Scotty Seeker - New Product

[LDUBS]

For those who like to troll using down riggers, I was just reading about Scotty's new product to be released this fall. It is pretty cool concept. Looking at it realistically, I already know speed and depth. Knowing water temp at depth would be the only advantage to me. There are existing products that do that and I suspect the cost will be more than what I'm willing to pay for that additional piece of info.

 

[Still Afloat]

For those who like to troll using down riggers, I was just reading about Scotty's new product to be released this fall. It is pretty cool concept. Looking at it realistically, I already know speed and depth. Knowing water temp at depth would be the only advantage to me. There are existing products that do that and I suspect the cost will be more than what I'm willing to pay for that additional piece of info.

Hi LDUBS, So there are existing products for measuring temp at the trolling weight? Can you name a couple please?

 

[LDUBS]

Hi LDUBS, So there are existing products for measuring temp at the trolling weight? Can you name a couple please?

I can name one -- Fish Hawk. It is a probe that you have to raise back up and read, so admittedly not quite as high tech as the Scotty Seeker.

 

[Still Afloat]

I can name one -- Fish Hawk. It is a probe that you have to raise back up and read, so admittedly not quite as high tech as the Scotty Seeker.

I just found that one for $300 or so. Thanks.

They also have a real time unit that pings the info to the surface using sonar. It’s “only” $1300. Ouch! I would think that a little RF current on the trolling wire could send the info topside. A sonar communicator seems overly elaborate.

It will be interesting to see what Scotty wants for their unit.

 

[Bailey Boat]

Sounds pretty cool, BUT, personally I'd rather stay home than to troll. Just me but I find it incredibly boring...

If your a dedicated trolling guy it sounds like the best thing. Nothing else like it on the market??

 

[LDUBS]

I just found that one for $300 or so. Thanks.

They also have a real time unit that pings the info to the surface using sonar. It’s “only” $1300. Ouch! I would think that a little RF current on the trolling wire could send the info topside. A sonar communicator seems overly elaborate.

It will be interesting to see what Scotty wants for their unit.

Expected price is around $1500 (USD). Additional probe heads at $600. I see the Fish Hawk gadget at $200 on that large retailer's site. I'm not planning on getting either one anytime soon.

Last time out surface temp was 80 deg. I was catching trout at 35' - 40' OTW. Other times I might be catching them at 55'. It would be cool to know the water temps at various depths. But then, I might go into information overload. Haha.

 

[Still Afloat]

I thought about using an old transducer with temp sensing. Just add 100’ of cable with a waterproof splice, connect to fish finder and lower until you find the temp that you’re looking for. The resistance of the extra wire might create an offset in the temp reading.

Currently trolling files and they are good to about 30’. Hope to have the North River rigged out by fall and it will have downriggers. Other summer projects are keeping me occupied.

 

[Still Afloat]

Sounds pretty cool, BUT, personally I'd rather stay home than to troll. Just me but I find it incredibly boring...

If your a dedicated trolling guy it sounds like the best thing. Nothing else like it on the market??

I prefer fly casting over anything. My fishing buddy is my 97 year old father in law. He likes to troll so we troll.

 

[Still Afloat]

Sometimes the hardest part about trolling is staying wake. A friend and me were fishing for Macs in Northern Idaho earlier this month. We got out early that morning. Normally you need to stay on your game to keep the trolling weight 2 to 4’ from the bottom but we were fishing a large flat area. Long story short we both nodded off. Fortunately I woke up before we ran aground.

 

[LDUBS]

90% of my fishing is trolling with down riggers. I enjoy it immensely. Love the challenge and seeing the rod release. In winter when things are shallow, it is awesome to see them come out of the water before the rod even releases.

I have never tried fly casting or trolling with flies. Looks like fun. Closest I guess would be trolling with hoochies.

Early mornings I'm so wired with caffeine there is no way I will nod off. Haha.

 

[LDUBS]

Sounds pretty cool, BUT, personally I'd rather stay home than to troll. Just me but I find it incredibly boring...

If your a dedicated trolling guy it sounds like the best thing. Nothing else like it on the market??

For me it would be ice fishing. I don't think I would look forward to that. Too cold.

 

[Still Afloat]

I can see some disadvantages with the Seeker system. First, it looks like the intent is to permanently mount above the trolling weight. That will create more drag making the weight swing back further. A guy can compensate for that. Second, it’s already too expensive to replace a trolling weight and terminal hardware without losing a $600 probe too.

I’m tempted to buy the $200 unit though. It would be even better if it was rechargeable.

 

[gtodd]

I bought a Vexilar deptherm years ago but never really tried to figure out how to use or verify accuracy. https://www.kokaneetackle.com/p-515-vexilar-deptherm.aspx. They are around $10-$15. The instructions are simple: Attach the Deptherm to line and let sink to bottom or any intermediate depth. Hold there for 30 seconds and return to surface. Read depth on the calibrated side at the top of the water column and temperature off the temperature plate. You can attach to downrigger ball. I didn't have a downrigger when I got it and was using leadcore. I'm going on a trip next week and plan to attach it to my ball and see what it does. I'll report back.

 

[Tin Man]

I thought about using an old transducer with temp sensing. Just add 100’ of cable with a waterproof splice, connect to fish finder and lower until you find the temp that you’re looking for. The resistance of the extra wire might create an offset in the temp reading.

Currently trolling files and they are good to about 30’. Hope to have the North River rigged out by fall and it will have downriggers. Other summer projects are keeping me occupied.

Out here in SoCal we troll using leadcore with flies. It was made popular by a guy out of Riverside, CA. It’s called, “Flycoring.” We troll specifically for Stripers. Thought about downriggers to add some feel when fighting the fish…. But they appear to be too much work, especially when the Flycoring has proven successful. I wonder if leadcore is used for trolling for the big brown trout in the Sierras, or are DR preferred… and if so, why?

 

[LDUBS]

I bought a Vexilar deptherm years ago but never really tried to figure out how to use or verify accuracy. https://www.kokaneetackle.com/p-515-vexilar-deptherm.aspx. They are around $10-$15. The instructions are simple: Attach the Deptherm to line and let sink to bottom or any intermediate depth. Hold there for 30 seconds and return to surface. Read depth on the calibrated side at the top of the water column and temperature off the temperature plate. You can attach to downrigger ball. I didn't have a downrigger when I got it and was using leadcore. I'm going on a trip next week and plan to attach it to my ball and see what it does. I'll report back.

Thanks for sharing this. Seems like a good budget friendly option.

Another thing to add to the list!

 

[LDUBS]

Out here in SoCal we troll using leadcore with flies. It was made popular by a guy out of Riverside, CA. It’s called, “Flycoring.” We troll specifically for Stripers. Thought about downriggers to add some feel when fighting the fish…. But they appear to be too much work, especially when the Flycoring has proven successful. I wonder if leadcore is used for trolling for the big brown trout in the Sierras, or are DR preferred… and if so, why?

As far back as the '80's, we used lead core trolling for rainbows using nightcrawers or spoons with a lot of success. That would have been at a large foothill lake called Don Pedro. Never tried flies though.

I don't know about higher elevation lakes. Only fished from the shore. I like downriggers because I can use lighter tackle and have more depth accuracy. And, the line release when an aggressive fish hits the lure is awesome! They do require an extra step or two to deploy the line. The electric ones are a lot easier on us old guys.