3
Fishing with Downriggers
Downrigger fishing is a whole new style of trolling. It may take a little while to get
used to it, but after you begin to catch fish with it, you’ll never go back to using
heavy tackle. Unlike conventional trolling, the first evidence of a strike may show
with just a wiggle of your rod tip or your downrigger pulley. When a fish strikes,
your rod tip goes up, the line will momentarily go slack and you now have your
fish on the line with no weight at all! Quite often, the fish will rush to the surface
(with no weight to hold him down) and put up a spectacular fight right on top.
After a strike, note the reading on the depth counter
so you can get your line back to the exact same
depth after landing the fish. Many suspended fish
travel in schools and returning to the exact same
location will increase your chances of hooking up
again.
If the fish is large we suggest you retrieve the
downrigger before you land the fish. This eliminates
the possibility of the fish tangling in the downrigger
line or the weight hitting the bottom if you drift
into shallow water while playing the fish. To avoid
tangles you should wind up all downriggers on the
boat before you stop to drift. If fishing alone, you
should get your fish under control
and then retrieve the downrigger.
Digital counter
The Scotty HP downrigger uses a permanently sealed digital line counter to
show the depth of your downrigger weight. The battery cover is sealed and
cannot be opened without destroying the integrity of the counter.
Directions for use:
• To turn the counter ON, press
ZERO
PWR
.
• To turn the counter OFF, press and hold
ZERO
PWR
for 5 seconds (the counter will
turn off automatically after 24 hours if not used).
• To illuminate the counter, press
(back-light will turn off after 30 seconds)
• To reset the counter to zero, press
ZERO
PWR
.
• To toggle the units of measure between “FEET” and “METERS”, press and
hold
for 5 seconds
Under normal use the counter should last many years. Heavy use of the back-light
will greatly reduce the life of the counter. Replacement counters can be obtained
at your local Scotty dealer or by contacting the factory directly (contact information
can be found on page 16).
