A lot has to do with the temperature of the water you are going to be fishing on. Typically I troll for trout and salmon that seem to prefer 55 degree water. If you are fishing in a mountain lake where the thermocline is 25-30 feet or less, a hand operated downrigger is more than adequate. If you are fishing where you need to get to 40 feet or below, it will still work but your arms will get a workout.
Those are easy to use. I still have my original pair Scotty's I bought over 30yrs ago. Mine have short 12" solid rod type booms and still in working order. I used 8lb weights with these but never tried a 10lber. I got 15yrs use from them. Once I upgraded to electrics, I hung my original Scotty's on the garage wall. Never looked back at purchasing another set of manuals. I think my set qualifies as antiques.
2000 F250 7.3L Diesel
2007 Columbia 2018 Fisherman XL Yamaha F150 Yamaha 9.9 kicker 4 Walker Electric Downriggers Raymarine Element HV 9 Uniden Solara VHF
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