Boat current

[Rooster]

I've been messing around with trying to regulate the current in my boat, and I'm wondering if it really makes that much difference as to whether or not it effects the fish's willingness to bite. I've read that .7 to .8 volts is the optimal range to attract fish. What is some of your thoughts? My boat ranges from .83 to .95, depending on the day, and can catch fish throughout that entire range, but wonder if I could do better if I hover closer to .8 volts.

 

[SuperD]

I don't know where you are getting your "optimal voltage" information from but you are very high and have what is considered a "hot boat" at that voltage output. You will be repelling more fish than you attract. What brand of downriggers do you run? It sounds like a black box might be needed or you could go to braided DR cables.

Species Voltage
Sockeye Salmon .750 volts
Kokanee Salmon .650 volts
Halibut .450 volts *
Laketrout (Mackinaw) .650 volts
Rainbow & Brown Trout .650 volts
Cutthroat Trout .650 volts
Black Bass .750 volts *
Sharks .400 volts *
Striped Bass .650 volts *
Sturgeon .500 volts *
Catfish .500 volts *

 

[SilverBullets]

Yep...your running a bit hot. If your long lineing you more than likely wouldn't notice a problem, but when useing a short set-back you'll want to get that number lower. The optimal voltage to attract kokanee is around .650 volts...
http://www.protroll.com/books/?id=5

 

[Smalma]

SilverBullets -
According to the link you provided the optimal for sockeye is 1 volt. Remember kokanee are not trout but a landlocked sockeye.

That said I'm not sure how much difference the voltage makes in most freshwater fisheries. The conductivity of most freshwater is so low that the electrical field can not be very large.

Of course if one opts to use one of the braids for their downriggers rather than a steel cable there is no issue with the voltage (either to the good or the bad).

Tight lines
Curt

 

[SuperD]

Things like cleaning your zincs and making sure that nothing in the boat is grounded to the hull can greatly effect your boats voltage output. Check both of those things and retest. There is a right way and a wrong way to clean zincs. If you are unsure, ask before you start.

 

[SilverBullets]

SilverBullets -
According to the link you provided the optimal for sockeye is 1 volt. Remember kokanee are not trout but a landlocked sockeye.

That said I'm not sure how much difference the voltage makes in most freshwater fisheries. The conductivity of most freshwater is so low that the electrical field can not be very large.

Of course if one opts to use one of the braids for their downriggers rather than a steel cable there is no issue with the voltage (either to the good or the bad).

Tight lines
Curt

I was going by what it shows for kokanee on the chart in chapter IV and on the back of the black box. After reading many reports over the years I normally have it set between .600 and .650
Braided line will solve any issues with a hot boat but remember with steel cable and a black box (or having the boat's voltage within the correct range) you have the ability to attract fish when useing a short set-backs.

 

[Rooster]

I read that was the optimal range on some online essay, and I thought I read it in the protroll book. I must mave misread something. I do not have a black box, and am trying to control it in other ways. I'm pretty new to this boat current thing. That being said, I'm no electritian either Now I have another question. Does cleaning the zinc bar increae or decrease the voltage, and is cleaning the bar with a stainless steel brush acceptable. Also, if I touch one (only one) of the battery posts with a wrench, and while holding the wrench rest my forearm on the steel steering assist on the outboard motor I feel a little tickle of electricity. What soes this mean? Is my boat grounded to the hull, or do I have bigger problems? Would this be the source of the higher voltage.

I really appreciate all of your input so far. Its an older boat I bought a few years ago and a well used. Hopefully one day I can afford a boat that was set up by someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[SuperD]

Yes, stainless steel wire brush or emory cloth will be fine. Cleaning should reduced the voltage in the boat. If you still get readings as high as you mentioned, I'd say that there is another problem. Everything should be grounded to your battery posts. Check all your accessories and make sure they either terminate at a fuse block or the neg. post on the battery.

 

[Rooster]

Sweet. Thanks for all the help. I'll check all my connections. I don't remember seeing any wires grounded to the boat, but one may be hidden under the deck somewhere. If I remember right the first time i ever checked it out it was in december and I was fishing for lakers. I didn't remember the voltage being that high. We killed the big fish that day so I would assume that it wasn't high enough to repel the fish. Something must have changed. With all of you all knowing boat guys out there, what would be the expected natural voltage of a boat without a black box on it? If i can't remedy this high voltage problem in the immediate future(leaving for a few weeks for work in Florida), how far back from the ball would I need to put my presentation to be outside the negative effects of the electrical field? The reason I ask is because my wife LOVES to fish, and I want her to be able to catch fish if she decides to go with my dad or brother.

You guys are great and I really appreciate all the input. Really.

 

[SuperD]

The issue with high voltage kind of goes beyond how far your set back is. As your boat and wires pass over fish underneath the boat, they will move out to the side, away from your gear. I've seen significant drops by cleaning the zincs so give that a try. Did you mention which downriggers you use?

 

[Rooster]

I've been piecing my boat together the last couple years. It's been an ongoing saga or rebuild and repair for my little tin tub. I have one Penn Fathommaster that came with it and one scotty. Both manual and both running stainless cable. They do for now...

 

[Rooster]

Well, went back out today after cleaning the zinc bar. Initially the voltage was low but within fifteen minutes it went back to its high value. Must be something wrong with my wiring. I wonder if a boat is hot, would a black box be able to regulate it to the target levels, even with the leak?

Thanks again for all the input everyone.

 

[Metal Manipulator]

You do have a hot boat, the positive side is leaking to the hull. With the boat in the water disconnect one devise at a time from the positive side of the battery and watch the voltage. the easiest way to do this is by pulling the fuse.

 

[SilverBullets]

With the black box you can adjust to get the proper voltage on the wire even if your boat is hot. From what I understand the zone is a 20 foot radius so about the only time you'll benifit is when useing short set-backs. One of these days I'm going to lower the ball when anchored up jigging and play with the current to see what happens on the fish finder. thumbsup

 

[Smalma]

Silverbullets-
It seems to me that one would not have to be anchored to see the fish reacting to that potential electrical field via the depth finder.

If fish are being attracted they should be swimming into the finder's cone and as they follow along there would appear to be a large/long of school fish under the boat. If other fish were being attracted as well there would be multiple levels.

On the other side given the narrowness of the depth finder's cone at if fish were being repelled the screen would be constantly blank as the fish would be repelled prior to entering the sounder's cone.

I just recently changed from wire to braid and on my finder have notice no difference in the school size, frequency, or depth of the fish that are being marked. Either my boat was exactly neurtral or any electrical field was so small there was not any detected impacts.

Those observations as well as what I consider to be sound logic indicates to me that electrical fields are a none issue in at least kokanee fishing.

Tight lines
Curt

 

[Rooster]

Thanks again for all the input. I'm still down working in Florida. Too hot for me! Maybe the fastest and easiest solution to the problem is to just get a black box and go with it. I know there are wires under the deck of the boat and I have a sneaking suspicion its under there somewhere. I'm pretty sure that the gas tank is grounded, and that could be the problem. Its an aluminum tank, and I think it has to be grounded to eliminate static electricity.
Thanks again everyone. This is a really friendly site, and I really enjoy it.

 

[Rooster]

Well, I'm back from Florida. Went out and checked out the boat. Now one side is at .53 volts and the other is .81 volts. Something is really screwy. Disconnected all the major things from the battery and nothing changed. I still have to try checking all the lights and that kind of stuff. I ran out of daylight. I really hope that its one of the lights of pumps.

Now, just to clarity for my own good, event though the boat is hot, by putting a black box on my boat i can regulate the current on both sides of the boat with one box, even with one side high and one side low voltage? You guys have been a great help and appreciate it.

I would like to get all this dialed in cause I want to make a trip to the Gorge or somewhere before hunting season starts. Haven't had time to fix the boat or fish much cause work has been so busy, and I would really like to make sure I'm maximizing my time spent on the water.

Thansk again everyone!

 

[dinasnore]

Went out and checked out the boat. Now one side is at .53 volts and the other is .81 volts.

Now, just to clarity for my own good, event though the boat is hot, by putting a black box on my boat i can regulate the current on both sides of the boat with one box, even with one side high and one side low voltage?

short answer is no. A black box applies voltage to your downrigger wires which would normally be in very low or even negative voltage condition on an aluminum boat. Long answer is complicated and difficult to address in the context of this forum. A good start is to think of your aluminum boat as being part of a big battery. When sitting in water it becomes an anode, your stainless downrigger wire is more noble (on the galvanic scale) and becomes a cathode. as the metals dissolve (faster in sea water) there is a flow of electrons ( and metal) from the aluminum hull to the stainless dr wire . It is a negative flow an will sooner or later result in holes in your hull ) A black box overcomes this by applying voltage to the downrigger wire until the flow of electrons is reversed and there is now a flow going from the dr wire back to your hull. It is now a positive flow. Zincs do a similar thing because they are LESS NOBLE than aluminum on the galvanic scale and when they dissolve in water their electrons flow back to the aluminum hull and once again it's a positive (+) flow. Most "hot" boats turn out to be low or negative charged boats. They are way more fish repelling than your boat seems to be.