Get down and Get with it

October 23, 2017

November. It’s when things heat up, in the fishing world. Mackerel start their long ride down the East Australian Current, to NSW. Kingfish head in closer, to the shallow reefs. And it’s the beginning of the east coast game fish season. Glenn McHenry, last weekend:

Marlin caught at the Whitsundays game tournament

"G'day Andrew, we just won the Whitsunday light tackle gamefish tournament last weekend using your downrigger to our advantage. Out of 28 boats we caught 25% of all the billfish on your downrigger"

Glenn and crew winning the Whitsunday light tackle gamefish tournament

Congratulations Glenn that’s a great looking trophy too! Sailfish and marlin are suckers for downrigging around bait schools. Here’s Paul, three weeks ago. You can see his downrigger handle and spool on the left:

Big result from downrigging in Western Australia

"Andrew, just another endorsement on the downrigger. I sent a picture a few years back with a nice marlin at Exmouth using the downrigger and your braid. I dragged the boat up to Karratha with work getting in the way and fished the Archipelago using the same rod, line, and lure on the downrigger, with the nice pink teasers I got from you that brought mackerel to the boat. This was the result. Cheers, Paul in WA"

What a buzz. When it all comes together downrigging’s the best. Here’s Darryl hooking up off Sydney’s South Head, last summer:

And here’s how the fight ended up:

So how’s it work? You set your lure or live bait behind the weight and, using the supplied line counter, drop it down to the optimal depth. I start half way to the bottom. Work around a mark you know is likely to hold fish. Watch for arches on your sounder screen:

Mackerel visible on a sounder

and suddenly wham! You’re on. On a big one with a heavy drag setting, it can even be hard to get the rod butt out of the holder. Here’s a quality mackerel:

Big mackerel caught in Australia

Don Cummings, with a chunky kingfish:

Don Cummings with a big Kingfish

Chris on our boat with a king downrigged at Mugs Reef, off Manly in Sydney:

Chris with a giant Kingfish caught on a downrigger at Mugs Reef in Manly Sydney

Why is downrigging so deadly? Simple. It’s the best way to present your bait to an open water predator. And it's not only for saltwater. Here’s a client downrigging Dartmouth Dam, earlier this year:

Downrigger set up at Dartmouth Dam in Victoria

It delivered:

Trout caught on a downrigger at Dartmouth Dam in Victoria

It’ll deliver for you too. Here’s how it works. Our downrigger goes straight in your rod holder:

Downrigger easily set up in a rod holder

No mounting plate or drilling required. Why? Downriggers are handy bits of gear. But you’re not always downrigging. So you don’t want them in the way when they’re not being used. Storing ours is simple. You just unclip the weight, fold the arm (which locks upright automatically) and stow it away. It can go in your overhead rod rack if suitable.On small boats, or when you’re fishing solo, the downrigger can be rotated on its base, to point out to one side:

Downrigger set up on a small blue boat

Where clearance isn’t needed, you can even trim the boom arm:

Downrigger with raised boom on a trailer boat

If your rod holder doesn’t suit, we have a great detachable base option:

Downriggershop detachable bases

Here’s how that works. Downrigger attached on the left, base plate installed on the right:

Trailer boat with detachable bases for downriggers set up

So what’s in the package? Everything you need to get started. You don’t have to buy our downrigger then spend another $100+ on mounting plates, weight, release clips etc. It comes with everything:

Downriggershop downrigger package poster