Fight the fish, not the fishing gear! Downriggers were created for one principal reason: to allow fishermen to troll their lures at a specific depth. Years of testing and practical use had shown that a moving bait or lure in the water, trolled at the depth where fish were present, was the best way to ensure a hookup and get results. Downriggers improved both trolling results, and the fun factor - they put the ‘sport’ back in sport fishing.

The earliest downriggers were very simple in form, generally consisting of a spool of wire mounted to the boat with a heavy weight hung on the end of the wire.

The lure or bait was attached directly to the downrigger weight and did not release when a fish struck - the fisherman had to wind up both the weight and the fish.

This concept of deep trolling became popular with sport fishermen when the idea of attaching a rod, by means of a release clip, to the downrigger was introduced.

A release is hooked to the wire and then the fishing line from the rod is hooked into the release. The downrigger weight is then lowered to precisely the depth required. When a fish hits, the line is released from the downrigger wire, leaving the heavy weight on the downrigger. The angler is then free to fight the fish on the rod and reel alone, without the added drag of traditionally heavy lines and trolling weights used in the past.