In our last issue, we discussed the pros and cons of outriggers in small skiffs. Here are some notes on our experiences to-date:

• Skiffs can take a pounding when running in rough water. The Precision Marine skiff outriggers we selected have a base which allows them to be rotated to a vertical position when running. We discovered the first day out that when the ride is rough, you must keep the riggers under significant tension in this position, or they oscillate so much that they could crack off at the base.
  
  To achieve this tension, we pull back on the halyard to bend the outrigger like an archery bow, then use a length of cord with clips on either end to keep the tension. In this form, the outrigger basically forms a triangulated structure that does not oscillate at all. When we first did this, we used the bungee cords and rings used to tension the halyards while fishing, but soon discovered that the bungees got stretched out too much when used (abused) in this fashion.
  
  
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  AFTCO Roller Troller
  Finding the right release clip has actually turned out to be a little trickier than we expected. We went into it thinking one clip would be like another, but in fact, as per Pompanette staff advice, it has become apparent that different clips have different performance characteristics. Some clips are not adjustable for light release tensions, and are not good choices for fishing with light tackle or smaller live bait. Others are not capable of settings heavy enough to handle large marlin or sailfish lures.
  
  
  
  
  AFTCO Goldfinger
  So far, we have tried AFTCO Roller Trollers and AFTCO Goldfingers, and have settled on the Goldfingers for most of our trolling, which is usually for albacore or yellowin tuna. We typically troll single feathers or tuna-clone type lures off the riggers, and the Roller Trollers often could not be set light enough to cleanly release on smaller fish.
  
  
  On the other hand, we expect to be trolling more daisy-chains, birds, and possibly spreader bars this year, so the Roller Trollers may be just the ticket for these items, which create much more drag.
  
  
• Have they helped us catch more fish? To be honest, the answer so far is " No", at least not for the tuna and yellowtail that we typically target in Southern California. However:
  
  
  • We have not used them as much as we should have over the last couple of seasons. Due to fishing conditions, we've spent more time focused on fishing offshore kelp paddies than trolling the last couple of season.
    
    
  • We have not branched out yet to start fishing daisy chains and spreader bars yet.
    
    
  • While our log books don't show an increase in fish, it is clearly much easier to drive the boat with a spread of 4 - 5 lures when using the outriggers.