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View Full Version : Do you set the drag on your downrigger?



Full_Monte
04-16-2009, 10:41 AM
I've been thinking that a tight downrigger clutch could make the boat capsize under some conditions. I have Scotty electrics. What do you guys do?

SilverBullets
04-16-2009, 10:58 AM
I have Scotty 1060 Manuals and adjust the clutch every couple years..it's easy to do while the boat is out of the water. You want some give incase of a snag to avoid ripping the downrigger off the boat.

Bduck
04-16-2009, 11:18 AM
I have 2 Walker tournament series electrics. I have snagged before but had the clutch set. If I didn't, it might rip it right off my boat. Just to loose a downrigger weight costs alot of money anymore.

twisted lines
04-16-2009, 12:22 PM
With the scottys Don't spray your cable with WD-40 Thinking its a good thing for it while your cleaning the salt water off things, it set my drag for a while until I Did some deep cleaning it was a drag. :mad:

Big Al
04-16-2009, 01:22 PM
I put 50 pound braided line between the cable and the ball. It still takes a good snag to loose the ball but that is better then the downrigger,but I make my own downrigger balls so I have lots of them.

Propnut69
04-16-2009, 04:48 PM
I have Cannon mag 5's on my boat ,and setting the drag is no big deal.As long as I can move the spool by hand ,and it doesn't slip when the weight is on.I figure it's good to go.

ll kaidoy ll
04-16-2009, 05:32 PM
I've been thinking that a tight downrigger clutch could make the boat capsize under some conditions. I have Scotty electrics. What do you guys do?

I haven't done it yet, but it's on my to-do list before this year's Kokanee season. :)

SilverBullets
04-16-2009, 06:37 PM
I haven't seen this mentioned yet...always have a good pair of cable cutter's within arm's reach for emergency situations!

HiTechKoke
04-17-2009, 10:35 AM
Definitely tune your clutches in case of a snag and have cable cutters nearby in case of emergencies. It's easy to tune the Scottys and the wrench is inside the cover of the electric models.

Propnut69
04-17-2009, 10:58 AM
I haven't seen this mentioned yet...always have a good pair of cable cutter's within arm's reach for emergency situations!


This is a very good idea. About 8-10 yrs ago a 24ft boat was sunk at the bottom of breeze hill on the gorge. They had hung up a downrigger weight ,and got turned sideways in to the wind. A big wave rolled over the stern,and they started taking on water.Because of the downrigger being mounted on the stern and it was hung up ,it was the lowest place on the boat when the waves started filling the boat with water. They didn't have a single thing on board to cut the SS downrigger line :(

Kokaholic
04-17-2009, 11:10 AM
Great topic. I just put new Scotty on my boat. I will be adjusting them before I hit the H2o.

Full_Monte
04-18-2009, 09:48 PM
Thanks, guys...here is what I'm thinking of doing. With the boat on the trailer, I'll put a 20 lb. weight on the downrigger and adjust the clutch so that the 20 lb. weight starts to unwind wire. Since I intend to use a 10 lb weight, it will take an additional ten pounds of pull from a snag to start unwinding wire. Does this sound like a reasonable approach?

SilverBullets
04-18-2009, 11:49 PM
I use the weights I intend to fish with. With the boat sitting on the trailer and the downriggers mounted put the balls on and work the clutch...raise and lower the ball and either tighten or loosen to where the ball stops and doesn't free fall. I think adjusting to a heaver weight might put excess stress on your boat and downrigger when a snag up occurs. I would rather have it adjusted towards the loose side rather than tight. Believe me...the minute you snag up you want that downrigger to start peeling off wire fast! Your reaction time will be a bit delayed before you have a chance to cut the motor and get turned around.

Full_Monte
04-21-2009, 08:55 AM
That's a good point, Silver Bullets. I was thinking that you wouldn't want the downrigger to pay out line if you skipped your weight off the bottom a couple times. But, with only a 15 1/2 ft. boat, I should be extra careful about my drag settings. If a snag can capsize a 24 ft. boat, it sure could do so with my little boat, and a lot faster. I'll take your advice. This has been a very good thread, full of great safety advice. Thanks to all of you who contributed.worthy12thumbsup

SuperD
04-21-2009, 09:35 AM
I hung a ball this weekend and the clutch being set right gives you enough line to get the boat turned around without riping the downrigger off your gunnel. At 1.2 mph I don't think I'm going to capsize anything. In the case of this past weekend I was able to get turned around and pop it free going the other direction.

Troutski
05-16-2009, 07:18 AM
I removed the cable and replaced it with 50# Dacron braided line, this accomplished two things. First the diameter is far smaller than the cable so there is less drag and the ball hangs almost straight down (10# ball). Secondly it removed the cable howl, man I hated that. It doesn't take much to break the line along with setting my clutch light - so far so good on getting unstuck.
I know from my friend that if you are using an electric downrigger with the auto stop you lose that function with braided line. Mine is a manual rigger.

Chuck

DLM
05-17-2009, 09:02 AM
No need to lose the auto stop with braided line. I have an electric scotty with braid. Your friend needs to get special auto stop triggers that scotty makes for braided line. The look and work just like the ones for the steel cable, except they fit on braid. He can find them on their website.

Troutski
05-17-2009, 08:58 PM
No need to lose the auto stop with braided line. I have an electric scotty with braid. Your friend needs to get special auto stop triggers that scotty makes for braided line. The look and work just like the ones for the steel cable, except they fit on braid. He can find them on their website.

Message sent, he will be thrilled. He is spending the middle of the week at O'Dell, this will be great news for him.

Chuck

fish-on-bend
05-31-2009, 09:37 PM
Cannons have clutches you can release to full free spool right on the spool shaft that you can hand turn in a second. This is an issue that seems to be specific to Scottys. As for the auto stop feature, it will NOT work with braid on the newer Cannons as the auto stop functions by elelctronically sensing the water surface. Braid will not conduct the current required to do this.

Full_Monte
06-05-2009, 06:18 PM
I use the weights I intend to fish with. With the boat sitting on the trailer and the downriggers mounted put the balls on and work the clutch...raise and lower the ball and either tighten or loosen to where the ball stops and doesn't free fall. I think adjusting to a heaver weight might put excess stress on your boat and downrigger when a snag up occurs. I would rather have it adjusted towards the loose side rather than tight. Believe me...the minute you snag up you want that downrigger to start peeling off wire fast! Your reaction time will be a bit delayed before you have a chance to cut the motor and get turned around.

I just talked with Scotty Support about setting the drag on my 1106 electric downriggers. They said the set point is 43 pounds before the line should pay out. That's a lot more than the 10+ pounds I set it to. I had trouble with one of my riggers paying out three or four feet of line after the auto-stop hit. I'm going to try to adjust it today, but apparently, Scotty does not intend this to be a real useful safety adjustment. What do you guys think?

SilverBullets
06-05-2009, 09:25 PM
I just talked with Scotty Support about setting the drag on my 1106 electric downriggers. They said the set point is 43 pounds before the line should pay out. That's a lot more than the 10+ pounds I set it to. I had trouble with one of my riggers paying out three or four feet of line after the auto-stop hit. I'm going to try to adjust it today, but apparently, Scotty does not intend this to be a real useful safety adjustment. What do you guys think?

I use the Scotty DepthKing 1060's which are manuals. What I did was adjust them to where the ball won't free fall, but will payout wire when pulling down on the weight. Sounds like the electrics are a whole different ball game.

Full_Monte
06-06-2009, 12:23 PM
I don't know what the differences are between the manual and electric riggers.
We need to figure something out here. I read somewhere that some guys use a "weak link" 20 lb test monofilament between the ball and the eye-hook to provide breakaway safety. Right now, I'm just confused about what to do.
I'll adjust it and see if it helps the situation.

Excaliber
06-08-2009, 02:42 PM
I have Cannon mag 5's on my boat ,and setting the drag is no big deal.As long as I can move the spool by hand ,and it doesn't slip when the weight is on.I figure it's good to go.

I have a new Mag 10 and I was wondering how you adjust the clutch. Are you talking about the star knob on the side that tightens the spool?

I thought that was for manually lowering the ball. Are we talking about the same thing?

fish-on-bend
06-09-2009, 08:32 AM
I have a new Mag 10 and I was wondering how you adjust the clutch. Are you talking about the star knob on the side that tightens the spool?

I thought that was for manually lowering the ball. Are we talking about the same thing?

Yes we are. As I stated in post #19 the Cannons do not have this issue. The star knob on all Cannons is the clutch adjustment. Its as simple to adjust as the star drag on a level wind reel. This seems to be one of the major drawbacks of the overall Scotty design. Add the pre-set positive ion charge with all Cannon electrics and the increased speed of retrieval and auto-stop feature without in-line beads and the Cannons have now surpassed the Scottys on features and design for their electrics. The old rule of thumb was that Scotty electrics were better than Cannon, but Cannon manuals were better. I believe Cannons are overall superior in the entire line. I have used both. I know plenty of guys will disagree. Its kind of a Ford vs. Chevy debate but I stand by my opinion. I have more than a few friends that have bought new Cannon electrics after fishing with me.

Excaliber
06-09-2009, 08:51 AM
Thanks,
I just wanted to be sure about how to adjust the clutch.

Steve079
06-09-2009, 10:20 AM
I have a problem with my Scotty manuals, but a slightly different one. When letting the weight down, as soon as I pull the lever back, it goes down too fast. It either screams down, or barely moves at all. Is there an adjustment for this, or are they worn out? I bought them used.

SilverBullets
06-09-2009, 02:05 PM
I have a problem with my Scotty manuals, but a slightly different one. When letting the weight down, as soon as I pull the lever back, it goes down too fast. It either screams down, or barely moves at all. Is there an adjustment for this, or are they worn out? I bought them used.

I have the Scotty 1060 Depthking. Here's what the maual says for Brake adjustment:
(1) Lift up (do not twist) to remove counter cover.
(2) Remove the jam nut, which holds down the counter assembly. Lift the counter assembly off the downrigger. (It lifts straight up ans sometimes requires some gentle prying with two screwdrivers under the opposite edges).
(3) Using two 9/16 inch wrenches or two small crescent wrenches, hold the bottom nut with one wrench and loosen the top jam nut with the other wrench. With the brake in the off or the "6 o'clock" position, either tighten or loosen the bottom nut as required to obtain the correct brake setting.

With a weight on, the brake should engage automatically when the handle is released, yet slip if constant strain is applied to the wire.

(4) Tighten down the jam nut and re-assemble the counter assembly.

SuperD
06-09-2009, 04:03 PM
The star knob on all Cannons is the clutch adjustment. Its as simple to adjust as the star drag on a level wind reel.

With the exception that the Cannon clutch knob is reverse thread. It can catch you off guard if you're not careful.

fish-on-bend
06-10-2009, 08:34 AM
With the exception that the Cannon clutch knob is reverse thread. It can catch you off guard if you're not careful.

Right you are! The way I remember is turn toward the water to release down, turn toward the boat to tighten.

Sportfishinsteve
06-10-2009, 09:59 AM
So, I saw a post not too long ago regarding ball "snubbers". My question is, when you use rubber snubbers does it affect your positive ion output? It seems like it would. The snubbers are designed to be the "weak link" if hung up and also reduce shock to your downrigger, which is a good idea, but just curious if anyone knows how it affects the ions. I have two Cannon Mag 10 electrics

fish-on-bend
06-11-2009, 08:15 AM
So, I saw a post not too long ago regarding ball "snubbers". My question is, when you use rubber snubbers does it affect your positive ion output? It seems like it would. The snubbers are designed to be the "weak link" if hung up and also reduce shock to your downrigger, which is a good idea, but just curious if anyone knows how it affects the ions. I have two Cannon Mag 10 electrics

I believe the positive ion output runs the entire length of the cable( I just verified this online) , so it would stop just short of the ball in your case.