Outriggers are used when trolling for game fish in deep sea waters. These are long poles that hold fishing lines away from the sides of a boat. This allows the angler to run multiple fishing lines in the water without the risk of tangling the lines. Outriggers can greatly improve the chances of the angler getting a strike.
Design
The basic design of a fishing outrigger consists of a metal base that attaches to the deck or hull of a boat, which holds a long metal, fiberglass or graphite pole, sometimes up to 20 feet in length. Outrigger poles have eyelets along their length. These eyelets hold a length of line called a halyard. The halyard runs through a pulley attached at the base of the outrigger and up through the eyelets in a continuous loop. The ends of the halyard connect to a special release clip that holds the fishing line while trolling. Outrigger haylards can hold multiple clips to allow several fishing lines to attach to the same outrigger.
Setup
Outriggers are installed on opposite sides of the boat to provide balanced bait presentation. For smaller boats without enough deck area to mount on, a wishbone style brace can attach the outrigger to the side of the vessel. Other smaller outrigger types can mount on the gunwhales or the top of the boat. Anglers also commonly mount outriggers on the frames of boat towers. For larger boats, the base can mount directly on the deck and often has a pivoting socket to hold the outrigger pole out and away from the boat at different angles.
Purpose
Outriggers allow anglers to use several rods and reels at the same time to deploy many fishing lines from the boat. This simulates a school of bait fish. The outriggers also increase the spread of the lines to keep them from tangling as the boat trolls them through the water. This wider line placement also allows the fishermen to work specific fishing patterns with more lines in the water, thereby improving the chances of the strike.
Function
To use an outrigger, first rig several fishing rods and reels with appropriate line, tackle and bait. Let the line and tackle on one rod out into the water to the proper distance from the boat, then attach the fishing line to one of the quick releases on the halyard. Pull the halyard through the eyelets to position the clip out at the end of the outrigger and away from the boat. Repeat this process for as many clips as there are on each outrigger. When a fish strikes the clip releases the line so angler can fight and land the fish with the rod and reel.
Patterns
Because it is possible to troll multiple lines with outriggers, the angler can set different lines at varying depths and distances from the boat. For example, consider a boat that has two large outriggers mounted on the side decks and two smaller outriggers on the gunwhales. In this setup, four lines can be set at staggered distances with two of the lines having more weight to fish deeper. Two more lines are worked in similar fashion on the smaller outriggers, with a final single line trolled directly of the back of the boat. This allows the angler to have seven lines in the water at the same time greatly increasing the opportunity for a strike.
Member Comments