Northwest Fishing Reports

I use Scotty snaps and have had no issues, I even use the mini snaps for walleye and trout. The gripper tips are easily replaceable and you can adjust them for extra gripping power. Another plus is that they are all plastic and you can now get them for about $4 each un-rigged. I don't use metal braid for lead line on the snaps either. For salmon I use 5 to 6 feet of heavy tuff line and make sure to tie a Rapala knot on the release side to allow for the tension adjustment. When using the minis for trout and walleye I use 5 to 6 feet of 40lb flourocarbon. A note, I've been trolling with braided line for trout and salmon for quite some time and have not yet had to replace the tips. I've tried several different release types, Off-Shore, peg style, rubberbands, etc... the Scottys have worked the best for me.

I prefer the Scotty's but for braid a lot of guy's like the (?) ProTroll (?) (I need to go out and look) They have a pin that you wrap the line on and it's very positive for holding and release, maybe a little too much so for me. I'll take a pic and post.

Edit

Ok so it's called a ProRelease. Obviously the Scotty on the top. And yes I tie my own and always use 100# mono leader. You wind your line around the peg a couple times (it must be the correct way and very precise) and push it back into the clip and it holds your line till something pulls on it. If you don't have something big enough to pull it off the clip, it's going to ride up with the downrigger. If you wind your line on the peg wrong, no fish will be able to pull it off the clip and you may have a big fish riding up with the rigger. A lot of guy's like them for braid but I've never had any problem with the scotty's and it's kind of hard to get the line in the clip the wrong way.

Great pic Bodo. As I've run across many folks who arent' aware that the Scottys have two settings I'm going to poach your pic and provide a quick lesson.

The red arrow is pointing to a movable plastic tensioner. As it sits now the tensioner is at the lower of the two settings. Push on the side that the yellow arrow is pointing to until it moves and clicks in place and you have just effectively doubled the tension. It can be pushed back the the lower setting just as easily. I tie a Rapala knot that leaves a gap between the knot and the device it is tied to to allow the tensioner to slide. To fine tune the release just place your line further in or out of the clip's "jaws". I usually place mine even with the black line of the "jaws" and am good to go.

great info

I really should have been watching this forum a while ago, great DR info! I have the Scotty releases and know how to adjust tension, but DRs came with the "big gun" releases and I replaced them with the smaller, mini version since most of our DR fishing is for trout and walleye. The minis work much better and I have had better luck with them.

I also use the Scotty releases with my 2 Scotty electric down riggers. They have worked great for me.

Thanks Bodo for the rigger info and photo I'll be putting it to good use very soon.

G-Man wrote: I tie a Rapala knot that leaves a gap between the knot and the device it is tied to to allow the tensioner to slide.

Hey G.
Thanks for the release clip info.
Bodo stated that he uses 100lb test on his releases. What pound test do you tie your releases with?
My large Scotty releases came new with about 18" of thick mono attached to them with crimps. After reading up on release clips I think I’m going to change the length of mine to about three feet and tie them with a Rapala knot rather than use the crimps. I read that the extra length helps transfer the action of what’s going on down below better to the rod tip.

Dave wrote:I also use the Scotty releases with my 2 Scotty electric down riggers. They have worked great for me.

Thanks Dave,
Do you use the small or large releases? Do you use them with braided line? and if you use braided line which setting do you run the releases on? Light or Heavy?

For the mini release clips I use 5' to 6' of 40lb flourocarbon. I like the low stretch on the flourocarbon and it holds up well to the rigors of constant use. I use braided line most of the time as my mainline when trolling and find that the heavy setting works fine. I'll go to the lighter setting if I'm trolling slow and expecting smaller fish.

For the larger size clips I use 5' to 6' of green, dacron like, line that I can't remember where I purchased. Again, I think the low to no stretch in the line is important for solid hooksets. 60 to 100lb test mono seems to work for Bodo, so if you've got it try it out. I like the mono and florocarbon as it doesn't snarl and wrap around everything like the braids do. I leave the tension set to high on the larger Scotty's when I'm using braid as my main line and false trips are rare except when running into seaweed or masses of jellyfish.

The pic attached shows how I tie up the releases. The larger release is set for the higher tension setting. The length of your releases should allow you to hold the clip in your hand without bending over the gunwale while the ball is just barely underwater. When your off shore or fishing by yourself you don't want to be bent over the gunwale fooling with the clip, this is why I tie mine the length I do.

G-Man wrote:The length of your releases should allow you to hold the clip in your hand without bending over the gunwale while the ball is just barely underwater. When your off shore or fishing by yourself you don't want to be bent over the gunwale fooling with the clip, this is why I tie mine the length I do.

Great idea! Guess I'll be tying up some leaders on my releases!