Outriggers & Accessories

Essential Outriggers for Serious Offshore Fishing

Outriggers are poles or series of adjustable poles that allow boats to trawl more lines in the water without tangling and simulate a school of fish. For anglers who pursue sailfish, marlin, mahi-mahi, wahoo, and other pelagic species, outriggers have become indispensable tools that fundamentally change the trolling game. They provide stability for the fishing boat and help to prevent the fishing boat from tipping over in rough waters, while dramatically expanding your effective fishing zone.

How Outriggers Improve Your Catch Rate

Because outriggers extend out from either side of your fishing boat, you are covering a larger area of the water at the same time, allowing you to place your bait further away from where the water is still and clear. This positioning is critical because fish naturally avoid the turbulent whitewater created by your boat's wake. By deploying lines well outside this disturbance zone, your baits move through cleaner water with more natural action. The primary goal of outriggers is to create a wider spread for your bait, making your bait an easy target for predators. The wider presentation pattern mimics a school of baitfish, triggering the feeding instincts of gamefish.

These simple devices allow you to run more lures in your spread and more fishing rods in your boat, helping you run lures at different distances while preventing problems with tangles. Using release clips mounted along the outrigger poles, your fishing line remains tensioned until a fish strikes—at which point the line releases from the clip, allowing you to fight the fish directly on rod and reel without the outrigger interfering.

Choosing the Right Outrigger Setup

Outriggers are long poles deployed from the sides of fishing boats to widen the trolling area and accommodate multiple lines, consisting of rigid or telescopic poles between 15 and 35 feet in length. Material choice matters: aluminum poles offer exceptional strength and corrosion resistance, while fiberglass and carbon fiber options reduce weight—an important consideration for smaller boats where balance is critical. Telescoping outriggers provide convenient storage and the ability to retract when passing under bridges or navigating tight marina spaces, while fixed-length models deliver maximum rigidity for serious offshore applications.

Beyond the poles themselves, a complete outrigger system requires quality mounts, release clips, pulleys, rigging lines, and proper installation hardware. Mounts can be installed on gunwales, T-tops, hardtops, or radar arches depending on your boat's configuration. Release clips come in various tension settings to accommodate different line weights and fishing techniques, ensuring reliable releases when fish strike.

Top Brands in Outrigger Systems

When outfitting your boat with outriggers, brand reputation matters. Taco Metals has established itself as a leading manufacturer of marine-grade outrigger systems, offering comprehensive kits that include poles, mounts, and all necessary rigging components engineered for durability in harsh saltwater environments. Seachoice provides reliable outrigger accessories and replacement components that keep your trolling setup functioning at peak performance season after season.

Whether you're upgrading an existing setup or installing outriggers for the first time, investing in quality equipment ensures safer operation, better fish-catching performance, and years of dependable service on the water. The right outrigger system transforms your boat into a more effective fishing platform, giving you the edge you need to consistently find and land trophy gamefish.