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Outfitting Your Boat
When you rig a boat for trolling, you will want it to provide you and your
buddies with the most enjoyable fishing trips you could ask for. Here are
some time proven trolling boat layouts. If you fish alone in a small tiller
boat, then mounting the downriggers at the transom is the most practical
choice. You can keep everything in easy reach, eliminating the need to get
up and move around the boat. (See
illustration 1)
If two or more people are fishing in a small boat, try mounting the
downriggers midship. Everybody can reach the downriggers and rods from
either end of the boat. Pedestal mounts may be needed for the downriggers to
clear the gunwales of the boat, while swivel mounting bases will make for
easier docking of the boat.(See
illustration 2)
On larger console style boats, a pair of Captain's Paks® on
swivel mounting bases are a popular arrangment. The swivel mounting bases
allow you to spread your lines wider when fishing and can be turned inline
with the gunwales when the boat comes to the dock. (See
illustration 3)
If your boat is large enough for a fishing party, mount a pair of Pro
Sportsman at the transom and a pair of Captain's Paks® on
swivel mounting bases further forward on the gunwales. With this many lines
in the water, your lure presentation will resemble a school of bait fish. (See
illustration 4)
The same kind of presentation can be achieved by installing four Captain's
Paks® on
a removable transom bar. The whole downrigging system can be removed as one
unit when using your boat for other purposes. (See
illustration 5)
When installing a planer rigger system, there are two important facts to
remember. First, the taller your mast is, the greater distance your planers
will travel from the sides of your boat. Second, the futher forward you
mount your mast, the less distance your planers will travel behind your
transom. Both points will effect navagation and line control. (See
illustration 6)
A popular method of mounting a planer mast is to use a pedestal seat mount
(contact our Service Department for this custom order). They can be made to
fit most seat bases that are found on most boats. The seat mount makes the
mast easily removable for storage.
(See illustration 7)
Two single reel planer mast mounted on the gunwales just behind the cabin or
canopy top are popular for larger boats where the bow is not as easily
accessable. (See illustration 8)
You can upgrade your mast with a pair of electric planer reels. Big Jon® electric
reels come complete with remote switches and circuit breakers, so you can
operate them from the boat's cabin. (See
illustration 9)
Plan your boat for comfort and
safety. Having too much equipment, or having it located in the wrong
place can hamper your ability to move around freely. Before mounting any
equipment, get in your boat with your fishing buddies and discuss the best
location for each piece of equipment. All equipment should be easily
accessible to all fishermen.
Basic Downrigging
Downrigging is a method of trolling that uses a manual or electric winch
and weight (cannonball) to carry your fishing lines and lures to a
specific depth, where feeding fish are to be found. While downrigging is
commonly thought of as a deep water fishing technique, it is more
accurately understood as a method of "controlled depth fishing"
By using downriggers to control the depth of your lure presentation, you
can place your lures at any depth from just below the surface to 200 feet
deep and keep them running consistently at that depth. So, once you've
determined what depth the fish are feeding at, you can keep your lures in
that "feeding zone".
When a fish takes your lure, it will pull your fishing line from the line
release. This will allow you to fight the fish, without fighting a heavy
weight.
Step-By-Step Operation Of A Manual Downrigger
While the boat is running at trolling speed, set your fishing reel to
free-spool, apply slight pressure to the reel with your thumb and let your
lure out to the desired distance. Then set the drag clicker to stop your
reel from free-spooling. Now, place your fishing rod in the rod holder.
Next, take hold of the fishing line (beyond the rod tip) in one hand. With
the other hand, reach down and firmly take hold of the line release. Lift
the cannonball out of the water and attach the line to the line release.
Then ease the cannonball back into the water.
While firmly gripping the downrigger reel's handle, loosen the clutch knob
(found on the right side of the downrigger) by turning it
counter-clockwise. This will release the tension on the clutch disc plates
that holds the cannonball at a given depth.
When you feel the weight of the cannonball pull on the downrigger reel,
crank the reel counter-clockwise to lower the cannonball. Watch the line
counter that is mounted on the top of the downrigger. The line counter is
marked in one foot increments.
After you see the depth you desire marked on the line counter, retighten
the disc clutch by turning the clutch knob clockwise until the clutch
holds the weight of the cannonball.
Once you've set the clutch on your downrigger, set the drag and drag
clicker on your fishing reel. Then take up the slack in your in your
fishing line, until there is a bow in your fishing rod.
When a fish strikes or when you want to retrieve your lure, remove your
fishing rod from the rod holder and abruptly lift it to release your
fishing line from the line release. Then fight and land your fish or
retrieve your lure.
Finally, to retrieve your cannoball, firmly grip the downrigger reel's
handle, loosen the clutch knob and crank the downrigger reel clockwise
until the cannonball surfaces. Then tighten the clutch knob to hold the
cannonball securely.
Basic Planer Rigging
Just as downrigging allows you to control the depth of your lure
presentation, planer rigging is a trolling technique that allows you to
control the width of your lure presentation. This is especially effective
when fishing for "boat-shy" game fish. Depending on the height of your
planer mast, the planer (Otter Boat®)
can achieve distances of up to 100 feet from the sides of your boat. Line
releases holding your fishing line are attached and lowered down the
planer tow line and away from your boat. When a fish takes your lure, it
will pull your fishing line from the line release. An effective way to
vary the depths of your lure presentation is to tie Big Jon® Mini
Divers or Deep'R Diver® disks
on the lines closest to your boat.
Step-By-Step Operation Of A Planer Rigger
Start by preparing two tow line retrieval lanyards made of a couple of
shower curtain hangers and a couple of lengths of tow line cord. Then,
with your fishing rods prepared with the lures of your choice and placed
in your boat's rod holders, bring your boat to trolling speed and maintain
that speed.
Place your Otter Boat® (planer)
in the water. Take hold of the reel with one hand and loosen the clutch by
turning the clutch knob counter-clockwise with the other hand. NOTE:
Big Jon's Otter Boat® is
recommended as a good choice of planers because of it's ability to gain
greater distance from your boat than the old fashion boards and skies. The
Otter Boat® also
performs better in rough water and doesn't stall when your boat is making
a turn.
Let out the tow line by turning the planer rigger reel clockwise. Do this
slowly so that the tow line stays tight and the Otter Boat® can
plane out from the side of your boat. When the Otter Boat® has
reached the distance from your boat that you desire, retighten the clutch
knob securely. Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the other side of the boat.
Now, take your first fishing rod from the front rod holder and place your
lure in the water. Let your lure out to the distance that you want it to
run behind the boat. Reset your reel so it doesn't free-spool and place
your rod back in the rod holder.
Take hold of the fishing line that you have just let out and attach a line
release to it (A). (There are many styles of line releases on the market
to choose from. We are showing the "Pinch Pad" style here). Then, use the
retrieval lanyard to pull the planer board tow line within reach. Clip the
line release hanger clip around the tow line and close the hanger clip
(B). Then, let out the retrieval lanyard until the tow line has returned
to it's normal position.
Remove your fishing rod from the rod holder and let out more fishing line.
As you do this, the line release will slide down the tow line. Stop the
first line just short of the Otter Boat®.
(This line should be run with a shallow running lure). Now, set the drag
and drag clicker on your fishing reel and place your fishing rod back in
the rod holder closest to the front of the boat.
Now, take your second fishing rod from the rod holder and repeat step 4.
On this fishing line, that is closer to the boat, you may choose to vary
the depth of your lure presentation by using a Mini-Diver or Deep'R Diver® disk
attached about 4 feet ahead of your lure. Now repeat steps 5 and 6 and
place your fishing rod in the next rod holder back from the back from the
first rod holder.
NOTE: Each
successive fishing line added to the tow line should be placed below the
previous fishing line to avoid tangling with other lines when a fish
strikes and pulls the fishing line from the line release. Now, you are
ready to repeat steps 4 through 7 on the other side of the boat.
In-Line Planers
Like planer rigging, using in-line planer boards is a method used to get
your lure presentation out to the sides of your boat. In-line planers like
Big Jon's Otter®, Mini-Otter® and
Side-Liner® do
not require the use of a mast, they clip directly to your fishing line.
Using in-line planers will allow you to cover a much wider area as your
boat passes through the area that you want to fish.
If you want to add some variety to your lure presentation, Big Jon's large
Otters® and
Side-Liners can be used along with Big Jon's Mini-Diver and Deep'R Diver® diving
disks to take your lures to deeper depths.
A unique feature of Big Jon's Side-Liner® is
that it has built-in rattles. The rattles are a proven method of
attracting a fish's attention in large bodies of water, like the Great
Lakes.
Step-By-Step Operation Of In-Line Planers
Bring your boat to trolling speed. Then let your lure out to the desired
fishing distance behind the boat.Once your lure is out to the desired
distance, set the drag clicker on your reel to prevent it from
free-spooling. Then place your fishing rod in the rod holder.
Take hold of the fishing line and clip the swivel clip (at the back of the
planer) around the line (as shown in drawing A). Then, attach the line
release to the fishing line, ahead of the swivel clip (as shown in drawing
B).
Remove your fishing rod from the rod holder and place the planer in the
water. Keep your rod tip high and let out line until the planer moves out
to the desired distance from the boat. NOTE:
The maximum distance that an in-line planer will move away from a boat is
governed by the height of the fishing rod's tip. This makes longer fishing
rods desirable when fishing with in-line planers.
When the in-line planer has reached the desired distance from the boat,
set the drag clicker on your reel to prevent it from free-spooling. Then,
place the fishing rod in the front rod holder. Set the rod holder to hold
the fishing rod straight up to keep the rod tip as high as possible. This
will allow the planer to gain the greatest distance from the boat.
When a fish strikes your lure, the line release will"Pop-Off", allowing
the planer to slide down the line to a "Speedo Bead". The Speedo Bead is
placed approximately 18 inches in front of the lure to keep the planer
from interfering with the fish.
Otter® Release
The Otter® Release
is the "Plug and Barrel" style of release. To use it, fit your fishing
line into the notch in the plug end of the release. Then press the plug
and fishing line into the barrel end of the release. The amount of
pressure you apply when inserting the plug will determine if it will
"pop-off" with a light or hard strike.
Offshore® Release
The Offshore Release is a "Pinch Pad" style of release. To use it, pinch
top and bottom halves of the release to open the pads. Then insert the
fishing line between the pads and release the pressure to allow the pads
to close around the fishing line.
Diver Disks
Trolling with Big Jon's Mini-Diver and Deep'R Diver® diving
disks is a simple way to add depth to your lure presentation. Their low
visual profile won't spook even the most shy of game fish. They also aid
in controlling the positioning of your lures. With the nose weight set on
center, the diver will run straight behind the boat. With the nose weight
set off center, the diver will run to the side of your boat.
Of the divers available, Big Jon's are the easiest to use. Just tie your
lure and about four foot of leader to the clip at the rear of the diver.
Then, tie the fishing line coming from your fishing rod to the clip at the
top of the diver. Big Jon's divers are designed to pull straight in-line
when a fish takes your lure. There is no need for a line release.When the
diver disk is pulled straight in-line, there is no water resistance, so
you fight only the fish.
Step-By-Step Operation Of In-Line Planers
Start by tying the line coming from your fishing rod to the clip located
on the top and center of the diver disk. Then, tie a length of line (approximatly
four feet long) to the rearclip on the disk. Tie your lure to the other
end of this line.
If you use a shorter rod, the lure should be approximatley twelve inches
from the ree
The nose weight on the bottom of the diver disk determines the direction
the diver will travel from the boat. When the nose weight is set at the
center mark, the diver will travel straight back from the boat. Move the
nose weight to the right (when viewed from the bottom of the diver) and
the diver will travel to the right side of the boat. Move the nose weight
to the left (when viewed from the bottom of the diver) and the diver disk
will travel to the left side of the boat.
While the boat is at trolling speed, place your lure and then the diver in
the water and let out your line. Apply slight pressure to the reel's spool
with your thumb to create some resistance for the diver to work against.
The diver disk will work against the water's resistance and pull down to a
deeper depth.
As you are letting out your fishing line, you will reach a point where
your line starts to move back towards the rear of the boat. When this
happens, the diver has reached it's maximum depth.
Because of many variables, such as speed,line weight, lure weight and
water temperature that affect the performance of any diver, there are no
exact charts to determine how much line to let out to reach a given
depth.(The charts at the bottom of this page give approximate depths.
Once the diver has reached it's maximum depth or the depth you've decided
to stop at, set the drag clicker on your reel to prevent the reel from
free-spooling and place your rod in a rod holder.
Now you are ready to repeat steps 1 through 5 with your remaining fishing
rods.
When a fish strikes your lure, the tension of the fish pulling on the
fishing line will cause the diver disk to be pulled straight in-line with
the fishing line. This feature eliminates any water resistance, so you
fight only the fish. No "Pop-Off" release is needed when you are using Big
Jon® diver
disks.
Mini-Diver Depth Chart
|
Amount of line out |
50
ft. |
100
ft. |
150
ft. |
| #2 Floating
body bait |
16'deep. |
24'deep. |
30'deep. |
| 3-1/2 in.
Spoon |
15'deep. |
22'deep. |
28'deep. |
Deep'r Diver Depth Chart
|
Amount of line out |
50
ft. |
100
ft. |
150
ft. |
| #2 Floating
body bait |
18'deep. |
27'deep. |
45'deep. |
| 3-1/2 in.
Spoon |
17'deep. |
25'deep. |
40'deep. |
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