Phil - Like Marty said I have been using a 'poorman's' downrigger. Like you, I also picked up a couple of Penn Downriggers on Ebay over the winter, along with attached rod holders. Based on Skip's advice I picked up a couple of used swivel bases as well and a couple of 12 pound Cannon DR balls. Skip gave me the same advice as Charlie about wanting to keep the line as vertical as possible; Skip urged me to go straight to 12 pounders. The Penn literature says not to exceed 14Lbs. I do not plan to install them for the spring trolling as most fish tend to be caught up high and on the planers. I really wanted them for the late fall season and that would give me more time to plan how I want to position them; I currently plan to permanently mount them near the rear corners
. Good luck......Don