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 Fishing
Charters Milwaukee
Downriggers 101
By Capt. Jim Hirt
 Captain
Jim Hirt operates his fishing business out of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin as
Blue Max Charters.
Now
is the time to think about changes to make you more
productive next season. There are many ways to go on
this subject.
Over the next several
articles I will try to cover topics like rigging, tackle
and presentation. My goal is to provide information,
which should lead to more fish and less slow fishing.
Let’s get started with rigging.
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This is a very large
topic that needs to be broken down into smaller
subjects. Downriggers are a good place to start.
This is one of the most basic of presentations and
yet is very easy to get confused about.
The use of this tool
is limited only by your imagination. For every
method I write about here some of you know dozens of
other ways to work a downrigger. The basic concept
is a wire line with a weight on one end with a
release to hold a lure at a given depth. The other
end is a spool or wheel to hold the wire and
facilitate the raising or lowering of the weight.
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Downriggers are made in
manual or electric. There are many brands out in the
market place and I think they are all good. The
high-speed electrics will give you an advantage when you
are on a hot bite. For the average fisherman manuals
will get the job done.
There are all kinds of
additional features you can add to your downrigger. An
important one is temperature at the ball to tell you
when your lure is in the temp for your target. This can
also be added to any downrigger later.
Cameras to watch lure
action and the attitude of the fish. All the extras may
or may not get you more fish depending on your ability
to interpret the information provided.
Basic set up is to let out
your lure behind the boat and attach it to the weight.
The way you attach it has everything to do with how many
fish you will put in the boat. I have tried most of the
different styles of releases. I like the Blacks release
with the clip to attach the weight as one unit. The
Blacks releases are completely adjustable to set the
hook when the fish bites and never tangle or wear the
line.
Weight selection is also
important. Things to consider are size, shape,
construction and color. For my corner downriggers a flat
weight with a large adjustable fin is the way to go.
When the fin is correctly tuned it will spread your
presentation and avoid tangles. For the two inside
downriggers I prefer a weight that tracks well and looks
like a fish. I use 10-12 pound weights when fishing deep
and go to 8 pounds for shallow presentation.
The best source I have
found for quality weights at a reasonable price is Off
Shore Weights ask for Ralph 414-425-7663. I will finish
on this subject in the next article.
Good Luck Captain Jim.
Let's go fishing!! Jim
charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters.
He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his web site
at
http://www.bluemaxcharters.com
Copyright© 2006, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
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