Downriggers: Walker vs Scotty vs Cannon

[fishnguy]

Great answers, thank you all. Lots of votes for the Scotty riggers. The 1116 sound like pretty good bang for the buck.

 

Anyone tried the Cannon Digi-Troll 5? Looks very slick. The ability to pair it with the depth finder looks amazing, but not sure it's worth the extra dollars. Any thoughts?

Edited February 27, 2014 by fishnguy

[BillM]

You still gotta get up and reel in or let out all that line... I don't see the point.

[fishnguy]

You still gotta get up and reel in or let out all that line... I don't see the point.

Yeah that's a good point.

[miller]

Great answers, thank you all. Lots of votes for the Scotty riggers. The 1116 sound like pretty good bang for the buck.

 

Anyone tried the Cannon Digi-Troll 5? Looks very slick. The ability to pair it with the depth finder looks amazing, but not sure it's worth the extra dollars. Any thoughts?

I don't believe the cannon link is available anymore to link it to a humminbird however you can still use all the extra features like cycling etc directly on the rigger. I have the mag 10s and they do everything I'd need them to do so honestly I don't see it being worth the extra cash.

[Twocoda]

I have 2 Canon Mags and 2 Walker Tournament Series...both awesome ...Walker are faster to retrieve though ,,,had an issue with one Walker in the first year (gear stripped) during a derby...I was then on my way to the nearest dealer in Owen Sound from Kincardine and my cell phone rings (president of Walker)...Are you near Underwoood Dave? ...yup just passed it i replied ...Turn around he said ...i see Huron Rod and Gun has an application to be a dealer...when Brad hands you a over the counter swap ..let him know he is now an approved Walker Dealer...Now that was impressive!!!! I was back on the water in Kincardine within an hour from the exchange

[Crazy Ivan]

I'm curious about the free- falling Scottys.

Wouldn't your line/lure get tangled up with the cable dropping it that fast?

[alexmedic]

I learned to rig with Scottys and I guess because of that they are my favourite.

 

I few years ago, hen I got my first boat, I got a great deal on used Big Jons. I had them for one season and sold them and bought Scottys.

 

I just found the Scottys easier to use, and I love the fact that they manual drop. You just seem to have more control on the descent.

 

On another down-rigging note, when it comes to releases, I use http://www.downriggerrelease.com (Chamberlain Releases). IMO they are the best.

Edited February 27, 2014 by Ten90

[Fisherman]

 

I'm curious about the free- falling Scottys.

Wouldn't your line/lure get tangled up with the cable dropping it that fast?

Freefalling is regulated by the amount of braking you do. You don't just pull the lever and "let 'er fly". You can either hold the rod in one hand or place it in the rod holder and use the other to pull the brake level. Hope you're co-ordinated..

[BillM]

I'm curious about the free- falling Scottys.

Wouldn't your line/lure get tangled up with the cable dropping it that fast?

 

They aren't free failing and if you've got the clutch adjusted that badly that they are just flying off the spool, you're going to have issues. They go down about as fast as any other rigger. Where they shine is when you're bringing them back up.

Edited February 27, 2014 by BillM

[Crazy Ivan]

Understood, thanks guys.

[DOS]

walkers .... Canadian made and bullit proof the chrome looks slickk too plus a small footprint!

Not any more, Purchased by Berts Tackle last year. Saw them at a trade show a couple months ago and they assured me that the Riggers are still the same quality but with a few minor modifications so they can be mounted on the Berts system. All repair parts are still available but it is no longer a trip to Stayner to have them fixed.

 

RED

[pyro]

I have 2 big johns for years and had no problems