Vibrating downrigger cable

[black lab]

I hurt my back a few years back and sold my other boat. This year I bought a 12' G3 guide boat on a trailer and have 3 power options for where I want to fish. It's got a 9.9 Mercury with electric start for the bigger lake's. I put it on and off with a engine hoist and a 2.5 Mercury for short day trips into rough access lakes. I also have a 30# thrust Min Kota electric that goes every where with it. I have a Scotty Lake Troll downrigger with a 3# ball. I haven't much experience using downriggers. I notice the cable vibrates when I am trolling. Does that bother the fish ??? I was reading a bit about downriggers and black boxes last night. I don't feel like spending $500 or so on a black box, but is there some way to make my boat more or less neutral ? The 9.9 Merc. has a anode, not sure about the other two. Should I ground my battery to the boat hull ??? Jack

 

[SuperD]

never ground your electrical system to the hull. The boat will then be hot and the metal in your boat will begin to break down. Swapping your metal DR cable with braided line will give you a neutral system.

The vibrating doesn't seem to bother the fish and is a great fish alarm for when you get a fish. The humm frequency changes greatly when the line is released from the clip.

 

[SilverBullets]

As far as the cable vibrating it could be due to the 3lb ball. You might want to check out a permanent mount downrigger that can handle a 6-8 lb ball. This will more than likely not only fix the vibration but also get the ball more vertical which gets the presentation to a more precise depth (not as much blowback.) This really helps when running a set of attractors off the ball.

 

[Full_Monte]

I've heard that cutting a wine cork half way through and putting it on the downrigger cable just above the weight will eliminate the vibration. Hold the cork onto the cable with tie wraps.

 

[SmokeOnTheWater]

Even if you did have a "HOT BOAT" a longer setback from the ball will reduce the effect on fish. thumbsup

Personal Belief - Black Box is just another gimmic. Don't waste your money.101no101

 

[black lab]

Kinda hard putting a full sized downrigger on a small boat. How much line do you run back of the release clip and where do you put the small flasher ? I like using very light tackle and wouldn't put one on my line. Would it make sense to attach one on a 10' line attached to the ball then your release clip about 5' above or would it get tangled ? Jack

 

[Torres]

I've read an article from a seasoned angler that says to use heavy duty plastic connectors or run your cable through plastic tubing before connecting it to your ball will help reduce the conductivity between the lead ball and cable.

Has anyone heard of this before??

 

[SilverBullets]

Kinda hard putting a full sized downrigger on a small boat. How much line do you run back of the release clip and where do you put the small flasher ? I like using very light tackle and wouldn't put one on my line. Would it make sense to attach one on a 10' line attached to the ball then your release clip about 5' above or would it get tangled ? Jack

Lots of boats in the 12-15 foot range have small handcrank downriggers mounted to them (mine included.) Take a look at the Scotty Depthmaster and Depthking manuals. These units can handle a larger ball and are not full size downriggers. I use a 8lb ball with the Scotty Depthking1060 (2 feet per crank) and attach the ball trolls directly to the ball. When running the ball trolls my release clip is about 4' above the ball and the dodger with trailing lure is a couple feet in back of the trolls (lure is 8-10' in back of the release clip.) This set-up works very well some days and allows for tight turns to get back over schools (also gives the lure additional action.)
Check out the cannonball troll video here...
http://www.vancestackle.com/tips.html

 

[MMDON]

Almost everyone uses plastic connectors to the ball so they will break before the cable theoretically. Another reason for the plastic or insulated connector is dissimilar metals attached to each other in the water are not a positive thing. The wire conducts the stray electrical currents though the water so you still have those currents present. The choices come down to switching your cable to braid or using PIC or a Black Box. Neither may be necessary. Take a Voltage meter and set it at 12 volts. Touch the negative to the hull of your aluminum boat or in the case of a glass boat use the negative on your battery. Touch the positive lead to the wire on your downrigger withe the ball in the water and take a reading. If you boat has a reading of .75 or less you are good to go. Much higher then that and you really have something that needs to be dealt with.

Here are the recommended voltages by the maker of the Black Box per species.

SPECIES VOLTAGE
Chinook (King) Salmon .600 volts
Coho (Silver) Salmon .650 volts
Sockeye Salmon .750 volts
Kokanee Salmon .650 volts (Mine .58)
Halibut .450 volts *
Macs .650 volts
Rainbow & Brown Trout .650 volts
Cutthroat Trout .650 volts

 

[black lab]

Good info there. Now I have to pack a volt meter in my bag Thanks for the tips 101cheers101 Jack

 

[BROWNBAGGER]

solve all thoughs problems and go with braid line. you will be amased at the quietness and low blow back. I run it, it is so much different than cable

 

[MMDON]

I for one wouldn't have braid on my boat but then that's just me. I lose enough DR weights by bottom pounding for Macs to know that I'd just be stacking up more losses with braid.

 

[black lab]

Can you tell me more about this braided line ? I have never seen it anywhere, although I haven't been looking for it. Where do you get it and what # test is it ? It sounds like it's not as durable as cable, but Hopefully I won't be pounding it into the rocks Jack

 

[MMDON]

Can you tell me more about this braided line ? I have never seen it anywhere, although I haven't been looking for it. Where do you get it and what # test is it ? It sounds like it's not as durable as cable, but Hopefully I won't be pounding it into the rocks Jack

They sell it at Cabelas.

 

[Torres]

I for one wouldn't have braid on my boat but then that's just me. I lose enough DR weights by bottom pounding for Macs to know that I'd just be stacking up more losses with braid.

I find that interesting MMM because I've heard that cable is more prone to snapping (especially if it has a kink) than braided.

What's everyone else's thought on this??

 

[black lab]

This braided line, is it Classed as a downrigger line or is it just a heavy braided fishing line. I was just looking at Wholesale Sporting Store and the only thing I could find was 80# fishing line Max. Downrigger cable is rated at 150# I could see where 80# braided line would be a problem with a 7-10# ball. Most likely be OK with my little 3# ball. Jack

 

[Bduck]

Almost everyone uses plastic connectors to the ball so they will break before the cable theoretically. Another reason for the plastic or insulated connector is dissimilar metals attached to each other in the water are not a positive thing. The wire conducts the stray electrical currents though the water so you still have those currents present. The choices come down to switching your cable to braid or using PIC or a Black Box. Neither may be necessary. Take a Voltage meter and set it at 12 volts. Touch the negative to the hull of your aluminum boat or in the case of a glass boat use the negative on your battery. Touch the positive lead to the wire on your downrigger withe the ball in the water and take a reading. If you boat has a reading of .75 or less you are good to go. Much higher then that and you really have something that needs to be dealt with.

Here are the recommended voltages by the maker of the Black Box per species.

SPECIES VOLTAGE
Chinook (King) Salmon .600 volts
Coho (Silver) Salmon .650 volts
Sockeye Salmon .750 volts
Kokanee Salmon .650 volts (Mine .58)
Halibut .450 volts *
Macs .650 volts
Rainbow & Brown Trout .650 volts
Cutthroat Trout .650 volts

Also to add a additional note, Pro Troll puts out info on the Black Box on how to test your electrical field around your boat. It shows a demonstration which is accurate with what MMM is saying. Try this link, http://www.protroll.com/

 

[MMDON]

This braided line, is it Classed as a downrigger line or is it just a heavy braided fishing line. I was just looking at Wholesale Sporting Store and the only thing I could find was 80# fishing line Max. Downrigger cable is rated at 150# I could see where 80# braided line would be a problem with a 7-10# ball. Most likely be OK with my little 3# ball. Jack

They've made "braided line" in a heavy class specifically for Down Riggers for years. I just don't use it as with any braid it doesn't stand up well against sharp rocks. Some people just can't stand the noise of wire so they use braid. Braid tends to have a smaller diameter and seems to have less blow back as well.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...212409_225014000_225000000_225014000_225-14-0

 

[BROWNBAGGER]

If you look at my first post, I have a pic of the braid.(click on it for enlargement) it is from cabela's and it is 135 lb test. you can mail order it. I have never had a problem with it. fishing at the gorge could be different with all the under water cliffs. I once got steel cable stuck up there and I didn't have wire cutters. cable is rated at 150 ib. we took our shirts off to protect our hands and sawed thru what ever it was. was almost putting the corner of the boat under water as we pulled. at least with braid you can cut it with your knife. but like I said earlier, you wouldn't beleive the difference between the two in humming noise.

 

[black lab]

If you look at my first post, I have a pic of the braid.(click on it for enlargement) it is from cabela's and it is 135 lb test. you can mail order it. I have never had a problem with it. fishing at the gorge could be different with all the under water cliffs. I once got steel cable stuck up there and I didn't have wire cutters. cable is rated at 150 ib. we took our shirts off to protect our hands and sawed thru what ever it was. was almost putting the corner of the boat under water as we pulled. at least with braid you can cut it with your knife. but like I said earlier, you wouldn't beleive the difference between the two in humming noise.

That looks perfect. I'll order it in the morning. 101cheers101 Jack