Northwest Fishing Reports

What would be your favorate electric downrigger on a 1650 lund renegade aluminum deep v-hull boat for mostly lake fishing?
Thanks

everyone will tell you scotty-but i have penns 835's you cant buy them anymore. Ive used both and prefer mine however if they go tits up im screwed. unlike the scotty where you can have enough parts onboard to build yourself a whole new downrigger if you had to.
Good luck and happy buying oh...and welcome to the site.

I've got Scotty 1106's on my Lund and I love them. I added Orca rod holders with rod holder extenders and they worked out fantastic this last Sockeye season.
They can be seen in use in this youtube video

My Scotty electric is going on 20 years now and works great. Into the shop just once for refurbishing. Knock on fiberglass and hope for another 20 years.

I have 2 Scotty electrics with orca rod holders and they are great. I use 6 or 8 lb ball in the lakes and up to 15 in the salt.

Scotty all the way!!

The Scotty's are great and I've used them on other people's boats. I have the Cannons though and like them a lot. I bought them off eBay with a Humminbird fish finder and the link to control them. The Cannons are the Mag 20 DT/TS which are no problem in the salt, rain etc. They detect the ball is up when the current breaks with the water rather than the physical stops that Scotty uses. So far no issues at all. The control with the fish finder works as advertised and keeps the ball in the sweet spot longer but don't think that you can just kick back and watch the fish come in. It takes some getting used to because if you're not paying attention, it looks like a hit when the ball is being dropped by the DR to move with the structure.

Here's what's nice about them - smooth, easy, quiet and fast. The control is good if you have a busy boat or new people on board because it eliminates the need to call out for a depth every 30 seconds. Theoretically, this should lead to more hits too since you're at a specific height above the bottom all the time. I could see it being a draw on power so I run them each off their own Diehard Platinum. Also, there is the PIC control built into them that offsets the whole electric current generated by the boat.

If I had to start from scratch, I'd do it again but I'd wait till I found the same type deal I came across because its a very expensive setup to buy new. I like the setup but there is no replacing experience and knowledge...and the fish don't care what's at the other end of the line.

Feel free to ask any questions and good luck with your choice.

Brian

Brian: Thanks for the reply. I was wondering if you can still readily get any parts that may wear out on Cannon's. I used to have 2 Scotty 1106's. I had a drive belt give out and a break spring that broke on me, but that was about all that went bad that I can remember. I should not have let them go when I sold my North River, but it's too late now. Right now I'm in the considering stage. I have a mannual Scotty 1080 Strongarm model with a counter on it that I have never used that I am thinking about selling to offset the cost on an electric one. We'll see.
Denny

I really like the cannons with their ability to track bottom. I'm not sure to offer my DRs with the sale of my boat, from your experience seems best to keep them. I'd been torn between the cannon and Scotties if I had to buy again.

sickbayer wrote:I really like the cannons with their ability to track bottom. I'm not sure to offer my DRs with the sale of my boat, from your experience seems best to keep them. I'd been torn between the cannon and Scotties if I had to buy again.

If I was torn between the Scotty and the Cannon. I would pick the one with the better warranty. If same warranty, I would flip a two headed coin, and go for the Scotty. Pretty sure they come with a lifetime warranty.

I happened by a new looking Scotty electric downrigger, at a pawn shop. Has to be around 18 years ago. Had the on/off switch work, not work, work not work. An intermittent thing. Called a Authorized shop for repair. Picked it up fixed.......no charge! No proof of purchase, no warranty card on file, no problem. Try that with most anything else.

MotoBoat wrote:

sickbayer wrote:I really like the cannons with their ability to track bottom. I'm not sure to offer my DRs with the sale of my boat, from your experience seems best to keep them. I'd been torn between the cannon and Scotties if I had to buy again.

If I was torn between the Scotty and the Cannon. I would pick the one with the better warranty. If same warranty, I would flip a two headed coin, and go for the Scotty. Pretty sure they come with a lifetime warranty.

I happened by a new looking Scotty electric downrigger, at a pawn shop. Has to be around 18 years ago. Had the on/off switch work, not work, work not work. An intermittent thing. Called a Authorized shop for repair. Picked it up fixed.......no charge! No proof of purchase, no warranty card on file, no problem. Try that with most anything else.

Pretty good point here, OE are an authorized repair shop for the Scotty so that's local help when needed, lol guess I sold it to myself problem solved.

There's no question about the availability of parts and service on the Scotty's in the area. As far as the Cannons go there is a place in Seattle to service them but I haven't been. This is a very important part of the decision process and I think Scotty has a clear edge there particularly in the PNW. I don't have enough experience with them yet to see what breaks on the Cannons (or the Scotty's for that matter). I will say that I believe both of these manufacturers stand by their product and have the expertise to back that up - which is great for all of us.

Brian

BTW if I were looking to sell the boat, I'd be hanging on to my DR's and fish finder. I'm very happy with the setup and have gotten real comfortable with using them and teaching other people who are new to use them. That last point is very important, I can get someone totally new to the game up and running within a few minutes.

Brian

For a smaller boat like yours I would recommend the Scotty 1101's. They come w a swivel mount which is nice. I run 2 on my 17' boat. I like the drop speed and clutch system on the scotty DR's better than any other system, and I have used them all A LOT. I have owned all 3 brands, and scotty trumps all hands down. Primarily all plastic parts, so no rust, and anything that is not ABS is stainless. The cannon's use gimmicks like "Bottom tracking" and "positive ion control" but you really can't beat a scotty with braided line on it. If you want to find the bottom, drop till you pound and bring it up about a crank..... if you're gear isn't slamming the bottom fishing for BM and Chinook you probably have an empty box!

But what do I know. lol

I used Penn manuals for 25 years or so. Got lazy in my old age and now have had two Scotty electrics on my Seahawk for 5 years. They have worked great for me.

Lazy's got nothing to do with it. Any serious Chinook fisherman knows that manual DR's and pounding the deck just don't mix.

Sore arms cranking gear from 120+ all day.

Yeah, loose a big fish because because it's wrapped it's self around the cable you couldn't crank up fast enough. It's a trip straight to the fishing store to buy electrics. Best to buy them only once.

Bodofish wrote:Yeah, loose a big fish because because it's wrapped it's self around the cable you couldn't crank up fast enough. It's a trip straight to the fishing store to buy electrics. Best to buy them only once.

And never sell them if you sell your boat.

Excellent choice in boats! My boat is also a Lund Renegade 1650 and it is a fantastic boat. I am running Scotty downriggers and as it turns out I have two sets of downriggers (thanks to The Skagit Casino). The new downriggers are Scotty 2101s, the 30" boom high speed rigs with the illuminated line counter. I plan to break them in over the holidays, blackmouth beware! I am going to keep my old manual downriggers for trout and kokanee fishing and use the 2101 for salmon fishing. All in all, love the Scotty products and I have been running Scotty downriggers for years without a problem.

Let me know if you like the 2101's. I'm thinking about one of those also for my Lund. But I think I am going to go with braiged line on mine.