downrigger question

What is the deal with downriggers I have never used what are they for novice question I know . What type of fishing are they good for and are they worth the money spent?

They are for trolling. They get your bait down deeper than you could otherwise. I have seen them mostly up in walleye country. Don't have a clue if they are money well spent, as few people use them around here, and my only experience with trolling was shallow U-rigs for stripers.

They are used for controlled depth fishing. They use a heavy weight up to several pounds depending on speed to keep a lure at a set depth.
I have used them for shad fishing in shallow water while anchored as well as trolling in 50ft of water. The way they work is they have a line release that holds your line with the lure "X" amount of feet behind the weight and when the fish hits your lure the line snaps free setting the hook and allowing you to fight the fish.
Are they worth the money? if you plan on fishing this technique then yes they are worth every cent..
Wayne

well worth the money if you like to catch fish lot better then lead core once the fish go deep plus you get to fight the fish without the bulkey feel when using led or wire

It is a means to get your bait deeper with less line out than other presentations. Lead core does one thing, dipsey diver and slide divers another.