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Fish hold at particular depths, and on many days they will ignore anything that passes above or below them. A downrigger is the tool that puts your lure at an exact depth and holds it there while you troll. A heavy weight on a strong cable carries the lure down, a release clip holds your fishing line to the cable, and when a fish strikes the line pops free so you fight it clean, with no weight between you and the fish. It turns depth from guesswork into a number you can set and repeat.
The units below run from a compact manual rigger to a full electric model with a depth counter and auto-stop. What follows is how they differ and how to match one to your boat and the depths you fish.
Quick Picks
- Best electric overall: Scotty 1106 Depthpower — fast, reliable, low power draw, and superb support.
- Best high-speed: Scotty 2106 High Performance — blistering retrieval to clear gear fast on a strike.
- Best feature-rich electric: Cannon Optimum / Digi-Troll 10 — preset depths, bottom tracking, auto functions.
- Best manual: Cannon Uni-Troll 10 STX — fast 2:1 retrieve, one-hand clutch, enclosed boom.
- Best heavy-duty manual: Scotty Depthmaster — simple, tough, and parts available everywhere.
Choosing a Downrigger
Three questions settle it: how deep you fish, how often you raise and lower, and how big your boat is. For shallow water and the occasional set, a manual rigger is cheap, reliable and perfectly good. Fish deep, or reset your lures constantly to chase a changing depth, and an electric rigger that drops and retrieves at the push of a button saves your arm and a great deal of time. Most anglers run two riggers for a spread, so factor that in from the start.
Manual or electric. A manual downrigger uses a crank and a brake, and it is lighter, cheaper and has nothing electrical to fail, which suits shallow water and occasional use. An electric rigger lowers and lifts the weight with a motor, often stopping automatically at a set depth, and that convenience becomes close to essential once you fish deep or adjust depth all day. The deeper and busier your trolling, the more an electric unit earns its price.
Weight capacity and blowback. The rigger must handle a ball heavy enough for your depth and speed, and this is where most people go wrong. At trolling speed the cable angles back, so the lure fishes shallower than the length of cable you let out, an effect called blowback. A heavier, more streamlined ball cuts the angle and keeps your true depth close to the counter reading. If you troll deep or fast, choose a rigger rated for a heavy ball and then use one.
Boom length. The boom is the arm that holds the cable out from the boat, and its length sets how far your weights sit from the hull and from each other. A longer boom spreads multiple riggers so their cables and lines do not tangle, and keeps the ball clear of the transom in a turn. A short boom is fine on a small boat running a single rigger, but the moment you run two, boom length is what keeps the spread clean.
Depth counter and mounting. A clear depth counter is what makes a downrigger repeatable, letting you return to the exact depth that produced a fish, so treat it as a core feature rather than a luxury. Check the base suits your boat, ideally on a swivel or track mount so you can angle and remove the unit easily. Spend on an electric rigger with a good counter if you fish deep often, and save with a solid manual unit for shallow, occasional work. The classic mistakes are running a ball too light for the speed, so the counter lies about your depth, and skimping on boom length until your two riggers tangle on the first turn.
Mounting and weight. Mounts range from permanent through-bolted brackets (with swivel bases for 360-degree control and swing-away for docking) to gimbal mounts that slide into a rod holder, to C-clamp portable mounts for small or rented boats. Match the mount to your boat and how permanent you want it. Weight choice matters too — heavier cannonballs (up to 9kg) reduce cable blowback and hold depth at faster trolling speeds or in current. Have a quick look at the current and most recent options on Amazon for the downriggers.
The Downriggers, Reviewed
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Scotty 1106 Depthpower
The reliable electric workhorse a huge number of trolling anglers swear by. It pairs solid retrieval speed with low power draw, a long boom, and Scotty’s famously good customer service — owners report a decade-plus of trouble-free use and free, no-questions parts support. Its mechanical auto-stop works with wire or braid (with the right stop clip), and the swivel mount swings out of the way for docking. Simpler and less power-hungry than the feature-laden models, it is the dependable default. Have a quick look at the current and most recent options on Amazon for the Scotty 1106 Depthpower downrigger.
Scotty 2106 High Performance
The speed champion for anglers who reset constantly. The High Performance series retrieves at up to 295 feet per minute with a heavy weight via a powerful 12V motor and a tough Kevlar drive belt — getting your gear up faster than any other factory model when a fish is on or you need to clear a hang. If your fishing involves frequent resets, multiple lines, or you simply hate waiting on the weight, the extra speed is worth the premium. Fast, robust, and serviceable. Have a quick look at the current and most recent options on Amazon for the Scotty 2106 High Performance downrigger.
Cannon Optimum / Digi-Troll 10
The tech-forward electric for systematic depth fishing. Cannon’s flagship electrics add programmable controls — preset depths, power-down, auto-stop, and bottom tracking that holds the weight a set distance off the bottom when paired with a transducer — plus integration with modern boat electronics for control across the vessel. Retrieval is fast at around 250 feet per minute. For the angler who wants to set a depth and walk away to tend other rods, the feature set is unmatched. Have a quick look at the current and most recent options on Amazon for the Cannon Optimum and Digi-Troll 10 downriggers.
Cannon Uni-Troll 10 STX
The standout manual rigger. It offers a fast 2:1 retrieval rate so there is less cranking, a one-hand clutch for controlled weight descent, a dual-axis 360-degree rod holder, and an enclosed boom-end pulley that prevents the line jumping the wheel — a common manual-rigger annoyance solved. The vertical crank motion is easy on newcomers and quick to teach crew. For a small-boat angler who wants a quality manual rigger without the electric price, it is a top pick. Have a quick look at the current and most recent options on Amazon for the Cannon Uni-Troll 10 STX downrigger.
Scotty Depthmaster
The simple, bombproof manual choice. The Depthmaster keeps things straightforward and tough, with a built-in depth counter, a horizontal low-profile spool for compact storage, and the enormous advantage that Scotty parts and spares are stocked at practically every tackle and marine shop. Anglers report decades of service replacing only the odd part. For reliability, easy servicing, and a manual rigger that simply keeps working, it is hard to beat. Have a quick look at the current and most recent options on Amazon for the Scotty Depthmaster downrigger.
Comparison
| Downrigger | Best For | Type | Why It Stands Out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotty 1106 | Reliable electric | Electric | Low power draw, great support |
| Scotty 2106 | Fast retrieval | Electric | Up to 295 ft/min |
| Cannon Optimum / Digi-Troll 10 | Features and automation | Electric | Preset depth, bottom tracking |
| Cannon Uni-Troll 10 STX | Quality manual | Manual | 2:1 retrieve, enclosed boom |
| Scotty Depthmaster | Simple, serviceable | Manual | Tough, parts everywhere |
The Verdict
A downrigger is the difference between hoping your lure is at the right depth and knowing it is. Match it to your fishing: a manual unit for shallow water and the odd session, an electric one with a depth counter for deep water and constant adjustment, and enough boom length to run a clean spread of two. Use a ball heavy enough to beat blowback, note the depth that produces, and you can put a lure back in front of the fish time after time.
Pair it with the rest of a trolling setup: our guides to the best trolling lures, best fishing rod holders, and the best fish finders help you build the rest of the spread.
Common Questions
Manual or electric downrigger: which should I buy?
It depends on depth and how often you adjust. A manual rigger is cheaper, lighter and trouble-free, and it is all you need for shallow water or occasional use. An electric rigger drops and retrieves the weight at the push of a button and can stop at a set depth automatically, which is a real advantage once you fish deep or reset your lures all day. Buy manual for simplicity, electric for deep or frequent trolling.
What is blowback and why does it matter?
Blowback is the way the cable angles backwards as you troll, so the lure ends up shallower than the amount of cable you have let out. It matters because it makes the depth counter optimistic, and depth is the whole point of a downrigger. A heavier, more streamlined ball reduces the angle and keeps your actual fishing depth close to the number on the counter, which is why ball weight is worth getting right.
How heavy a downrigger ball do I need?
Heavy enough to hold your depth at your trolling speed with minimal blowback. Shallow, slow trolling needs less; deep or fast trolling needs a noticeably heavier, streamlined ball to keep the cable near vertical. Err on the heavier side within your rigger’s rating, because a ball that is too light lets the cable sweep back and leaves you fishing well above the depth you think you are. Match the ball to the deepest, fastest trolling you actually do.