I have fished and lived in New England for more than 50 years. Can someone please tell me why the folks that fish the brine don't use down rigger's as much as the sweet water folks do? (other than the cost of a down rigger) It only makes more sense to me to me to put the chosen bait/ lure down with a down rigger than with wire line. I only ask this because of all the Capt's that ask me to build rods that will accept wire line. I've seen the results of a down rigger and wire line, just looking for opinions on this.

Bill Larsen, Norske Rod Works

I don't know, tradition perhaps? Wire line does act a bit differently than mono or braid on a drop line and that could also have something to do with it. So too, as you point out, could the cost of the downriggers. Their stationairy placement on the boat could also put some off.

...................

It could be the simple fact that the older skills have been lost in the shuffle and the younger generation does not want to expend any extra effort or expense to use the technique. In the Gulf of Mexico it simply is not worth the trouble to do all the rigging to troll for lone wolfs when the big ones congregate around oil platforms and are easily chummed to the boat instead of burning fuel to go chasing. In a fishery with plenty of targets it is simply not worth the trouble.

with the advent of deep running lures there is not much need for down riggers. +25's-+30's Etc will deep troll on mono

For whatever it might be worth, for those who troll crankbaits there is a book containing over 250 popular crankbaits and how deep they will run at various line lengths and diameters. It's called Precision Trolling, the Trollers Bible. Worth every penny.

..............

On Lake Erie, Huron and Michigan, for salmon and walleye, downriggers are in heavy use It's going to take a heck of a lot of line to get lures down to 60+ feet. Much easier and quicker and accurate to use riggers

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For whatever it might be worth, for those who
> troll crankbaits there is a book containing over
> 250 popular crankbaits and how deep they will run
> at various line lengths and diameters. It's
> called Precision Trolling, the Trollers Bible.
> Worth every penny.
>
> ..............

For the bassers they also make Precision Casting. VERY good book to help you fine tune crankbait depth.

Scott Sheets
www.smsrods.com