Down Rigger Releases

Good Morning ! Any Body tell me what I could be doing wrong I am using Big John Rubber band Releass and they keep slipping wether spoon plug and worst of all dodger fly ? Thanks Crow

I'll second that on the Black's being the way to go, I've never dragged a shaker around and it's not hard to tell when you have one on. Even if I did have one on a rigger that I didn't notice, it wouldn't shut my spread down very long, If I go 1/2hr without a bite I'm checking lines, changing lures/depths...anything to try and get a bite.

jason, not too sure about that line about the fish has to lift the ball to release, if the release on a blacks is set properly it takes very little pulling to pop the wire, I can usually see the larger flashers thumpping the rod tip .And have only had one shaker coho in the last three years , it's set fairly light. What I have found with the pinch pad type release you mentioned i could never load up the rods, like I can with the blacks..they would simply pop, and I 'd have to reel all in again.JMO but I've found a happy medium for my 4 riggers and I'm confident with them.

Just looked online at the chamberlands.......looks like a bulky contraption. I have tried them all, except that one, but it looks to work the same as a Black's. Couple things here. When using a Black's type release, you will still miss shakers hanging on as the release is inline with the cable so it makes a 12 inch fish basically have to lift the ball to make the rod tip move. Dragging shakers around shuts down the riggers for the rest of the day if this happens. You intentionally twist the line to clip it on, another no no in my opinion. If the tension isn't set perfect on the release and a big king hits hard then there is a fraction of a second that he is pulling the line through that release and the line is damaged. It goes unnoticed and your next fish will break you off and you will be telling the story of the big one that got away. If you buy a standard offshore release with whatever tension you prefer and either hook up the swivel supplied to the back of the rigger ball, or in my case I cut the wire off and either use a snubber or a section of 200lb dacron in it's place, You will see every movement that rod tip makes, inluding the thumping of a flasher fly set up or that pesky shaker. If you want the hook set harder then you just set the line deeper in the release. (you dont have to twist the line with this release). Works the same as a rubberband without the false releases or mess. Just my 2 cents, but it's been many years since I have dragged a shakers around and the end result usually isn't good.

10-4 on the wire. I will keep an eye on that, I did add my own snap swivel to the bottom of the release, so I do not have to open and close the release's wire to remove the ball. Thanks for the heads up. Mushy's Dad out. Keep your hook in the water!

the blacks have a adjustability to them tight to loose, never dragged a fish , what you have to look at with the chamberlains is the thin wire they use , with heavy downrigger balls this distorts and twists, leaving you with a problem, now this was years ago, but i understand they never addressed this in manufacture...

$21 each right from his website. I know they are not as low as the Blacks but you will never drag a small fish again.

the blacks are about $5.00 ea. and I've had them for years, very adjustable and dependable, how much are the.... chamberlains .....?

CATCHIN, The chamberlians releases are like the blacks but they also employ a magnetic release for the fish bite side and you can really dial down the bite tension without sacrificing rod tension. Two seperate settings. Check out the videos on their website. http://www.downriggerrelease.com/

I'm HOOKED on Blacks releases, my rate of hookup is very high compared to others I've tried over the last 30 yrs.

I am with fishmunkee! Chamberlian's releases are the way to go!

I'll try that, thanks!

I'll try that, thanks!

TinyFisher, Make a loose loop of line around your index finger then make 5 or 6 twists. Place the twists of line in the pads and leave to loop exposed on the outside of the pads. When the fish hits the pressure will start untwisting the line and make it easier for it to slip out of the pads. Grey Beard

I've used rubber bands for downrigger releases for over 30 years and prefer them over all other style releases. The first thing is to find a good quality rubber band. I use #16 rubber bands that have a breaking strength of about 5 pounds. I install by folding the rubber band around the line and then pulling one end of the rubber band through the rubber band and drawing the rubber band tight by stretching the rubber band to full elasticity, usually about 18 inches. Here's a link to a quality rubber band; http://www.greenlightoffice.com/office/stationery/88071-alliance-rubber-pale-crepe-gold-rubber-band-size-16-2-5-length-x-0-06-width-biodegradable-sustainable-2675-box-crepe-natural.html These are biodegradable and stand up to sunlight, UV pretty good. One of these Alliance #16 works good with spoons, plugs or flashers. When you need to go deeper than 75' use two of the rubber bands but install them about two inches apart. The only secret to rubber bands is to pull them up tight, sometimes they break doing this but rarely will they slip. I used rubber bands on 15# mono with no slipping. I've also used the Alliance #16s on 50# Power Pro again without slipping. Perhaps you're loading your rods too much. A rubber band will bounce on a strike so don't over do the rod loading. If a fish breaks the rubber band it's already applied at least 5 pounds of force to break the rubber band. Reeling in any slack line quickly after a release is more important than gaining 5 or 10 feet of line by loading up the rod bend.

GB, could you please elaborate how you twist the line to reduce the release tension for your pinch-pad releases? I'm not seeing it in my head. Thanks!