Northwest Fishing Reports

I am in the process of setting up downriggers on my boat. Can I get some pro and com on 48" vs 24" booms. One side already has a Penn swivel-matic base, so I'll likely stick with Penn and get another swivel-matic base for the otherside.
Thanks.

i had 48 inch booms on my penns. but being i have a older boat switched to 24'' cause i thought it put to much stress on the gunwale where the swivel base is mounted

I'd personally go with the shorter arm since it makes setting things up easier.

I've only fished with the 24" Penns, but it sure is easy to reach out and grab the ball/clip. I think you need a hook/helper to do so on the 48".

48'' booms are nice for trolling but hard to manage even with a swivel base. I like 24" best. For me its easier to reach and when you swing them in you dont have this 4' thing in the way.

If you plan to run 2 on one side of the boat put the 24 in the back and the 48 up front. If you have no reason to run that many downriggers just stick with the 24. I don't know about Penn but Scotty offers a telescopic boom. That way if you are just running one rod per side you can keep it collapsed and when you run a rod or 2 off the back then you can extend the boom to widen the spread and not get tangled as easy. Hope this helps

Let's take a step back. Ditch the Penn mount and go with a semi-local product, Scotty, vastly superior product in design and price. Two Scotty bases will be less than one Penn. Scotty’s are stronger than Penn’s or Cannon. Scotty’s are belt drive as opposed to gear drive. If a Penn or Cannon breaks, you are out for the season. If a Scotty breaks, you replace a belt and worst case it's gone for a week. I have seen Penn’s break where they slide onto the base, into the drink held by the electric cord, for a second…… As far as length of boom, I like them as long as I can get them. Scotty has a little retriever cord to pull the whole deal into the boat, no leaning over and no swiveling. I like them long because it separates the presentation and there is less of a chance of crossing and tangling if you have to turn sharp and they act as stabilizers when trolling.
Get setup with Scotty's you'll be glad you did!

I too think the longer the boom, the better - you keep your gear on each side of the boat farther away from each other, as well as farther away from the prop (for when you have to make that 90 degree turn when some noob cuts you off). You shouldn't be reaching out way over the gunnel to grab the cable when the base swivels. Swivel the boom in towards the boat, and the cable and weight are right there. Clip fishing line to weight, swivel back out, drop down. Easy like ABC and 123.

I agree with Bodo about Scotty Downriggers. I have two 24" electrics and they have worked great for the 9 years I have owned them. I also like the easy reach to get to the clip when attaching the line and I have had no issues with turning as far as distance from the prop goes but that could be due to the fact that I have them mounted about 3' from the back of my boat on both sides. Scotty makes a great dependable product that is less expensive than Penn or Cannon and getting parts locally isn't an issue. Even better I have never needed a part for my Scotty’s with exception to replacing the cable once (last year). Great product.

As I have a couple of Penn electrics on my boat, I'll pass on what I have learned while I've owned them. The company is a mess when it comes to support and availability of their electric downriggers and parts for them. Both of my units are second hand and have not given me any grief since I have owned them. The newer swivel bases are expensive but also are very slick in their operation. The older swivel bases are OK but not worth half of what you are going to pay for them on the used market. As for boom length, I have a 48" on the trolling motor side and keep the opposite side at 24". I have the extra addition for the shorter boom but it seems to work out fine this way. As for retrieving the weight and clip, make your own! I use a small stainless steel snap link tied to about 6 feet of light rope. You secure this to your back cleat and snap the link around your downrigger line. To retrieve just pull the rope to you and the weight will come with it. I'll take a few pics and post for clarification. As has been discussed in past posts regarding line length on your clips, keep them long enough so that the weight can be in the water and you are still able to hold onto the clip without leaning over the gunwale.

Don't get worked up over the debate between brands of electric downriggers, each has its pros and cons. However, if I was starting from scratch and going all new, I'd opt for the Scottys. My only beef with them is you need to slip the clutch by hand to drop your gear. If you fish by yourself it can be a major hassle, especially when the wind kicks up.

i agree with dave and bodo scottys are the way to go.

I have a manual Scotty downrigger on my kayak, as well as two gimbal rod holders. Very sturdy and reliable stuff.

I have two penn 835's 4' booms and swivel matic bases and theyre superb i can preset my way points up to 3 different ones so i have not gotta worry about stopping the ball as the downrigger does it for me. One less thing to worry about when the kids are in the tub. But although i have the swivel bases i also use the scotty pullies to pull the ball to me. As it is IMO way easier to do that than grab the swivel, grab the boom grab the release clip etc etc etc...I am lucky that i get to use bother scotty and penn regularly and I prefer the penns in many ways except if they were to go balls up then ive no idea how long id be out. But then Id go fish with bodo.
Everyone seems to wank over the scotty's but my penns have been great i also like the fact that they seem to be a smaller proflie and on my high deck they match prefectly.......anyways my 2 cents
Oh and when i bought these GI joes had them for 345bucks. i saved over 400 dollars on each one so in all fairness i really wanted scottys but ended up with some great downriggers.