To reach all the fish all the time, you want to be able to troll your lures and baits at any depth. Until the 1960s, though, that was a tough task. Wire line and lead line got your lures down deep, but they were expensive and prone to problems like kinking. Worse still, they took much of the fun fighting a fish. Reeling one in on a wire line feels a bit like winching in a ton of weeds.
Downriggers in Depth
The advent of downriggers brought a breath of fresh air to fishing in depth. Attaching a heavy weight or "cannonball," anglers with downriggers could use regular lines like monofilament to get their lures down. Downrigger release clips would free the trolling line from the weight of the cannonball when a fish hit.
The best downrigger release has to accomplish several chores. It should be sensitive but not overly so. You want it to be strong enough to let the weight get your line down to the depth you are targeting without releasing. It should be strong enough to help hook fish when they strike. But you want it to be light enough that you can get to your fishing rod, free the line from the release and fight the fish quickly.
Here at FISH307, we carry a wide selection of downrigger releases. You will see all the famous downrigger brands here, like Scotty, Cannon, Troll-Master and Big Jon. For the budget-minded, we also carry generic releases that work great for downriggers, outriggers and kite fishing. Using the adjustable tension on our releases, you can get exactly the degree of sensitivity you need for the type of fishing you do. That will translate to less frustration and more fish.
You'll also discover lots of release parts here, like Scotty Soft Stop Bumpers. They will help prevent your cable snap from getting jammed in your downrigger pulley. Our wire connector sleeves will let you securely join wire in your downrigger.