How to Install Rubber Band Releases
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Adapted from Capt. John King's articles "Rubber Band Releases" (2006) and "Black's & Bands" (2011) on MichiganSportsman.com. Originals: Rubber Band Releases · Black's & Bands.
"If you're after 90 to 100% hookup ratios, bands are for you." Here's how Capt. John rigged a rubber band release. For why it works, see Black's & Bands: The Science of Downrigger Releases.
How to install a rubber band release
- Wrap your fishing line 3 times around your first 2 or 3 fingers.
- Half-hitch a rubber band through all the loops.
- Pull on the band to snug the loops tight.
- Clip the band into a Black's style downrigger release.
Properly installed bands lock your lead length and don't let line slip through the release, and they're easier on your line than a release alone.
Tips
- Band length: about 3" from loop to loop.
- Going deep: double up the bands past 100', or if your bands are aging.
- Release tension: set the release above the band's breaking point (at least 4 lb), so the band breaks first. If you can easily trip rods out of the riggers, the release is too light.
- Buy good bands. In 2006 John used #16 bands; by 2011 he sold fresh, latex bands that broke consistently at 4.3–4.4 lb, and found cheap boxed bands broke at half that.
- Storage: bands break down fast in sunlight. Keep them in a sealed bag in the dark, and take out only a few at a time.
- Keep the deck clean. Pieces of band can clog bilge pumps.
- Check your line. Sometimes a piece of band stays on the line. Remove it before it reaches the rod tip, or use it as a marker to reset the same lead length.
- When a rigger fires: let the fish break the band. Leave the rod in the holder and reel up slack fast when fishing deeper than 70'.
- Sharpen hooks religiously!
From John's charter days
John's 2003 charter catches were all on meat and flashers with rubber band releases. Because the band set the hook before the fish left the cannonball, his guests could grab their own rods and land their own fish.