Downrigging depth?

[mhiley]

Hey raiders,

Just wandering what depth we should be setting our downrigger to to try and get some kingies? We have been putting it a few feet of the bottom, but obviously the bottom changes in depth so it can seem like it might be too shallow sometimes.

Cheers

Mark

[lure-n-fly]

Hey raiders,

Just wandering what depth we should be setting our downrigger to to try and get some kingies? We have been putting it a few feet of the bottom, but obviously the bottom changes in depth so it can seem like it might be too shallow sometimes.

Cheers

Mark

Hey Mark,

The depth is really dependant on teh location you are fishing.

"A couple of feet off the bottom" is a bit deep for my liking.

Snagging a bomb on the bottom is not a fun experience...trust me.

Most of my downrigging is in and around Pittwater, and I generally fish the bomb on the deeper side of half way down. (Some of the wrecks come a fair way off the bottom).

When I locate fish on the sounder, I'll drop the bomb to the depth of the fish.

Cheers,

Brendon

[Guest Aussie007]

i dont go any closer than 5 foot from the bottom if the fish are there i look at the fish finder to see where the bomb is i havent lost a bomb yet but if that time comes i just hope the 100lb braid DR line snaps before my boat tips over and replacing bombs and DR cable/braid can become expensive one time went out in my mates boat we used my DR i was driving his boat while he put down the DR i was watching the fish finder and seen he had put it down 23 foot in 20 foot of water i kept telling him to lift it up he wouldnt listen as we went over the reef off botany i thought it was going to snag i watched it on the fish finder dragging along the bottom lucky he hooked up to a 90cm king and it was my turn i got my weight back but never again as it might have snapped the plastic DR and took that to the bottom

[andrew399]

i just hope the 100lb braid DR line snaps before my boat tips over

I really doubt you boat would tip over if you snagged a bomb, even in a small tinny. Think about it, your moving at under 2 knots. To unsnag a reef anchor heaps of ppl tie it to the side and give it a pull, I often have a run up a bit faster then DR speed. And even if your 100lb braid snaps at 2.5x it breaking strain that is only about 110kgs or a big bloke standing on the side, wouldnt be a problem in 95% of boats!

As for the original question, do you have a sounder? If so sound up bait in the area and then DR with your bomb set at a depth around the top of the bait school. If there is no bait and you are just blind DR then I would say the bottom 1/3rd of the water column would be a good start.

Edited October 25, 2011 by dicko