Lets talk Downrigger Braid
- Thread starter Capt_Ed
- Start date
scott craven
Well-Known Member
I'm using the Scotty stuff now, Power pro is great as well.
Buy what you get the best deal on ....
Buy what you get the best deal on ....
advTHXance
Well-Known Member
I use 200# scotty braid with a length of 2mm paracord at the end. Palomar knot to join the braid and paracord, with a loop at the bottom to connect the ball. No terminal tackle!
Pastafarian
Active Member
You'll be happy you made the switch! My tip would be to put on alot of braided line - 400 feet. You'll need to re-tie your knots every year so having an excess amount of line is a good idea. I use inline swivels instead of those crappy plastic stops. These swivels are set at various heights above the ball in order to be used as auto stops and as stops for stacking gear. I really like this system, it's much more reliable than the aforementioned plastic stops. The one down side of braided is that it can shear easily. I've had mine shear off in (what appeared to be) a school of dogfish on the sounder. So, you'll need to regularly check for abrasions on the line. All in all though, it's a good decision to run braided.
Tight lines!
Pastafarian
Tight lines!
Pastafarian
advTHXance
Well-Known Member
You can eliminate the swivels entirely if you set your riggers up the way I described. If its unclear I could describe it in more details or maybe even do a walk-thru with pictures if people are interested. Itst he best way I know of to run your downriggers.
CIVANO
Well-Known Member
how do you tie the cord to the braid with a palomar knot
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
This stuff any good?
advTHXance
Well-Known Member
I take a length of paracord, tie a small loop in one end with an overhand knot, and a large loop in the other end with the same overhand knot. The palomar knot is tied with the braid to connect to the small loop. This acts as a stopper so theres no need for swivels or stoppers. The only caveat is you cant use paracord that is too thin or thick for the knot to pass through the DR pulley. I use 2mm paracord and it slips through seamlessly and never fails to trigger the autostop. At the other end of the paracord is a larger loop knot, with the loop being large enough to feed through the eye of the DR ball, and then loop back around the ball for attachment. Finned balls are best for this setup to minimize the amount of rotations the cannonball does underwater. You dojnt weant your braid twisting freely the whole time you troll. I use 15lb round balls with fins. You can use the bigger loop knot as a stopper for your release clip so it wont slide up the paracord.
The length of paracord you choose will depend how far your booms are extended and how low you want your ball to hang off the pulley once the autostop is triggered. I start with about a 9' length, tie the top loop and then size up the bottom loop and trim the excess. I have mine set up so the ball is at the surface, so once it autostops i can swing the arm in and lift the ball into the boat by grabbing the paracord, or if im fishing solo I leave the arm out and just hit the up button to take the ball out of the water completely.
Hopefully that makes sense!
The length of paracord you choose will depend how far your booms are extended and how low you want your ball to hang off the pulley once the autostop is triggered. I start with about a 9' length, tie the top loop and then size up the bottom loop and trim the excess. I have mine set up so the ball is at the surface, so once it autostops i can swing the arm in and lift the ball into the boat by grabbing the paracord, or if im fishing solo I leave the arm out and just hit the up button to take the ball out of the water completely.
Hopefully that makes sense!
advTHXance
Well-Known Member
Wildmanyeah, that stuffs pretty thick. I use the 200# scotty because its thin and therefor has less blowback. If youre fishing deeper than 100' Id go with something slimmer.
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
K thanks I have the power prow stuff right now, I haven't been to happy with braid but most of it has been due to my own stupidity.
advTHXance
Well-Known Member
Give the method I described a try. If its done correctly its pretty idiot-proof, which is why its perfect for me!
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
I'm in the Scotty braid camp: they make the good stuff.
Although paracord sounds like a good idea, I use halibut gangion (seine twine) ---it's tarred for good grip so it's easy to haul your cannonballs out of the water. The tarring also results in zero slippage of your stainless clips: once they're snapped on that gangion they don't go anywhere.
I used to tie fancy knots to connect the gangion to my braid---then a guy on this forum said...."use a square knot...it works...". I tried a square knot and yes, it works just fine. The knot stops the DR way better then a SCotty plastic stopper and being 150 lb test, I get multiple seasons use out of one rig.
Extend your boom to where it sits when you fish---measure the length of the boom and then down to the water---add approx. 20 cm so your ball stays just under the water when the knot hits the stopper---add a few more centimeters for the knot of choice----that's the length of gangion you cut to make your rig. I add a Scotty snubber to the end of the gangion and clip my ball to the snubber---easy to take on and off the cannonball when switching to lighter/heavier weights or storing the balls...works slick
Although paracord sounds like a good idea, I use halibut gangion (seine twine) ---it's tarred for good grip so it's easy to haul your cannonballs out of the water. The tarring also results in zero slippage of your stainless clips: once they're snapped on that gangion they don't go anywhere.
I used to tie fancy knots to connect the gangion to my braid---then a guy on this forum said...."use a square knot...it works...". I tried a square knot and yes, it works just fine. The knot stops the DR way better then a SCotty plastic stopper and being 150 lb test, I get multiple seasons use out of one rig.
Extend your boom to where it sits when you fish---measure the length of the boom and then down to the water---add approx. 20 cm so your ball stays just under the water when the knot hits the stopper---add a few more centimeters for the knot of choice----that's the length of gangion you cut to make your rig. I add a Scotty snubber to the end of the gangion and clip my ball to the snubber---easy to take on and off the cannonball when switching to lighter/heavier weights or storing the balls...works slick
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wildmanyeah
Crew Member
Once I cut it off with the kicker, with wire I've hit the kicker but the line just vibrated. Another time we were fishing in weather we should have been and a gust of wind turned the boat and the downrigger with braid got hooked onto the downrigger with wire and it cut the braid.
like I said my own stupidly, nice part about braid is when stuff like that happens just tie a knot to the spare ball and your good to go. Not crimping for the next 30 mins
advTHXance
Well-Known Member
Maybe get yourself a prop guard or extend your DR boom on the kicker side. With the cost of lead and braid what they are now, if it saves you getting propped once or twice itll pay for itself.
Pastafarian
Active Member
I'm interested in seeing this paracord setup. I like my swivel set up but I like having options. If you happen to post a photo I would definitely appreciate it.
Thanks
I also suggest the rubber snubbers for the end. I was losing lead balls at least 2-3 per year but a few years back I started using the snubbers and haven't lost a ball since. They are amazing, wasn't a believer until I started using them. Some of them have trolling snaps so you can easily attach and remove your lead ball. I also use the knot from the braid to the paracord as my line stopper, so no need for those silly little plastic line stops that always seem to move all over the place.
