If you've been looking at the price tags on professional trolling gear lately, you might be considering building a downrigger homemade to save some serious cash while still getting your lures down to the strike zone. Let's be honest: walking into a tackle shop and seeing a manual downrigger for $200 or an electric one for $600 can be a bit of a gut punch, especially if you're just trying to catch some lake trout or salmon on the weekends. The good news is that a downrigger isn't actually a complex piece of machinery. At its core, it's just a spool, a boom, a cable, and a heavy weight.
Why Go the DIY Route?
The most obvious reason people go for a downrigger homemade setup is the cost. Fishing is already an expensive hobby once you factor in the boat, the fuel, the rods, and that endless supply of lures we all seem to "need." Building your own allows you to use materials you probably already have lying around your garage or basement.
Beyond the money, there's a certain level of satisfaction that comes from catching a fish on gear you built yourself. It's the same feeling fly fishermen get when they tie their own flies. Plus, when you build it yourself, you can customize it to fit your specific boat. If you have a small 12-foot aluminum tinner, a massive commercial downrigger might actually be overkill and take up too much space. A custom-built version can be scaled down perfectly.
The Basic Components You'll Need
Before you start drilling holes, you need to understand the four main parts of any downrigger.
First, you need a spool or winch. This holds your cable or braided line. Some guys use old deep-sea fishing reels, while others repurpose large plastic wire spools or even parts from a boat trailer winch.
Second is the boom or arm. This is the part that sticks out over the side of the boat. It needs to be rigid enough to hold a 5 to 10-pound weight without snapping. PVC pipe is a popular choice for budget builds, but a piece of aluminum tubing or an old broken fishing rod butt can also work wonders.
Third is the line and weight. While the pros use stainless steel cable, many DIYers opt for heavy-duty braided fishing line (like 100-200lb test) because it's easier on the hands and doesn't hum in the water as much. For the weight, you can pour your own lead or even use a heavy window sash weight if you can find one.
Finally, you need a release clip. This is the only part I usually recommend buying rather than making. It's the little clip that holds your fishing line to the downrigger weight and "releases" when a fish hits. You can make them out of clothespins and rubber bands, but a $10 commercial clip usually performs a lot more consistently.
Putting the Downrigger Homemade Together
Putting it all together doesn't require an engineering degree. Most guys start with a solid base, like a piece of 2x4 wood or a thick plastic block that can be clamped to the gunwale of the boat.
I've seen some really clever designs using a simple "C" clamp. You bolt your boom and your reel to the clamp, and suddenly you have a portable downrigger that you can move from boat to boat. If you're using PVC for the boom, make sure you don't make it too long. The longer the arm, the more leverage that heavy weight has against your mounting point. Keep it short—maybe 18 to 24 inches—just enough to clear the side of the boat and keep the cable away from your motor.
For the cranking mechanism, a simple bolt through the center of your spool with a handle attached works fine. If you're feeling fancy, you can add a "brake" using a wing nut and a couple of washers. This allows you to create just enough tension so the weight doesn't just free-fall to the bottom of the lake the second you let go of the handle.
Choosing the Right Line
When you're building a downrigger homemade, people often argue about whether to use wire or braid. If you're a beginner, go with braid. Stainless steel wire is great because it sinks fast and is very thin, but it's a pain to work with. It kinks, it can cut your fingers, and it requires specific crimps.
Heavy braid (around 150lb test) is much more forgiving. It's easy to tie, it won't rust, and it's a lot quieter. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that braid has more "drag" in the water. This means when you're trolling at 3 mph, your weight might swing back further behind the boat than it would with wire. It's not a dealbreaker; you just have to account for it when you're estimating your depth.
Making the Weight
The weight is what actually gets your lure down deep. Most people use a "cannonball" shape, but for a homemade setup, you can get creative. I've seen people use large steel bolts welded together or even concrete poured into a soda can.
However, lead is still king because of its density. If you can find some scrap lead, you can melt it down (carefully, and outdoors!) and pour it into a simple mold. A weight between 6 and 8 pounds is usually the "sweet spot" for most inland lake fishing. If you're going into the ocean or very deep Great Lakes water, you might need 10 or 12 pounds to keep the line from blowing back too far.
Mounting Your Creation
How you mount your downrigger homemade is just as important as how you build it. You don't want the whole thing ripping off and sinking to the bottom of the lake because you hit a snag.
If you have a metal boat, a simple bolt-through method with a backing plate is the sturdiest option. If you're on a fiberglass boat and don't want to drill permanent holes, those "C" clamp mounts I mentioned earlier are a lifesaver. Just make sure to use a piece of rubber or an old carpet scrap between the clamp and the boat so you don't scratch up the gelcoat.
Another cool trick is using a rod holder mount. If your boat already has those recessed rod holders, you can build your downrigger on a piece of PVC that fits snugly into the holder. It makes the whole setup removable in seconds.
Safety and Troubleshooting
One thing to watch out for is the "snag." If your downrigger weight catches on a rock or a sunken tree while the boat is moving, something has to give. In a professional setup, there's usually a clutch that slips. In a DIY setup, you might snap your boom or, worse, damage your boat.
To prevent this, I always suggest using a "weak link." Use a slightly lower-strength snap swivel to connect your weight to the main line. If you hit a massive boulder, the swivel will break, and you'll lose your weight, but you'll save the rest of your downrigger and your boat's gunwale. It's a lot cheaper to replace a lead weight than it is to repair a cracked boat.
Also, keep an eye on your depth. Without a digital counter (which most homemade versions lack), you'll need to figure out a way to know how deep you are. A simple way to do this is to measure how much line comes off with one full turn of your handle. If one turn equals one foot, and you want to be at 40 feet, just count 40 turns. It's low-tech, but it works surprisingly well.
Final Thoughts
Building a downrigger homemade doesn't have to be a masterpiece of engineering. It just needs to be functional. As long as it can hold a weight at a specific depth and release your fishing line when a fish bites, you're in business.
It's a great weekend project that can really change the way you fish. Instead of just guessing where the fish are, you can target specific thermoclines and structure where the big ones hide. Plus, every time you hear that clicker go off and see the rod pop up, you'll get that extra bit of pride knowing you caught that fish using a tool you put together with your own two hands. So, grab some scrap metal, a spool of line, and get building. The fish are waiting down there, and now you have a way to reach them without breaking the bank.