John F's DIY: Downrigger

[John F]

With the idea of targeting fish in deeper pinnacles and others depths usually unavailable to the usual lures we use, I've been thinking about a DIY downrigger solution. In actual fact, the deepest one one can fish without a downrigger, whilst trolling, is maybe 10 m or 12 m with artificials and maybe a bit more when drifting/slow trolling with dead/live baits and sinkers.

Well, I wanted to put my baits a lot deeper than that (+40 m). But wasn't prepared to cough up the $1000's for a downrigger nor drill holes in the boat for a permanent one.

So, after a lot of designing/engineering and then fabrication (got big help here from my dad and Manuel Junior) here's the final product: a DIY downrigger, that's relatively light and mobile. It can be used on any boat with a S/S gunnel mounted rod holder, and the cost was minimal (approximately R1,000.00 most of it to cover the reel that I wasn't using anyway!)



1. Parts used:

* 3/4" 90o bent galvanized pipe (about 60 cm long)

* 1/2" straight galvanized pipe (about 40 cm long)

* 1" straight galvanized pipe (about 25 cm)

* Large S/S rod tip

* Plastic reel seat

* Self made hydrodynamic downrigger weights. This was done using PVC pipe filled with concrete and weighted at the nose with lead and iron rods. The nose was cut at a 45o angle so it will automatically swim downwards taking the bait with, thus it doesn't need to be very heavy. Two S/S rings (one on top and the other at the end) provide attachment points for the braid and the release clip. I made 3 weights: 1.5 Kg; 2.0 Kg and 4 Kg [Pics 1,2,3]

* Okuma T50 reel with +/- 300 m of 80 Lb mono and 175 m of 50 Lb braid [Pic 4]

* Depth finder [Pic 5]

* Aluminium rivets

* Pratley putty



2. How it all came together:

* My dad had an old piece of 3/4" galvanized pipe just lying there. For some reason my dad bent it in a perfect 90o angle. This forms the base of the downrigger.

* As it wasn't long enough, we used a 1/2" pipe and pressure put it into the 3/4" pipe. It was also riveted. Some putty and sanding paper did the trick with the smoothing of the joint. This is the base and the boom of the downrigger.

* Close to the bend, the reel seat was riveted 4 times.

* At the base, the 25 cm long section of 1" pipe was also riveted and welded to the 3/4" piper. Then, using a grinder, crossing slits were made. This is were the downrigger will be fixed to the rod holder.

* Then, small sections of 6 mm and 10 mm iron rods were welded to the 1/2" pipe in an inverted "C" fashion. This is the base of the depth finder, which will be in line with the braid coming out of the reel.

* Finally, a small section of 8 mm iron rod was welded at an angle to the tip of the 1/2" pipe. This is the base where the large rod tip was attached with super glue.

* After a lot of putty to fill small holes and crevices and sanding, 3 coats of Alcoline Anti-rust paint were applied [Pic 6].



3. How it works:

* It works pretty much like any other downrigger [Pics 7, 8].

* The braid line is stored in the 50 Lb reel and provides a strong support for the weight and of course reduces drag and vibration in the water.

* The downrigger can be used parallel or perpendicular to the boat. From the base to the tip of the boom it is about 90 cm long.

* The base is introduced into the corner rod holder of the boat and the weight is attached to a large snap swivel.

* The line coming from the rod is attached to the release line of the downrigger weight via an elastic band (first deployment).

* After the first strike, to avoid retrieving the weight from the depths, a small dropper sinker is used. It runs through the braid via a round snap swivel and links to the main line's elastic band. Once the fish strikes, the elastic band breaks and the dropper sinker stays down by the stopper beads.

* New bait, new dropper sinker. One only needs a strong crew to volunteer at the end of the day and pull all the weight up [Pic 9]!

* The pics below are pretty self-explanatory!

* This has been tested on land and works well. Just waiting for the boat to be ready to take it out!

[John F]

Pics

[John F]

Pics

[Half-Pint]

Sheesh those are some mad DIY skills Marcos!

[jaenswart]

THanks marcos...I'll take one

 

that makes it 150 well deserved credit for excellent DIY skills.

[PH]

Very neat!!
 
Out of ignorance: I suppose the main line's rubber band breaks when you hook a fish so it can be retrieved seperately?
(An old wiper motor could also do the trick in lieu of the reel?)

[John F]

Thanks guys!

That's exactly it PH. Same principle as an outrigger...

[Zetti]

Sjo...some great skills there Marcos. 

[REEFMAN]

Impressive improvisation and innovation Marcos! Excellent stuff!

[WalkersKiller]

Awesome post Marcos 

[Prego]

Very innovative JohnF as usual the king of DIY does it again
 

[John F]

Thanks gents! Hopefully will be able to report some great catches in the near future!

[super_daav]

Brilliant Marcos!! Simple yet effective! 

[Manuel Junior]

Nice post. John F

[tmilner13]

Hi John,
Any success on the downrigger yet?

[Nikao]

you never stop amazing me!!

[John F]

Hi John,
Any success on the downrigger yet?

Not yet. Will use it as soon as the boat is ready... which will happen sometime next week!

[dodger]

absolutely brilliant  I have most of that stuff lying around so will give it a go for sure