Downrigger Mounting Position - fore or aft

[Sculpin]

Leave the in-gunnel rod holders as is-you'll want to use them when you finally head out for Albies.

You mean like this . Notice the location of the downriggers on this vessel that consistently slays fish in DEEP waters off of the WCVI. I think it is personal preference and what ever works for you.

I moved mine slightly forward from where they where originally.

They were too far back IMHO and very hard to work gear and clips etc. so I moved them forward a bit so you can slip into the corner and work the gear better. Everyone who has fished on my boat say's it was a major improvement. My stopping point on my balls is 8" under water so that the balls don't fly all over the place and stay put under water (helps when you are fishing in rough water). You have to just push the button for a second or two to get them up out of the way. Once the balls and rigging are clear you are good to go with playing a fish near the boat. I have fixed arm shorties on my gal (damn it) but wish I had extendable arms. I just put a custom prop saver on the kicker and ground and blended the edge down nice and smooth as I run braided line. I have run it over the prop saver several times already without issue.

I think it boils down to trying it out for what works best for YOU.

Cheers,
Sculpin

 

[Captain Dudds]

Well thanks for all the input.

Sounds like the majority push for aft - I think what I'll do is hang a mock DR line with typical blowback and see how it lines up with the props. I like the idea of mounting them forward so they can swing completely out of the way of netting - in a perfect world I would remove and mount over that front rod holder, but this is not exactly my boat and do not have complete freedom with it. I feel like this is going to be one of those things where I won't know for sure until they are on and I can try fishing with them. Either way, they are going on saturday morning and I'm fishing them in the afternoon / evening.

Thanks again for all the input, you guys have given me lots of things to think about. The good thing is that no matter what, I'll make the right decision because I"ll be fishing.

I'll post a pic after.

 

[nicnat]

I would mount to the aft, for one reason especially, and that is the fact you say you will be fishing the vancouver area. so a lot of the time you will be fishing the mouth of the fraser and the cap area, both areas have extremely strong currents at times and your downrigger lines will be headded under your boat at times. i use only 15# balls but even then the current moves them. you don't have to be all the way aft. leave enough room so you can use your back rod holder and you should be good to go. also when netting, if you have a swivel mount, you can always swing your rigger towards the bow. i just find with the electric dr's it's so easy to have the dr up and out of the way and is not an issue. I used to run 4 manual riggers on my boat years ago when i chartered years ago (before electrics were legal). also fishing these areas at times is quite congested and you with have to make the odd unexpected sharp turn. hope that helps.
cheers nicnat