Downriggers revisited

[Mossy]

Last time I asked about manual downriggers for my old boat(never bought one) but as some know I just picked up a hewescraft 180 sportsman so.....I am trying to decide if I want to go electric now. There are a few places where I fish over here on the east side which would probably benefit from a downrigger.  That being said, I've been checking reviews for the past few days, on here it seems scotty is the preferred electric. 
I'm not sure how often they will be used so I'm thinking about picking up 1 electric and 1 manual for the boat.  I fish mostly alone so that's kind of how I'm justifying my decision....thoughts?

Buddy of mine has 2 walker elec. and likes them a lot.  Mixed reviews for cannon and scotty.  Seems people are bashing scotty for being belt driven and cables wearing out early.  Cannons for price and lack of close repair centers.

[FC]

I have a pair of Scotty electrics (with swivel bases) and like them a lot! They are compact, have good retrieval speed and seem to be pretty tough. They clean up easily, are easy to work on, have TONS of local support for parts or repair and they are the cheapest electric on the market. The swivel bases are extremely handy as you can just pivot the rigger out of the way whenever you need to with no screwing around with the pivot bolt and risking dropping it over the side or anything neat like that.

[fishinmike]

Mossy, If you ever get to this side and want to do some salmon fishing let me know. I can show you how easy and reliable my Scotty dr's have been. I have had them for 7 years and only had 2 belts break, 1 was my fault for sure. Like FC said easy to use, easy to clean, easy to fix, parts all over and inexpensive. No complaints here and I fish evryday I possibly can so they get used alot.

[Dhoey07]

Not sure about electrics because i have never owned one.  But for manual, i don't think you can beat Penn

[sirmissalot]

Scotty is the only way to go. I run 15lb balls and fish down to 400ft, they handle it no problem. I fished with cannons on a buddies boat once, I hung up on bottom and it busted the base and almost lost the whole downrigger. I've hung up on bottom or crab pots countless times with Scottys and have never had a single issue. I also like to run braided line instead of the cable, the cannon electrics can't run braided line.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

 

[Mossy]

I have a pair of Scotty electrics (with swivel bases) and like them a lot! They are compact, have good retrieval speed and seem to be pretty tough. They clean up easily, are easy to work on, have TONS of local support for parts or repair and they are the cheapest electric on the market. The swivel bases are extremely handy as you can just pivot the rigger out of the way whenever you need to with no screwing around with the pivot bolt and risking dropping it over the side or anything neat like that.

Seems there are a few models to choose from....1099,1101,1106.  Which ones are you taking about?

Mossy, If you ever get to this side and want to do some salmon fishing let me know. I can show you how easy and reliable my Scotty dr's have been. I have had them for 7 years and only had 2 belts break, 1 was my fault for sure. Like FC said easy to use, easy to clean, easy to fix, parts all over and inexpensive. No complaints here and I fish evryday I possibly can so they get used alot.

Great offer but I think I might believe you

[jeepster]

scotty has awesome support/customer service, and you can find parts anywhere, i dont think ive ever seen cannon parts out in the boonies on the coast, neah bay/sekiu or up in canada, overall, i think scottys are better quality too

scotty is all i will ever fish with, ive been using the manual scottys for years now (might sell em soon pm if interested), and never had a problem, ive used tons of scotty electrics on charter boats and friends boats, the only other downrigger that id consider using is a penn manual. hopefully soon i will have a new pair of electrics...

i think that having electrics are not only a convenience, but in some ways a saftey feature, especially when fishing alone. ive been in a few situations where i was in heavy current, and had to reel up my rod, crank up the downrigger, steer the boat, and avoid hitting other boats or ending up on the rocks, and the boat usually ends up getting turned around, lines get tangled up, and it just makes a huge mess... its just one less thing to have to worry about.. just push a button, reel in the line, and thats it

[fishinmike]

Mine are the 1106's

[FC]

Seems there are a few models to choose from....1099,1101,1106.  Which ones are you taking about?

Mine are the 1101's.

[lokidog]

I've got electric Cannons, but mostly because 1. I got a great deal on my first manual ones and I didn't want to have to buy new bases and 2. my bottomline depthfinder that I had interfaces with the Cannon downriggers.

Humminbird depthfinders can interface with the Cannons as well so they can be controlled from the cockpit if desired.

There are Cannon service centers up and down the west side, in Wenatchee, Ellensberg, and Pasco, Colville, several in Spokane, Moscow, and Lewiston.  Not sure how that makes them scarce?

I like the way that the Scotty's automatic stop works.  I have never heard anyone with Scottys complain about them.

[WCTaxidermy]

Scotty is the only way to go. I run 15lb balls and fish down to 400ft, they handle it no problem. I fished with cannons on a buddies boat once, I hung up on bottom and it busted the base and almost lost the whole downrigger. I've hung up on bottom or crab pots countless times with Scottys and have never had a single issue. I also like to run braided line instead of the cable, the cannon electrics can't run braided line.

Why can't the Canon electrics run braided line?

[Mossy]

I don't want to over/under do it.  It's not a big boat so I'm having a hard time figuring out which of the scotty models will best suit me.  1099 is compact but I assume doesn't have a swivel base.  1011 is bigger with a 30" boom and I think does have a swivel base.  1016's boom is probably pretty over kill for any type of fishing for me

[Mossy]

Scotty is the only way to go. I run 15lb balls and fish down to 400ft, they handle it no problem. I fished with cannons on a buddies boat once, I hung up on bottom and it busted the base and almost lost the whole downrigger. I've hung up on bottom or crab pots countless times with Scottys and have never had a single issue. I also like to run braided line instead of the cable, the cannon electrics can't run braided line.

Why can't the Canon electrics run braided line?

Could be wrong but doesn't it have something to do with the auto stop feature?  Needs the SS line to work correctly?

[Cap.Silver]

Have 2 Cannons and 1 Scotty 1101 I love my Scotty ,haven't had any problems either.Enough parts,accessories and most stores have parts  too if you're away from your home turf .... I would do Scotty DR IMHO .
Depending on your boat setup I would at least go 1101 - one reason - you can easily switch the arm to 1106 telescopic arm -the mount is same on both .I have bought one arm at outdoor emporium for $80 - because I was losing balls by kicker propeler cutting  off my cable  in heavy current .