. One reel that might work is one made from a 100 foot tape measure

I really think with a little thought I could make something that would  work better with a kayak rather than try and figure out how to make an existing one work.

That is all I did.  I use a rod I snapped in the surf, a roller guide, and old conventional reel and some 80 lb braid.   I use the line counter on my fishing reel to get the right depth.  The line counter I mounted on the down rigger rod was useless.  It may not be pretty but it works well, and I can deploy it while peddling.

 

That is all I did.  I use a rod I snapped in the surf, a roller guide, and old conventional reel and some 80 lb braid.   I use the line counter on my fishing reel to get the right depth.  The line counter I mounted on the down rigger rod was useless.  It may not be pretty but it works well, and I can deploy it while peddling.

X2

Mine looks almost the same in concept.  The only differences in my set up...  I chopped a lot of the butt section on the "downrigger" to get it out of the way and I use a Magda Pro linecounter reel on the downrigger.  You can often find them on sale at Bi-mart. 

30 lb power pro from an old reel + a 2lb cod jig for weight + downrigger release and I was in busness for less than $40.  Gets deep with very little blowback.

I like having the fishing rod on the opposite side of the kayak than the downrigger.  I fish fairly soft rods and they create an "arch" over the kayak.  The snap of the arched rod really drives home the hook when a fish pops the clip.

Nicely done NDogg! That's about what I had in mind

This is the simple downrigger that I have.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cannon-Mini-Troll-Downrigger/738095.uts?productVariantId=1208181&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=738095&rid=40&channel=GoogleBaseUSA&mr:trackingCode=C90C7452-F5D2-DF11-82EF-001B21631C34&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=25988358551&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=52254830831&gclid=CLHLgqPrxbgCFQE6Qgod12MAzQ

The short arm makes it great for mounting directly to my crate behind the seat.  I've only used it once but I was trolling at over 100ft on occasion.  I still need to place my fishing line in the clip a little better.  The fish I was hooking wouldn't even pull the line out.

This is the simple downrigger that I have.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cannon-Mini-Troll-Downrigger/738095.uts?productVariantId=1208181&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=738095&rid=40&channel=GoogleBaseUSA&mr:trackingCode=C90C7452-F5D2-DF11-82EF-001B21631C34&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=25988358551&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=52254830831&gclid=CLHLgqPrxbgCFQE6Qgod12MAzQ

The short arm makes it great for mounting directly to my crate behind the seat.  I've only used it once but I was trolling at over 100ft on occasion.  I still need to place my fishing line in the clip a little better.  The fish I was hooking wouldn't even pull the line out.

This is the best release I've ever used. It has increased my line trips on a fish bite exponentially.

http://shastatackle.com/tackleshop/show_Products.asp?ID=37&Name=Shasta+Ultra+Release

I'm not sure how wide line diameter it can handle so I'd either check the website or call the company, but this is an awesome release system.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

This is the simple downrigger that I have.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cannon-Mini-Troll-Downrigger/738095.uts?productVariantId=1208181&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=738095&rid=40&channel=GoogleBaseUSA&mr:trackingCode=C90C7452-F5D2-DF11-82EF-001B21631C34&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=25988358551&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=52254830831&gclid=CLHLgqPrxbgCFQE6Qgod12MAzQ

The short arm makes it great for mounting directly to my crate behind the seat.  I've only used it once but I was trolling at over 100ft on occasion.  I still need to place my fishing line in the clip a little better.  The fish I was hooking wouldn't even pull the line out.

Did you change out the line? I would like to put on 200 ft of line instead of 100, since I need to get deeper in the sound. I would love to be able to use this one though, since it would perfect for the crate I'm building!