On down riggers...

[kjackson]

As part of me recapturing my garage by getting rid of things I'm not using, I ran across a pair of manual downriggers that have been sitting idle since we moved from Puget Sound.  So... I'm thinking they are h8gh on the list.  I'll be fishing Truman and the upper end of LOZ and maybe Stockton.  I can see the possibility of their utility in the deeper water of Truman and maybe Stockton.  

Is that really practical?  Is there any kind of fishery that suggests they might be useful? I realize that I can use them, but I can't see that they might be a bonus tactic given that I've seen zero reports on downriggers being used around here.

Inquiring minds want to know...

TIA

[Quillback]

Used to use them all the time back in my salmon fishing days.  I see a few in use on Beaver for people fishing for stripers.  

[Terrierman]

That's how all the cool kids slaughter paddlefish.

[top_dollar]

          They are probably  more trouble than they are worth for those lakes, but I have done way dumber things, so Id say try it and see.  Honestly though, at Stockton, I cant see a reason to get a bait down more than 20 or 25 feet and it is easy enough to just longline a crankbait.  The sweet spot at Stockton seems to be 15-20 feet for crappie and walleye.  That is why you see most folks longlining flicker shads and bandits.

         They may have more use at Table Rock or the deeper White river lakes, but even than, I cant imagine they would come through tree tops very well, so you would have to stick to fairly open areas.  Regular trolled cranks hang up in the trees just fine by themselves, so I would think that adding a downrigger would make things worse. Seems more of a niche deal.  I troll at table rock, and with thin braid, and deep diving cranks I can get a bait down about 30 feet.  Generally the thermocline is between 20-30 so I have no need to go deeper.