Homemade Fishing Downrigger

A downrigger is a kind of auxiliary fishing line used mostly for fishing oceans and large bodies of water. It is used for “trolling,” in which a slow-moving boat pulls a baited fishing line through the water. The movement of the boat and the tension on the fishing line tend to make the bait rise to the surface. So to prevent that and keep the bait at depth, fishermen clip the baited line to a downrigger, which is simply a “rig,” or apparatus, the keep the bait “down.” A downrigger can be as simple as a piece of piano wire tied to a cleat on your boat, with a cinder block tied to the other end. The baited line is clipped to the downrigger wire in such a way that it comes loose when a fish strikes.

  1. Manufactured Downriggers

    • Manufactured downriggers fall into two categories and they all share common features. They are usually mounted on one side or the other at the rear of a boat to keep the downrigger line clear of the fishing lines. They all use a short rod or boom so that the downrigger line will drop into the water away from the boat. They always use at least one and sometimes two pulleys on the downrigger boom so that the downrigger line will be well supported and easy to lower or raise. The difference is in how a line can be retrieved. Less-expensive downriggers use a hand-powered crank to raise and lower the downrigger weight. Deluxe downriggers accomplish that with an electric motor.

    Reel Only Downriggers

    • After a cinder block tied to a cleat, the most basic homemade downrigger is a heavy-duty bait-casting reel mounted directly on the stern or to a stern rail. Downrigger weights — often called “cannonballs” — usually range from 4 pounds up to 15 pounds; with a bare reel you should use weights at the lower end of this range. No matter what size or type of weight you use, load the reel with either heavy monofilament or nylon-coated leader wire. Leader wire is widely available in 100-foot spools and up to 135-pound test.

    Short Rod Downriggers

    • Broken, or sawed-off, fishing rods can also be used as downriggers. If you are destroying a rod to make a downrigger you don’t want more than a four space between the bait reel and the end of the rod. Load the reel on a short rod the same way you would load a downrigger that is made of only of a reel. Use heavy monofilament or nylon-coated leader wire. These short rod downriggers are very common and fishermen mount them in a plastic or metal rod holder right next to the bait rod.

    Rigging Your Downrigger

    • Tie a snap hook to the end of your downrigger line. Attach the downrigger weight to that snap hook. Attach a second snap hook above the downrigger weight and attach your fishing line with a downrigger release to the snap hook above the weight. The most basic downrigger release is made from a No. 12 rubber band. Loop one end of the rubber band around the fishing line and through the snap swivel. Then cinch one end of the rubber band through the other end. Usually, you want your bait or lure to trail the downrigger weight by 30 to 40 feet.