How to Make a Homemade Downrigger

Making your own homemade downrigger is a cheap an easy way to get into the sport of deep water fish trawling. Instead of buying an expensive downrigger kit, you can make your own for next to nothing, with full functionality. Downriggers allow you to trawl for fish at whatever depth you want, giving you access to fish that would otherwise be out of your reach. With some commonly found materials you can quickly put together a downrigger and be out on the water in no time.

Things You'll Need

  • 50-lb.wire (spool)
  • Foldback paper clip
  • 10-lb. weight
  • Fishing rod and reel
  • Bait and hook
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Instructions

    • 1

      Tie the 50-lb. wire around the arms of your foldback paper clip. Foldback paper clips are the large black metal clamps used to hold big bundles of paper together. You should tie the wire with about 6 feet of slack on one end, with the other end remaining on the spool of wire.

    • 2

      Tie the loose end of the 50-lb. wire onto your 10-lb. weight. You should select a weight that is as round as possible so there is as little resistance as possible through the water. The weight will pull down the wire and the paper clip which is used to hold your fishing line to the depth you want.

    • 3

      Clamp the fishing line into the paper clip, with a baited hook or lure extending out about 5-10 feet. When in deep water on a boat, drop the weight into the water with the other end tied to a fixed surface on the boat to a depth you want. Reel out your fishing line to keep it clamped in the paper clip. When a fish takes your bait it will pull the line from the clip, putting tension on the line.

    • 4

      Reel in your lure and catch, then pull the weight from the water to reload your line into the paper clip to catch the next one.