METHOD
Salmon fishing using
downriggers requires various types of gear that each serve a vital
purpose. To begin, let's briefly talk about each component.
- DOWNRIGGER - A very simple hand crank spool combined with an extended arm and a pulley. As the handle is cranked in a circular motion, the line (often times wire) is guided over the pulley and gathered around the spool. The wire is connected to a lead weight, which is used to drop the lure and hook to a optimal fishing depth as discussed later.
- ROD AND REEL -
Certainly more familiar to most individuals, these two components will
be examined as one unit. In theory they operate very similarly to the
downrigger in that there is a spool, a crank handle, and a extension
arm. Some rods even have small free spinning pulleys at the end of the
arm. The difference lies in the mechanisms of a rod. The arm acts much
like a spring; able to bend back and forth with different levels of
stiffness. Instead of wire, fishing line (monofilament, nylon, etc.) is
used. The rod is what is used to bring in the fish.
- CLIPS - Very simply, these connect the line to the downrigger line. When attached to the downrigger, the clip is then ready to hold the fishing line by use of a clamp. When the proper force is applied, the fishing line is pulled from the clamp. Ideally, the correct force is that exerted by a fish.
There are other components involved with the method of downriggers such weights, lures, hooks, etc. For simlpicity sake, these will be described and explained when appropriate.
Now let's take a quick look
at how these components work together in the system that will be
analyzed...
In the above photo, notice
how each component discussed earlier is used. Keep in mind, in almost
all cases, the boat is in motion by use of the motor.The reason behind
this motion is simple.The drag induced by this motion through a liquid
causes the lure or bait to have a specific action designed or intended
by the fisherman. This in turn, attracts fish. Already one can begin to
see how physics is at work in every component of this system, however,
most of these occurrences goes beyond the scope of this research. We
will focus only on the basic principles of physics acting on this
system as a whole... Going back to the image above, notice the lead
ball that is attached to the downrigger. It can be used to determine
the depth of the clip. The clip then holds the fishing line, which is
attached to the lure - with hope will be attached to a fish in time.
The slack is usually reeled in so there is tension in the fishing line
to the rodtip. When a force is applied to the lure in an opposite
direction as the velocity of the system, the fishing line is released...
After a fish strikes the
lure, the rod and the downrigger are independent of eachother. One
deals with the lead ball and clip, the other deals with the fish. Now
that the concepts of how this method of fishing are understood, the
actual physics principles of physics can be analyzed.