Blackbox

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The only benefit at 100' would come if your boat was already hot. The wire would disperse fish out of the wake of the boat prior to your lure getting to the zone.
 
O.k., thanks guys. I'm going to have to do a little more research. I see that Scotty, Pro-Troll and Cabela's all have black boxes. Cabela's looks a lot like the Pro-Troll model. Big differance in price between the Scotty and the Pro-Troll. Any preferances??
 
jestfishin' said:
O.k., thanks guys. I'm going to have to do a little more research. I see that Scotty, Pro-Troll and Cabela's all have black boxes. Cabela's looks a lot like the Pro-Troll model. Big differance in price between the Scotty and the Pro-Troll. Any preferances??
Click to expand...

The Scotty is nice (and more expensive) since it's not only continuous voltage but also can be set to pulsing mode (cycles the charge on and off every 5 seconds to trigger strikes.) The Cabela's black box is the Pro-Troll...Cabela's just puts their name on it and charges more. I got the Pro-Troll a few years back from Sportsman's Warehouse around $30 cheaper than what Cabela's had it for. I've mentioned this before...if you plan on disconnecting the wires to store your downriggers while in transit the supplied connections that come with the unit are cheap and break easy. Radio Shack has some quick disconnect plugs that will last alot longer.
 
Black Box settings

Now for the million dollar question. What voltage is best for kokanee?
I read .650. What do you guys think?........trout?.....
 
binthere50 said:
Now for the million dollar question. What voltage is best for kokanee?
I read .650. What do you guys think?........trout?.....
Click to expand...

I hope that is correct because that is what my downrigger with cable puts out and I don't have a black box, other than the two on the transom with propellers that is....
 
I have had a scotty bb on 2 boats but not on my present boat. Now, I have replaced the wire cable with braided which doesn't work for a bb. I have done just as well w/o the bb. From my years of using the bb both in fresh & salt, I think it is more helpful in the salt. If you have a "hot boat" situation that can't be resolved, a bb may be necessary. Another thing I found with the bb looking at my finder is that fish would be attracted all up & down the length of the cable...not just in the area of my depth setting. For whatever reason I do just as well as when I had the bb which I used almost 5 yrs. And, I don't miss the cable. The braid doesn't "sing", it doesn't kink, it doesn't corrode, it has less "blowback" and conectiions can be made with simple knots rather than crimping. BTW, I have a scotty bb (the best from what I have heard) for $75 if anyone's interested. Probably just talked you out of it?
 
Great comparitive field research John. That's the kind of first hand experience that really helps everyone.awesomereport
 
Ok guys while we are on the subject of the Black Box , here is a question. Does the Black Box work the same with Fiberglass boats as well as metal boats?101smily101101smily101
 
AFDan52 said:
Ok guys while we are on the subject of the Black Box , here is a question. Does the Black Box work the same with Fiberglass boats as well as metal boats?101smily101101smily101
Click to expand...

Yes, it's all about stray currents.
 
I changed both my Scotty manual DRs over to braid just because I like the way it works.

So my questioin is just how far does a BB send the signal?
Example, if youre fishing at 50 ft does the signal go out over the entire length of the cable? What about 100 ft.?

Seems to me that such a small amount of current would not travel far.

Thanks, Kokonuts 2cents
 
Kokonuts said:
I changed both my Scotty manual DRs over to braid just because I like the way it works.

So my questioin is just how far does a BB send the signal?
Example, if youre fishing at 50 ft does the signal go out over the entire length of the cable? What about 100 ft.?

Seems to me that such a small amount of current would not travel far.

Thanks, Kokonuts 2cents
Click to expand...

This is off the Pro Troll website:
A number of questions arise on how to adjust the Black Box as you fish deeper. There is less loss than you might suspect as you go 50, 100 or even 200 feet down. Each section of downrigger wire is reacting separately with the boat’s hull and its zinc, thereby creating its own natural voltage through the process of electrolysis. Using insulated wire, we have measured this voltage as deep as 400 feet and found very little change in the charge generated. The Black Box is adjusting and controlling your rate of natural electrolysis to the setting you desire. This will carry right down the wire in both fresh and saltwater
 
I've been an interested 'watcher' of this whole discussion and I've gotta admit that there hasn't been enough proof positive discussion that makes me compelled to run out and put out that kind of cash for a black box. It did genereate enough interest to make me measure my boats "charge" though, a tolerable .54 volts. But what did catch my attention is the use of braided lines on my downriggers. Does anybody know any negative things about using braided line for this purpose? What pound test would you recommend?
 
Jestfishin,

I haven't heard anything negative about braided lines such as "power pro", for example, as far as them generating electrical currents compared to stainless steel cable from what i've read so far, if this helps.

Richard
 

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