Corner rigger issue

[perchjerker]

I want to run this by you guys.

Right now I have 2 short arm Walker electrics that I run off the sides. They are in the back corners.

I am getting 2 more 4fters to match and run those as my boom riggers.

The issue I am going to have is the corner rigger on the kicker side.

I am afraid my rigger cable will get fouled in my kicker.

What are your suggestions? Maybe angle that corner rigger at 45 degrees? or just run it off the side like I do now?

this is the best pic I could find on my pc, I can get better pics this weekend, I am bringing the boat home to do some work on it

thanks

[JWheeler]

I have a rigger board on the stern of my boat, it goes from one side to the other. Initially when I bought my boat there was one at each corner and then one toward the middle on each side of the out-drive. Off set in the middle to clear the out-drive. Anyways, I bought and put a kicker on my boat and deep sixed one of my riggers, now only utilizing 3 of the four. Take some time and play around with the layout and you maybe able to set them in a decent position to enable the use of 4. But, in my case, I think less is more. I think if I had #4 on, it would only be a hassle.

[ALLEYES]

I angle mine off the back corner and run it straight back. Never had a problem with my kicker. Remember, that cable is on quite an angle back wards. If it was straight up and down it may become a problem , but still pretty unlikely.

[A-Fishy-Anado]

Not sure if you have swivel bases, but I ran into a similar issue when I installed a kicker motor on a boat close to your rig. I have big Jon And was able to machine my swivel so that it was just far enough out of the way of the kicker to be comfortable.

[danthebuilder]

On an 18 foot aluminum boat I used to angle the rigger off kicker side side at 45 degrees on a shorter arm that was just inside the edge of the boat so you could crash/scrape into the dock without destroying the rigger. And then we had a 4 foot arm straight out the side. The short arm rigger always seemed close to the kicker but I never had an issue. My only issues with that setup was using a spin doctor on that side of the boat. I'd always end up forgetting what was going on and turned it into a nice tangle.

[Nailer]

Stick with the two riggers out the back corners. Add 2 divers per side aft of them. Then the high line holders off the rail.

4 riggers with that much off the back, and you are asking for trouble. Keep the back open for netting fish.

[ekbelt]

Used to have 4 riggers on our 18ft lund and downsized to 2 riggers like 5 yrs ago. If there is any current below you can get tangled quick. Like Ken I run two dipsys per side, and try to keep the back clear to bring fish in.

[fishsniffer]

the only time i would wanna run more than 2 riggers is if i had a boat capable of running a chute rigger

[perchjerker]

Hmmm

you guys have given me a lot to think about.

maybe I am better off with the 2 riggers.

right now I can run up to 3 dipsys per side (but usually run 2) and boards if I need to along with the 2 riggers.

I think I will just forget about them and work on perfecting my current spread.

I have not bought them yet.

[cliftp]

Brian, on a different note, your boat looks GREAT! Very nice picture.

Paul C.

Mattawan, MI

[Just Hook'n]

The boat DOES look great. I would also run two on a boat small than 9' wide. now that we are in a little bigger boat we have one down the chute, but when we are running deep (180+ down) I still get nervous. For years we did very well with two riggers, dipseys and high lines. I think the only time I would want more riggers is when/if they are in close and/or you are running the channel. However, I refuse to do that as it is way to stressful.

[sherman51]

you can always turn the corner rigger out just past your kicker motor, and still have enough space between it and your out down rigger. just dont make any sharp turns. but you could just go with the 3 rigger set up. just buy 1 long boom rigger for the other side.

sherman

[1mainiac]

Stick with 2 and learn to work them I ran 4 for years dropped down to 2 and like it even better and catch rate went up. If I had a bigger boat I would run a chute rigger just for the probe and control it from the helm. I have considered mounting a remote controlled rigger in the chute for the probe only since I run my corner rigger's at a 45 off the sides any how that way I could keep the probe rigger in the chute to look for water and bring it up when we need to net.

[perchjerker]

I ended up buying them since I got a great price on them

I will swap them out with my short ones, these are 4 fters.

I have spares if nothing else. If I was just to replace the booms with longer ones it would be almost what I paid for the riggers and they also came with swivel bases.

[perchjerker]

oh and thanks for the compliments on the boat!

made my day!

[SeaCatMich]

See how the long arms do off the corners facing straight out the back. I would think on the kicker side the boom will extend beyond the kicker. If it does work then replace the short arms with long for use as outdowns. I understand what others are saying about only running two riggers with the fish being more distributed throughout the water column, but there have been quite a few times in the last few years where the fish are very deep (120'+) and to me, downriggers are the most effective tool for those deep presentations. Put them on a removable base or track mount and take them off when you don't need depth.

I run four riggers on my boat. 4' arms out the back with Big Jon Brutes mounted on Traxstech bases that I angle out 30* to get them away from the outboards. The other two are outdown Vectors with 5' booms that are mounted 3' forward of the rear ones. All of them are on tracks and I can easily change the configuration out to fit the situation.

[perchjerker]

Thanks Ryan, interesting thought.

How do I deal with the weight being way out behind the boat?

I assume you use a ball retriever of some kind, what do you suggest?

I was going to ask that anyway since I have only dealt with short boom riggers in the past.

The guy I bought them from upgraded his riggers and went from 4 to 3, he said he uses the 3rd rigger mostly for the probe only, that way he can check speed and temps at various depths while he is fishing, sounds like a good idea too.

I dont have tracks but the bases are easily removable. They are sliding mounts that are kind of like a track, they are the same size as the bases, and have a tounge and groove locking arrangement, sort of like an upside down track. They work well and are super sturdy. I have never seen them before I got this boat.

[SeaCatMich]

The Vectors and Brutes both have booms that can be lifted to allow the weights to be swung/swinged in to be set. But on the Vectors with the 5' booms I have Traxstech weight retrievers that I use when I run 12# or heavier weights -- the 5' booms with the heavier weights are a little difficult to lift (especially in 3' seas).

Walker did offer an automatic weight retriever system on some models that would bring the weight back to the spool along the boom. Not sure if this can be added to ones that didn't come that way. Here is a picture:

Here is a picture of the Traxstech weight retrievers:

[perchjerker]

thanks!!

the traxtrek retriever looks like the way to go

the ones I have found from Cannon (I had those years ago) and the Scottys units are all about the same price but for a few bucks more the Traxtrek units looks a lot better.

[sherman51]

if you have auto stop beads on your riggers your going to need a ball retriever that the bead will pass through. i have a set of big jon pro tournaments with auto stop. i tried the cannon first and they just didnt work. so i went to the scotty, and they do seem to work, but the traxtrek looks like they would be much better. i will probably switch to them myself.

if i had walker riggers i would try to find a good set of the old auto ball retrievers they use to make. i dont have a clue why they stopped making them. i have seen them work and they work good.

sherman

[sherman51]

can anyone tell me where i can order the traxtech ball retrievers?? i cant seem to find anything.

sherman

[perchjerker]

thanks. no auto stop. I have the most basic Walkers you can get.

I will look for the Walker retrievers.

traxtech retrievers are here

http://traxstech.com/Downrigger_Mounts.html