Scotty Pulley Issues...

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My Scotty pulleys on my downriggers keep getting chewed up. I broke off two balls on my one rigger in the past few weeks and thought it was just bad wire... but upon closer inspection it appears the cable has chewed a slot into the plastic pulley and the beads are getting caught on it... is there another option other than continuingly replacing the pulleys?

Nick

[Just Fishin']

Nick, you might have some bad wire because I have been running my Scotty's for 5+ years and there is absolutely no evidence of wear on the pulleys. I think it is a wire problem that is damaging the pulleys also. Will be interesting to hear if anyone else has had this problem.

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wow really? Both of my riggers have the same issues... do you run your riggers out to the side or straight back? I run mine out to the side and the wire constantly rubs... I'm very surprised you DON'T have the same issue? Maybe I have mine setup wrong or something?

Nick

[Tim Bromund]

Nick, I've had my Scotty's since 2003 and have no pulley issues that I'm aware of. I run them at 45 deg off the corners. One still has the cable that come on it the other has the coated cable for my Depth Raider. The Scotty weight retrievers are king of soft and will eventually groove and slightly damage the cable coating, but no pulley problems.

Tim

[Just Fishin']

I run mine out to the side as well. While trolling I always pull the tether up so the cuff is riding just below the boom and leave no pressure on the cable. When I raise the cable it just slides through the ring without getting caught. The most resistance I ever see is the ring will ride up, hit the boom end and drop right back down to the water a few times as the cable is raised.

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man oh man not sure what i'm doing wrong... my scotties are less than 2 years old and the one with the problems had the cable it came with on it. The grooves into the plastic pulley are significant. The eyelet on the boom, do you run that to the side (parallel with the water) or at 45 degrees to the water?

[Just Fishin']

Are you only having problems with one rigger?

Not sure I understand what you mean by eyelet?

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Both riggers are having the issue...

The eyelet part is the piece the wire goes through between the pulley and the reel... about 6" from the pulley in this picture which shows it horizontal...

The part that is getting chewed up for me is this pulley piece... not the inner wheel but the outside cover around it. It's the "left" side (in this picture) where the wire rubs...

Nick

[Trolling Keuka]

I too noticed some grooving in the housing after taking the riggers off at the end of last season. I had grooving on the right side of the housing, which I contributed it to the blow back and raising/lowering the riggers when running the riggers out to the side. Both riggers were purchased in 2005, one has the original cable and the other has coated cable. I did smooth out the grooves with a file last year and I haven't noticed any problems...yet.

[Just Fishin']

My apologies, I was thinking your problem was with the line retriever donut (if you have that accessory) that goes around the cable to pull the ball cloer to the boat! (That is what happens when I try to work and watch the board) Thanks for clarifying with the photos.

I am afraid I have nothing to offer. The ends on my riggers swivel based upon the amount of angle in the cable as they are trolled. Upon uptake the cable rides smoothly and does not do any damage. I have not had any significant damage to the pulley although one time it did pull off the pulley and chew it up a little.

I would give Scotty a call and run it by them. I wonder if your pulley is not pivotting properly?