# Rigging my Islander



## luv2havemoartime (Mar 11, 2005)

I have a 221 Islander with the 8 foot boom. I have accumulated 7 downriggers, 4 elec. and 3 manual. I mostly fish Frankfort. I also have the assortment of dipsy and lead equipment. I'm basically starting from scratch.
Your opinions needed please...

How would you rig this boat, and briefly, why?


----------



## Putman Lake Campground (Oct 4, 2010)

luv2havemoartime said:


> I have a 221 Islander with the 8 foot boom. I have accumulated 7 downriggers, 4 elec. and 3 manual. I mostly fish Frankfort. I also have the assortment of dipsy and lead equipment. I'm basically starting from scratch.
> Your opinions needed please...
> 
> How would you rig this boat, and briefly, why?



You are NOT starting from scratch if you have a islander. you are NOT starting from scratch if you have 4 electric downriggers and 3 manual.

You have a darned fine boat to start with. 

set up your 4 down riggers, two out each side of the boat and two for the rear. Keep your manuals stored away, maybe as ER back up. or run 6 total and keep the manuals for shallower fishing.

run two lines off each canon balls stagger your depths till you find what works on any given day, as well as using a variety of tackle set ups for given conditions till you find what works. 

remember 6 downriggers gives you 12 lines (18 if you like to tangle equipment). watch how many lines are out based on how many licenses are on your boat.

Don't let too much line out. your wake prop blast in and of itself is an attractant.

mark your hits with your gps and note your successful speeds and depths.

Don't forget your WORKING Radio and working bilge pump, and listen to theweather!

Anybody can get out on the big lakes... The question is, who can get back in!


----------



## tuckersdad (Oct 30, 2010)

We have a 26' Islander and "only" run 4 electric downriggers...any more and it would be a cluster...by time we run the dipsey's, planer boards, etc. it's a full house...I'd say start slow and you'll figure out your positioning in a few trips...beats drilling a bunch of holes only to find out gear isn't where you want it...good luck.


----------



## Priority1 (Feb 5, 2006)

I run a 86 Islander Hardtop. I have 4 Cannon riggers and a lot of rod holders. I'll see If I can dig up a pic. The rod holders with black caps pivot to the side and are called trees for running boards. I run Dipsys in the four Big Jon Multi Set Rod holders (red caps). This set up works extremely well for me. I'm a firm believer in "You can never have too many rod holders". We custom made the down rigger board, the vertical Bird Trees, and The 8 rod Rocket Launcher. The Bird Trees point outward when in use and the rocket launcher in the pic is rolled down to clear my garage door header. I hope the pic helps you. A pic is worth a 1000 words. Holler if you need any help. 

Oh keep rod holders as far forward as practical. This keeps the rods out of the way when you are fighting and netting fish. I like to net fish right off the back corners. See the clamp on rod holders on my trees pointing up, My nets go there.


----------



## Putman Lake Campground (Oct 4, 2010)

Priority1 said:


> I run a 86 Islander Hardtop.



nice rig!


----------



## beats workin (Dec 30, 2009)

hmmmmmm.... i thought i had it good , ya got me beat nice rig!! looks like fun!


----------



## luv2havemoartime (Mar 11, 2005)

Priority1 said:


> I run a 86 Islander Hardtop. I have 4 Cannon riggers and a lot of rod holders. I'll see If I can dig up a pic. The rod holders with black caps pivot to the side and are called trees for running boards. I run Dipsys in the four Big Jon Multi Set Rod holders (red caps). This set up works extremely well for me. I'm a firm believer in "You can never have too many rod holders". We custom made the down rigger board, the vertical Bird Trees, and The 8 rod Rocket Launcher. The Bird Trees point outward when in use and the rocket launcher in the pic is rolled down to clear my garage door header. I hope the pic helps you. A pic is worth a 1000 words. Holler if you need any help.
> 
> Oh keep rod holders as far forward as practical. This keeps the rods out of the way when you are fighting and netting fish. I like to net fish right off the back corners. See the clamp on rod holders on my trees pointing up, My nets go there.



Nice. Do you swing the corner dr's out when using?


----------



## Getaway (Jan 17, 2001)

Nice rig Frank. 

Here is a pic of the Islander I had with 4 electrics. The one suggestion I have is to move the 2 outdowns forward up the gunwales. This makes it easier for a guy to set the back rigger while another guy is setting the outdowns. This spaces things out nicely.


----------



## tgafish (Jan 19, 2001)

Getaway said:


> Nice rig Frank.
> 
> Here is a pic of the Islander I had with 4 electrics. The one suggestion I have is to move the 2 outdowns forward up the gunwales. This makes it easier for a guy to set the back rigger while another guy is setting the outdowns. This spaces things out nicely.


Where did you run your divers? Off the arch?


----------



## tgafish (Jan 19, 2001)

Here's mine. Triple trees are usually set closer to the back in the tracks. Boat was set this way when I bought it and has worked great.


----------



## wartfroggy (Jan 25, 2007)

Putman Lake Campground said:


> set up your 4 down riggers, two out each side of the boat and two for the rear. Keep your manuals stored away, maybe as ER back up. or run 6 total and keep the manuals for shallower fishing.
> 
> run two lines off each canon balls stagger your depths till you find what works on any given day, as well as using a variety of tackle set ups for given conditions till you find what works.
> 
> remember 6 downriggers gives you 12 lines (18 if you like to tangle equipment). watch how many lines are out based on how many licenses are on your boat.


 6 riggers is total overkill......on a 20' boat or a 40' boat. I would say mount 4, but I probably wouldn't use 4 most of the time. And I would stay away from stacking 2 lines to each rigger, and instead run a fixed or pegged slider to gain a second lure.


----------



## Getaway (Jan 17, 2001)

I ran the dipseys off the rod holders on the outdowns. They are not shown in the photo, but I converted my Scotty rod holders to adjustable so I could lay my dipsey rods down. If you look closely, you will see a rod holder clamped to the boom of each outdown. At the time this photo was taken, I was running my dipseys off the rigger booms.

Yes, 6 riggers is crazy on a boat this size (or any boat for that matter). 3 is perfect, however it's hard to access the middle rigger with the doghouse in the way. 4 riggers works well, but is also an overkill at times.


----------



## Priority1 (Feb 5, 2006)

Getaway said:


> Nice rig Frank.
> 
> Here is a pic of the Islander I had with 4 electrics. The one suggestion I have is to move the 2 outdowns forward up the gunwales. This makes it easier for a guy to set the back rigger while another guy is setting the outdowns. This spaces things out nicely.


TY Bob I like your Ex Fishing boat and your new one. Gotta Luv what we have in our back yards.


----------



## Priority1 (Feb 5, 2006)

luv2havemoartime said:


> Nice. Do you swing the corner dr's out when using?


Yes the corner riggers swing out to the sides for use. The pic shown is ready to move down the road. We would be knocking people off bikes if we went down the road in fishing mode.:lol: If you ever want a ride or want to look closer you'd be welcome.


----------



## Priority1 (Feb 5, 2006)

tgafish said:


> Here's mine. Triple trees are usually set closer to the back in the tracks. Boat was set this way when I bought it and has worked great.


VN clean boat. I like the trees right where you have them. If they were further back stuff would be in the way when you're fighting or netting fish. Your setup is ideal. Luv it.


----------



## chuckinduck (May 28, 2003)

I've got the same exact boat Getaway "had" , I would agree that 3 is probably plenty, but like he mentioned, the box gets in a way sometimes. In the four years I've had my boat, I think I prefer running 3 most of the time, especially in Lk Michigan with those wicked currents. I just never felt like I had enough beam to really use 4 riggers without issues of them crossing. Don't get wrong, it can be done, but you just gotta pay alot more attention about how you layout your spread.


----------



## Putman Lake Campground (Oct 4, 2010)

wartfroggy said:


> 6 riggers is total overkill......on a 20' boat or a 40' boat. I would say mount 4, but I probably wouldn't use 4 most of the time. And I would stay away from stacking 2 lines to each rigger, and instead run a fixed or pegged slider to gain a second lure.



I've had 4 set up but like you usually only use two. I've seen 6 that has to be a mess...

I"m lost about the fixed or pegged slider though? could you explain?


----------



## Eco (Mar 16, 2006)

Had an Islander for 14 years. They are fish catchin machines that are easier on the pocket book, and very safe. A couple suggestions on the rigging and what work for us: 1. Use the four electrics on a removable downrigger board. We used Eagles Feet mounted to a nice 2x10 cut to length even with the sides. The Eagles Feet are an aluminum bracket that mounts to the board of your choice and sites perfectly on the outer rails of the boat side,then is secured with a clamp on each side with tension nobs. Some people would be scared of this setup but it was good. Just periodically check the tension and the position of the board. Some times they did move forward from bouncing around. We did put a safety chaine on the board for a few years but it was never needed. 2. Position the inner downriggers as close to the outers away from the engine with room to still pivot the outdowns out. Keep that rigger wide as far from the prop as possible. 3. Mount a track sysem with the longest tracks you can afford on each side(Berts or Trax tech). This will allow you to purchase any sort of rodholder combination you want or can afford at the time. You can get adjustables for dipsies and fixed angled for boards or slide in a tree. This also allows you to put everything away if you say just go perch fishing. 4. Buy some Heavy trolling bags(30") to slow you down when its rough. You can run a little higher RPM and adjust the angle of the troll with the side you put the bag in. 5. Allot less drilling on the boat with this setup. 6. Buy a speed indicator if you can afford it(newer fishhawk). This makes the differance in what alot of people catch. Good luck with what ever you choose to do. Sometimes i miss the old islander, especially at the gas pump. Oh ya and allways grease the cupler. We had to fix i think three in 14yrs. Its a bad feeling to not have forward or reverse when your 5 miles out.


----------



## wartfroggy (Jan 25, 2007)

Putman Lake Campground said:


> I've had 4 set up but like you usually only use two. I've seen 6 that has to be a mess...
> 
> I"m lost about the fixed or pegged slider though? could you explain?


 A slider is a section of line, usually about 5-6' long with a snap swivel on each end. Hook a spoon to one end, and the other end to your line between your rod and your rigger release. A free slider will ride about half way down, in the belly of the line. A fixed slider will ride at a determined depth.Set your line on the rigger like you normally would, then run it down 5 or 10 feet. You hook a rubber band on the line, then hook the swivel around the line and the rubberband. Toss the lure in and run the cannon ball down the rest of the way. This way you know your slider will be right where you put it. Or you can peg the slider to keep it where you want. You put a rubber band on the line, just like a fixed slider, and break it shorter so you have 2 short tags of rubber band coming off the line. Clip the slider under the rubber band and toss it in. The piece of rubber band will keep the slider from running up to the belly in the line, but you don't have to take the slider off or break the band if you hit a fish on the main line.


----------



## Putman Lake Campground (Oct 4, 2010)

wartfroggy said:


> A slider is a section of line, usually about 5-6' long with a snap swivel on each end. Hook a spoon to one end, and the other end to your line between your rod and your rigger release. A free slider will ride about half way down, in the belly of the line. A fixed slider will ride at a determined depth.Set your line on the rigger like you normally would, then run it down 5 or 10 feet. You hook a rubber band on the line, then hook the swivel around the line and the rubberband. Toss the lure in and run the cannon ball down the rest of the way. This way you know your slider will be right where you put it. Or you can peg the slider to keep it where you want. You put a rubber band on the line, just like a fixed slider, and break it shorter so you have 2 short tags of rubber band coming off the line. Clip the slider under the rubber band and toss it in. The piece of rubber band will keep the slider from running up to the belly in the line, but you don't have to take the slider off or break the band if you hit a fish on the main line.


I've done that, a lot.. just named it a bit differently.


----------



## wartfroggy (Jan 25, 2007)

Putman Lake Campground said:


> I've done that, a lot.. just named it a bit differently.


I am sure there are plenty of differenty ways of describing it.


----------



## Putman Lake Campground (Oct 4, 2010)

wartfroggy said:


> I am sure there are plenty of differenty ways of describing it.


appreciate the explaination though!


----------

