ghetto downrigger

[Chrisper4694]

want to fish depths not easily reachable with most trolling methods and want to cover more area than jigging? downrigger is the best option but i know i didn't want to spend the money on a set up to put on my little roof rack transported jon boat so i just ghetto rigged one!

took an old barrel reel that i wouldn't trust fighting a fish anyway and stuck it on an otherwise useless crappy bottom half of an old rod. stuck that in one clamp on rod holder and attached a saltwater three way barrel swivel with weight clip on one side clipped to a 5lbs sash weight and a regular clip on another side.

Then let my regular rod out with the lure i wanted to troll to the leader connection (modified albright knot). Looped a thin rubber band on above the leader knot and then clip the other end to the regular clip attached to the 3-way.

once it's attached while slowly moving in the boat you just loosen the regular rod drag and then lower the sash weight by playing with the star drag until it starts letting out and pulling on the regular rod line. I marked the barrel reel line with a dark mark every two feet so i just count the marks going out and put the lure at the exact depth i want then lock the barrel reel. tighten the drag on the lure rod to your desired pressure and reel in until the rubber band is nice and tight. ready to troll!

The rubber band doesn't always break with small fish but you can see them wiggling on there and a snap of the rod always breaks it. It's worked for me and cost me the price of a bag of rubber bands and the time to mark the downrigger line. pictures attached. any questions?