Downriggers

[woodschurch]

This last season was my first year fishing with downriggers, I purchased 2 Cannon Mag 10's. All season I only caught fish on one of the downriggers. What could cause this and what do I need to do? Someone said possibly because its not grounded correctly and Ive heard maybe the current going through the downrigger is bad?

[Erbyjoe]

If your auto stops are working I would say the ground is OK. set your positive ion to the middle if you have them on the riggers and just keep trying diff lead lengths until you find a pattern that works for you. I don't think your doing any thing wrong. I had a trip one summer that I didn't get one fish on a rigger but got 3 doubles on wire out of Fair haven that weekend. Just keep at it and you will be ok. If that doesn't help you try taking a charter and see how they are running there's that will cut a lot of the learning time off. Good luck

[kingslamon22]

you were putting your good lures onthe same rigger all the time. or just the luck of the draw. nothing unusual.

[Gill-T]

Sometimes it is a little thing. For example, I changed a treble hook on NK that was bent. I changed from a stainless to a black owner hook. Never took another fish on that lure until I put a stainless hook back on. If your dead rigger was at a different level, maybe the current was less at that depth so your spoon was not kicking as strong as the upper rigger. Little things make a difference. Scent on the lure, the swivel, the hook, the speed of troll for the lure and depth your are running, the current you are running into, light penetration, water temp etc. etc. etc. Enough variable to keep the puzzle interesting for the rest of your life.

[High Bidder]

On my mag 10's the counters do not give an accurate but just an approximate depth. I determined this by pulling out 100 feet of cable, measuring it and comparing it to the counter. Now I can figure out a true depth on each rigger with those numbers. So as stated above you could have always been running that dead rigger out of the zone without realizing it. Some days I catch more fish on the rigger that has the probe and on other days that rigger is dead. In my case much of my success is based on luck rather than skill. But I still love it.

High Bidder

[Blue Knight]

Woodschurch, if you're concerned that you're putting out the wrong charge on your downriggers go on the Scotty website at www.scotty.com & look for the "Black Box". There is a PDF you can download which gives you step by step instructions on how to check what type if any charge is going on. All you need to do this is a voltmeter. Then if it's really necessary get yourself a "Black Box". They will control your charge but they won't catch more fish!

[Big Dave]

Older mag 10s have a plastic spool that isn't tied to the elec. part of the rigger. The cable ties to the spool not to any metal of the rigger. So you wouldn't have any voltage there.

[FISHSTALKER]

The older Mag 10's used a Allen screw to not only anchor the wheel but to also conduct an electrical charge for the cable up surface stop. Several of the riggers had a short screw installed and the electric contact with the cable was not made. I talked with a service tech and he gave me the longer screws to install. No problem after that.

[FISHINMAN]

Are you putting lures on down both riggers

Sorry couldn't help myself

[GAMBLER]

What pound weights are you running? If there is a lot of blow back with light weights, your lure will be a lot higher in the water column than you think. Do you run speed or temp? Speed and temp can help drastically when there is a lot of current. If you are trolling too slow, your lure might not have any action. If you are trolling too fast, the fish might not want to chase it. Give us a little more details of your exact spread and equipment and we can help you further with this issue.

[ray koziatek]

I have a alum boat with the old (87) mag 10,s ,Iwas shure I was having issues with voltage a few years back,I did the voltege check and everything was fine tho the one thing i got from the site was cleaning all my Zinc electroids or whatever you call those things on and near the outdrive... Do the voltage check its not a hard thing for anyone with a meter and a little knowalge how to use...If all is well then the problem (as it was for me) is in the mirror......I mention the 3 S's many times =speed,speed,speed, if your speed dont match your presentation being used then you might as well as do as tom's very helpful post and not put a pole on the rigger... If everyone is claiming 100 ft being the zone and you not shure of rigger depth accuracy run em at 80 fish eyes see best looking up and they can come up 20 ft in the time it takes to blink your eye if they want tho they usually sorta drift up to check out "stuff" and if your speed ant right for the weight of lure your using IE: its fluttering ,spinning,or doing nutin that fish will have as much desire to grab that spoon as you would a limp soggy salad...Unatural sent (heavy smoker , bug spray on hands is hudge) im not saying i know for a fact on the sent thing but them fishies got a nose that can find the stream they were born in from all others , oxidation might ba a bigger problem than i ever thought about , last week talking to a local trapper i questioned him why he dipped his traps in wax, he said the #1 sent (of a proper placed set ) a careful coyote will detect is "rust" so maybe i lernt why some of my old standby lures with rusty rings,and or hooks sorta died off ..Be paitent,get rid of the 80 lb mono,test your speed at the side of the boat for good lure "kick" 2.4 mph isnt golden rule for speed but most lures will perforem at this speed just to help you get in the ballpark, if you dont have a speed checker thingy (from a distance compare your speed to a charter or sucessful boat in your area) By spring youll have all the little mistakes kinda figured out ...

[borderline 350]

Dear WoodsChurch,

Know your equipment (Mag 10's), start with the basics. Are both rigger counters set at zero with the weight at the water surface. Are both weights the same (in color & weight?)? The Cannon mechanical counters are extremely accurate. I have checked them to 200 ft. and they are within 6 inches checked against a steel surveyors tape. The first two years of the LCD window counters (on Cannon's) was a disaster!! They were off 20 ft. PLUS when the counter read 100 ft.!!!They were driven by a magnet in the wheel and sensed by a "Hall probe switch" in the rigger. The point is to know where your rigs are and they should be identical. ....Anytime one rigger doesn't catch fish...when the catching is good.....tells you to get thinking!! Run identical lures and leads off the NON-PRODUCTIVE ONE! Or move the productive rod and lures to the other rigger! Stick to basics. Speed is very critical as Ray K stated. Lure size is next and running the correct color/pattern is the most frustrating. BE sure you are running the correct lures with the hooks phased properly. Running 15 lb. test fluorocarbon leaders will definitely increase your success. BUT you must use the correct knot or you will experience expensive break-offs! Run good quality small ball bearing swivels in front of spoons. Use Coastlok type snaps. Getting the correct action is paramount to catching fish. Speed variations due to wind, waves, drift and currents are common on Lake Ontario. These all effect the action of the lure or Spoon. In closing, go where the fish are and try to pick days that the weather will be kind to your boat and well being. Respectfully submitted, Jet Boat Bill