Down Rod Rigging

[ChickenLeg]

When drift fishing with several rods out with planer boards and balloons, etc... where do you put the down rods? In the back, out the sides, how do you rig, do you use a shorter rod, etc... I've typically put them out the back and lines have got caught up in my motor.

[vmky]

I rig my down rods the same as my planer board rods"Carolina Rig" style. I put my down rods in rod holders towards the front of the boat. One for each side. Try putting heavier weights on your down rods to keep them from getting in the motor. I typically use 3oz. weights on my down rods. One trick I've learned the hard way is to back off the drag on my down rods. There are two stripers in Cumberland that have rods,reels,and broken rodholders still attached to them.

[ChickenLeg]

Thanks vmky...I will try heavier weights, loose drag, and on the bow.

[tglass]

i second what vmky said but another way is to use the floats that have the release to get the bait farther back from the boat. what i do is i run 3 planers out each side of my boat and then drop one of those floats back behind my last set of boards. I very rarely every get fish tangled up in any of my lines because i have the rods spread out and always take the rod right to the back of the boat to fight the fish. i do also fish the way vmky does but i think i do better when i get the float back some.