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PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2014 2:06 pm 
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Location: Charlevoix, MI
I plan to get a Scotty Depthmaster downrigger this season but need advice on where to mount it in my PA14. In searching the archives it seems that deep trollers on this site are about evenly split on putting the gear in front of vs behind the seat. I am right-handed and I would like to keep my rods visible in front of me, if that makes a difference. I can think of a number of reasons why any of the possible mounting positions (forward sideboards, side rail, rear gimbal, aft deck) would be good or bad, including easy reach, being able to deploy and retrieve the ball easily, avoiding tangles when a fish is on, etc. Anybody with hands-on experience want to advise on your choice of the best mounting location, why, and how (what mounting hardware)? Thanks in advance.


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PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2014 4:31 pm 
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I fish from an Outback and run a Scotty Laketroller, mounted up to a Scotty flushmount which is installed on my starboard side, mid boat. I have previously run installs behind me, and it's a PITA to reach back and crank/set/deploy while being twisted around.


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PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2014 8:18 pm 
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I down rig fish 90% of the time and use a Scotty Depthmaster....I love this product.
It's mounted on the L/H side of the side board .....at the end, closest to me and my rod holder is about 7" forward using a Scotty flush mount as shown in the photo below. The Scotty power lock rod holder with the gear head mount extender are solid products and make for easy adjustment of your rod position.....no knee clearance issues when peddling the PA.
I also cut the arm down to 12" long after using it and found no real advantage with it farther out from the side of my PA-14...... a also re-spooled the drum with 80 pound test Spyderwire, stealth braid to eliminate cable hum.
My advise is to keep the down digger close to you for ease of deployment and recovery of your weight....I use my left hand to deploy/release the weight and my right hand thumb on my reel spool as the lure is deployed. It's simple and works very well for my use.
I added a "hook to the arm" in order to hang my weight while I connected my line to the release clip.
Image Image

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PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2014 9:24 pm 
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If you use a reel with a "clicker" you can turn the clicker on while you drop your fishing line after connecting it to your downrigger weight, that way you won't have to hold tension on the fishing line to prevent bird's nests.


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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2014 6:22 am 
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My reel does have a "clicker", but tension placed on the spool in "free release" is only light tension.
By keeping my thumb on the spool, excess line does not make a big loop between the release clip and my rod.......I have actually had a strike while deploying my lure and not having excess slop in the line helps to prevent a poor "hook up".....that's my take on being always ready for catching :wink:

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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2014 6:58 pm 
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Location: Charlevoix, MI
Sounds like some good advice here! Since I anticipate trolling in the 70-140 ft range, I will do an install in front of the seat where the ball retrieves will be much easier.

DocSteel - thanks for the very helpful pics. That looks like a good setup and probably the way I will go. But some specific questions... 1) It looks like the Scotty base is a bit wider than the sideboard where you have it mounted (mine has not arrived yet so I cannot check for myself). Were you able to get it fastened down at all 4 of the standard points on the mounting base, or did you have to MacGyver it somehow? 2) I thought about cutting down the boom length as you did, but doesn't that lead to the boom pulley being lower than the mid-point on the DR reel, resulting in asymmetrical overloading of the spiderwire onto the low end of the DR reel? 3) Your weight does not look that heavy - how deep do you generally troll?

I know this is ambitious for a beginner, but does anybody "stack" 2 lines onto one downrigger? If so, how do you manage the deployment? Assuming you fish one rod on the port side and one on the starboard, and the DR is on the port side, it seems like you would have to put starboard line on the bottom, and the portside line above that in order to minimize tangling if you get a fish on the starboard line. Is that right? Is this do-able?


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PostPosted: Fri May 09, 2014 7:45 am 
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Jim_MI....The Depthmaster base and side boards are both 4 1/4" wide....except the end with the white locking plastic pin extends 1/2" past the side board.

The two mounting screws closest to the outside top edge of the PA are 3/4" from the edge and the last two screws are 3 3/8" from the edge.
You can see this in the photo.....and you will need to unscrew the side board in order to mount the two screws closest to the outer edge of the PA
I "inset" the base 1 3/4" from the bottom end of the side board, marked the hole pattern, drilled 4 holes for mounting, countersunk the two holes closest to the outer edge and mounted the base/installed SS flat head screws into nylock nuts, filed these two screws flush with the top of the base.
The two inside mounting holes are secured with SS pan head screws inserted down through the base and side board, used two SS fender washers and nylock nuts under the side board.
Remounted the side board and the base is now ready to accept the downrigger........I added a 1/4" diameter nylon line to the white locking pin just to make it easier to pull the pin....it was quite stiff/hard to pull.....even used a little silicon grease to help make it move easier.

Initially I used the down rigger "as is" and found the cable buzzed too much and the length of the arm caused the PA to lean over the deeper I deployed the weight.....the weight in the photo is 2.5 pounds I use to fish up to 40' deep and if I decide to fish deeper, up to 120' I have a second, 4 pound weight.

I decided to switch over to Spyderwire......left the SS cable on the drum, connected the Spyderwire to the cable and added 3 layers of blue painters tape over the cable and then loaded 125 yards onto the drum.
Next was to cut down the down rigger arm....re assembled and reset the counter.....that's it.
I works well and the "lean/heel" is all but eliminated.

In use, the "Spyderwire hum" is very slight....no issue spooling the Spyderwire back onto the drum.

I am not adventurous enough to use two rods connected to a single down rigger on my PA....it would lead to a massive fire drill and I just don't want to go there......have used this technique when on my old 18' Jetcraft, where my son and I were each able to handle the rods.

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Hood River, OR


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PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 7:19 am 
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Location: Charlevoix, MI
Thanks for all the details, Doc. I am expecting to receive my Depthmaster next week and will begin mounting then, per your instructions. I am going to spill with 100-lb Spiderweb braid and will probably just remove the SS cable completely. Where do you keep your DR when not in use? Will the snub - nosed version fit inside the front hatch?


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PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 12:00 pm 
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Jim, I would recommend keeping the SS cable on the reel, covering it with blue painters tape....this will help to maintain the counter accuracy per turn of the drum since the high tech line is so thin compared to the SS cable.

I store my down rigger in the front hatch..it fits just fine!

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Hood River, OR


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PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2014 8:30 pm 
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Location: Charlevoix, MI
I had planned to mount my Depthmaster downrigger on the port sideboard, as suggested, but after "trying it on for size" found that it was too far a reach for me. So I ended up putting it just aft of the seat on the starboard side, immediately forward of the integrated rod holder. I had to fabricate a mounting base out of cutting board material from K-Mart. I also took the whole thing apart in order to shorten the boom by about 6" to reduce the leverage for flipping on a snag. I had to drill 2 holes in the deck to mount everything, but it ended up OK. I respooled the DR with 100-lb SpyderWire braid and this makes trolling much easier. With the factory wire, it felt like I was pedaling uphill all day. With the braid, there is no hum and the drag is considerably less. Initial trials show that the location is OK except that the handle just barely bangs the back of the seat if I am leaning backward when letting line out. Also, I will probably need to take some cable off the reel, as the depth counter is off by about 10 ft at 50 ft of actual depth. Overall I am pleased with the install and already have a few lake trout taken from 90 ft down to show for it.
Thanks for the advice!


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 11:50 pm 
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I mounted mine behind the seat on a platform with feet... Skide pvc into scuppers keep it from sliding. I turn slightly sideways in my seat operate lever with left hand hold rod in right to thumb reel... Ill try find pics. Arm is on port side, scotty rod holder is on port mounting board.. Love this setup. Depthmaster clicks on each spin so u dont have to watch counter just count clicks


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