Cannon Downriggers

[walleyes]

As much as I love my Scotty products and buying Canadian I’m going to have to look at Cannon and by the looks of it I’m going to have to eventually go to Cannon downriggers on my vessel. Cannon and Hummingbird being both Johnson outdoors products are compatible tools. And man some of the features they offer are hard to pass up. The Optimum riggers will communicate with the Helix G3N’s I’m installing.

Not tomorrow or anything but I can definitely see it coming down the road. Auto bottom track, be darn helpful in my Lake Trout fishing. All riggers up remotely, auto depth set. Some darn nice features and I’ll be able to control them from from either one of my sonar base stations. Yah hard not to take advantage of these tools.

Any experience with Cannon out there.

 

[walleyes]

But holy man,, at $1700.00 a piece yikes,, might be a while lol.

 

[Ringo]

Please don’t... just don’t go down that route
Buddy spent $4k on a pair, didn’t work for him for salmon trolling. Had a hard time selling them and for $1,200 he’s a happy Scotty user again.

 

[walleyes]

That’s the thing it could be an expensive experiment couldn’t it wowzers.

 

[dradons]

One of this nice perks about scotty too is that if you have some spare parts on board you can make quick repairs while out fishing. Some times too much tech, while cool and handy can be frustrating if too complicated and not easy to fix.

 

[Kildonan]

One of this nice perks about scotty too is that if you have some spare parts on board you can make quick repairs while out fishing. Some times too much tech, while cool and handy can be frustrating if too complicated and not easy to fix.

You’re very right. Scotty’s are dead easy to work on and fix up very quick. I like simple, just like me.

 

[wishiniwasfishin1]

Re the fixing thing.... good luck finding spare parts in some of the remote places we fish. But almost every marina will carry Scotty parts

 

[Ringo]

Electronic part are prone to damage/failures. Compare the digital counter on a 2106 with the old-style mechanical counters on Depthpower Scotty riggers. Main issue with these modern canon riggers is that the electronic parts and wirings do rust in salt water and after a while, you realize that you own a pair of super expensive mechanical downriggers with half the functionality of a Scotty.

 

[Ringo]

Re the fixing thing.... good luck finding spare parts in some of the remote places we fish. But almost every marina will carry Scotty parts

Canon spare parts for the digital model are pretty expensive too. Mike’s Reel Repair in Abbotsford can order them for you but usually takes a while to get them.

 

[walleyes]

I was even to scared to buy 2106’s for my new boat and stuck with the good old reliable 1106’s.

 

[disco]

I had Canons because they came on my boat. Never even used them once. The ones I had won't auto-stop at surface unless you run steel cable. Sold them and bought Scotty.

 

[Stosh]

Disco
Good point! - you can’t use braid on Cannon downriggers.

 

[mikep]

They are definitely a high end rigger. Had them on my boat, brothers boat and dads since 2015. They are fairly bulletproof but they do occasionally have issues. The features that they incorporate are a must have for me now. All of the digitroll 5 and 10s can run braid and actually work. The auto run to a select depth is a nice feature. Also not having to use stopper beads. You can also cycle the depth to entice bites. The worm gear drivetrain is bulletproof.

 

[walleyes]

With the negative Ion feature running steel cable would be a non issue anyways, unless you outright prefer braid for other reasons. I’ve ran both and really in the end makes no difference to me.

 

[sly_karma]

Heh heh, I wonder how many here that are muttering about high tech downriggrr complexity are driving late model trucks with cylinder deactivation, hands free Bluetooth, climate control, touch screens etc? Or techy outboards with pushbutton trolling mode and an array of little black electronic boxes that must be changed if they fail, most certainly can't be fixed on the water? Our own innate conservatism rebels against change...

My question about the Cannon Optimum is regarding the bottom-following feature. Sure, the cannonballs raise and lower automatically according to bottom profile, but wouldn't you still have to keep adjusting reels to maintain correct tension? I can see a sudden drop over a ledge causing the ball to lower fast enough to pop the clip. Anyone actually used this model who can explain how/if the feature works?

 

[walleyes]

Heh heh, I wonder how many here that are muttering about high tech downriggrr complexity are driving late model trucks with cylinder deactivation, hands free Bluetooth, climate control, touch screens etc? Or techy outboards with pushbutton trolling mode and an array of little black electronic boxes that must be changed if they fail, most certainly can't be fixed on the water? Our own innate conservatism rebels against change...

My question about the Cannon Optimum is regarding the bottom-following feature. Sure, the cannonballs raise and lower automatically according to bottom profile, but wouldn't you still have to keep adjusting reels to maintain correct tension? I can see a sudden drop over a ledge causing the ball to lower fast enough to pop the clip. Anyone actually used this model who can explain how/if the feature works?

Yup was wondering the same thing about the bottom following feature.

 

[Whole in the Water]

Can't beat the customer service of Scotty - some of the best I have ever experienced!

 

[IronNoggin]

Ran high end Cannons for years. They make Scotty's appear like the tinker-toys they are.
Reality.

Nog

 

[Pineapple Express]

When I started out I bought a pair of used Cannon Mag 10s. The auto-stop feature was slick, but otherwise I did not like them! I sold them on again and bought a pair of brand new Scotty 1106s.

The final straw to get rid of the Cannons was this: the brake is controlled with a knob on the side of the unit....and the knob turns when the spool is turning (when retrieving) Several times I ended up having clothing or other items get tangled up with the knob, and the last event was my net getting tangled up while I was playing a fish solo. I couldn't get the net untangled and I lost the fish at the boat due to my confusion and frustration.

Besides the knob issue, my older Mag 10s had painted steel booms and while the paint seemed pretty good, there was little rust spots where the paint was scratched. The collars for telescoping the boom were fiddly and took a good grip to tighten them up. Not easy with cold, wet hands.

Also, the swivel base had a small tee handle that again wasn't great with cold wet hands.

I feel like the Scotty 1106 is a more rugged, easier to use unit, and spare parts are everywhere. The design of the Scotty seems crude until you use it and then it's just simple and tough. And, Scotty is a Canadian company eh!

That's my take on this.

 

[kingblazer84]

Cannon Downriggers - Ontario/Eastern Fishing

Scotty - BC to Sask by far best bang for your buck IMO