04-06-2006, 01:38 PM
Hey captnflappinshad,
Although rubber bands are cheap and easy, releases are the way to go. They are also quite cheap and, very easy to use. There are several different kinds and a time and place for them.
Take Bodine's advice to start off with. One look at his boat and set-up, will tell you that he's a man that knows his stuff and takes it rather seriously.
After you get into trolling and do it for a while, you will have the hands on experience to understand what HA69 was referring to when he said it will depend on what you fish for, where you fish, how deep, and what kind of lure you use.
For example: when I first started trolling with a down rigger, I only had the heavy releases because I didn't know any better. One day I was trolling two riggers with the same lure on both. One side seemed to be getting all of the action and I was catching fish regularly on it. On the other side, nothing was happening. When I finally decided to pull it up and change the lure, I found I had been dragging a small fish for over an hour that apparently did not hit the lure hard enough for the release to do it's thing - the fish had been dead for quite a while.
So, get a couple of each release - you want a spare anyway in case you loose one.
Also, it is IMPERATIVELY IMPORTANT to watch your depth while you use a down rigger !
[signature]
Although rubber bands are cheap and easy, releases are the way to go. They are also quite cheap and, very easy to use. There are several different kinds and a time and place for them.
Take Bodine's advice to start off with. One look at his boat and set-up, will tell you that he's a man that knows his stuff and takes it rather seriously.
After you get into trolling and do it for a while, you will have the hands on experience to understand what HA69 was referring to when he said it will depend on what you fish for, where you fish, how deep, and what kind of lure you use.
For example: when I first started trolling with a down rigger, I only had the heavy releases because I didn't know any better. One day I was trolling two riggers with the same lure on both. One side seemed to be getting all of the action and I was catching fish regularly on it. On the other side, nothing was happening. When I finally decided to pull it up and change the lure, I found I had been dragging a small fish for over an hour that apparently did not hit the lure hard enough for the release to do it's thing - the fish had been dead for quite a while.
So, get a couple of each release - you want a spare anyway in case you loose one.
Also, it is IMPERATIVELY IMPORTANT to watch your depth while you use a down rigger !
[signature]