When angling in deep water controlling the depth of your bait presentation is key. Without a downrigger, it can drift up and away from the fish. With a downrigger you get the most precise control over your bait, allowing you to get it to the fish and keep it there while you troll.
How Downriggers Work
- Start by connecting your fishing line to the downrigger.
- Attach the weight to the downrigger cable with a line terminator.
- Let out the desired amount of line to get the bait to your preferred position behind the weight.
- Attach your fishing line with a line release.
- Once you're rigged up place your rod in the holder.
- Next use the downrigger to lower the weight while continuing to let out line until you get it to the right spot
- Check your fish finder to identify where fish are present.
- Use the downrigger to position your lure at that depth.
- As the weight lowers your fishing rod will bend.
- A line counter on the downrigger tells you how far down you are so you can hit the perfect spot
- When you reach your desired depth, be sure to reel in all of your slack to put tension on the rod
The downrigger keeps your bait at that depth while you're trolling and allows it to move naturally through the water. Some Cannon downriggers even allow you to cycle the weight up and down to cover more area or keep it at a set distance from the bottom for suspended fish. Once a fish takes the bait the line release lets go of your fishing line and your rod springs up. Now that it's just you and the fish, it's up to you to reel it in.