Pro Troll Black Box?

Grady252 · 09-02-2007, 02:36 PM

Just checking to see if there is any feedback about this product. A friend of mine has had one sitting in his office for a couple of years... it was for his next boat, and he has decided to give it to me. I have it and he told me to do some research and see if I want to ut it on my boat.

Has anyone used one? do you love it? hate it? works? doesn't work?

I use my downriggers for Salmon, so I would really be interested to hear if it makes a big difference.

Thanks!

Reel Knotty · 09-02-2007, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grady252

Just checking to see if there is any feedback about this product. A friend of mine has had one sitting in his office for a couple of years... it was for his next boat, and he has decided to give it to me. I have it and he told me to do some research and see if I want to ut it on my boat.

Has anyone used one? do you love it? hate it? works? doesn't work?

I use my downriggers for Salmon, so I would really be interested to hear if it makes a big difference.

Thanks!

I tried one once and took it off the boat. My experience was it made no difference in my catch rates. I think it would have an effect *if* you were putting stray voltage off your boat into the water while trolling. If the voltage is outside of optimal for the species you are targeting, it could have an effect on your fishing (from the research I did regarding voltage and its effect on fishing) I tested the voltage coming off my boat and found it to be about + 700 millivolts, which was optimal as far as the research I did about voltage and salmon. Of course I don't troll for nooks deep, that might have an effect as the more wire you put down off a downrigger will have an effect on the voltage coming off the wire. I use mine for coho...like to fight them without the diver, and for kokanee.

This last June I was fishing Odell and talking with my camp neighbor...he had been coming to the lake for years and couldn't do worth a hoot this last June. That was odd as I had learned quite a bit from him over the years fishing there. I asked him if he had changed any wiring lately, and he mentioned that he could control the voltage on his downriggers, but didn't know anything about it. We went to his boat and tested the voltage coming off the wires...waaaaay high. Was almost +2 volts. I turned it down to about 650 millivolts and told him to give it a try. The next day he started catching fish like he used to. That improved catch continued for the rest of his trip. This boat was glass.

Another example was friend fishing for Fall Chinook in Alsea. In years prior they had always done really, really well. Last year they couldn't buy even a bite. A different friend of theirs found wiring for their live well was wrong and putting out a lot of voltage. They dis-connected it and started catching fish per their usual. This boat was aluminum.

I know these examples were not with the black box, but figured they might be helpful as they were about voltage manipulation and fish catching.

Roperguy · 09-03-2007, 06:52 AM

if it's free, what's the worry. I think they work and have seen them attract fish at anchor. I was playing with mine at American Lk and dropped anchor with nothing on the screen, dropped the DR lines just off the bottom and turned on the box and within 15 minutes, was marking fish like crazy.
wish I had an underwater camera to see what really comes around though.
tight lines
Maury

Grady252 · 09-03-2007, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roperguy

if it's free, what's the worry. I think they work and have seen them attract fish at anchor. I was playing with mine at American Lk and dropped anchor with nothing on the screen, dropped the DR lines just off the bottom and turned on the box and within 15 minutes, was marking fish like crazy.
wish I had an underwater camera to see what really comes around though.
tight lines
Maury

It's free and free is a good price, butt my boat has a lot of wiring, gadgets, and my time to install it is valuable to me. Unless it is useful free means nothing to me. I appreciate your experience with it attrracting fish. That's promising.

Chum Bucket · 09-03-2007, 02:51 PM

If your boat runs "hot", the black box may be a great addition.

I have the Pro troll and use it about 50% of the time. Usually when the bite is slow. After months of tinkering, I now have natural boat voltage of about .65 volts when running downriggers. Most commercial boats want between .65 and .7 volts. Too little voltage (not likely) won't hurt you, but above .7 volts can repel fish, especially salmon.

There are days when I think it really helps, but I have no rhyme or reason. I think it really helped out on Lk WA for Sockeye last year, but I can't say fer sure if it was the box.

At any rate, it can't hurt if it's free.

Kevin

Rodbender · 09-04-2007, 07:34 AM

I've seen Black Boxes work a number of times it's not voodoo.

That being said free is best because the ProTroll units are so cheaply made it's almost funny.

Use a multimeter to check your natural voltage first and if there are probs work on them before adding more work for yourself.

Tuna Dog · 09-04-2007, 03:11 PM

Most boats aluminum or glass put off some type of charge whether it's positive or negative....How many times have you heard someone say their new boat didn't catch fish like the old boat they just sold...? The right voltage in the water can attract fish and too much voltage can push them away.

I field tested the built in black box for Cannon Downriggers when I was Pro Staffing for them....

In fresh water it didn't make as much difference whether you caught fish or not unless your voltage was above .75 and then it would push them back...

In saltwater it makes a big difference which is why the commercial salmon guys have been runnning them for years..and yes you want to keep the voltage somewhere around .6-.7...
You should keep your bait/gear within twenty feet or less of the downrigger cable to get good results.

I was running a charter a few years back and had a customer onboard who knew I had a nice CD/stereo. I was younger back then and was really into hot stereos and this thing had a 400 watt amp...The customer ask to have some music while fishing so we played the tunes and after about an hour with no bites I just happen to be checking downrigger cables with a volt meter and noticed one of the cables was reading 1.5volts...I turned off the stereo and watched it drop back within the desired range. We had trolled for over an hour with no bites and the next hour we landed 8 fish.

Everyone fishing downriggers should check the voltage their boat throws off...Check it with everything on that you would normally have on while fishing...VHF, FISHFINDER, STEREO,AUTO-PILOT, etc...

I have Cannon electrics and it is built in and adjustable but if I didn't I would certainly run the Pro Troll Black Box...

Tinman · 09-04-2007, 05:07 PM

Tuna Dog, how do you check voltage using a standard multimeter? Where to do you place the leads? Since the downrigger cable is grounded to the ocean, isn't the potential zero by definition?

sporttpoc · 09-05-2007, 06:31 AM

You would be surprise to learn that there is a voltage differential between you downrigger cable (when deployed) and the negative terminal of your battery. This is the voltage you want to maintain between .6 & .7 volt.

trollking · 09-05-2007, 06:42 AM

I had one, but recently changed to braid on both my downriggers. I'm not sure if the voltage adjustment helped or no, but I think it is a moot point with braid, since it doesn't conduct electricity. Even with wire, I seems that as long as you are running more than 10 feet or so from the wire, the voltage does not affect the lure. I could be wrong, I've been wrong before!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sporttpoc

You would be surprise to learn that there is a voltage differential between you downrigger cable (when deployed) and the negative terminal of your battery. This is the voltage you want to maintain between .6 & .7 volt.

Tuna Dog · 09-05-2007, 06:47 AM

When I had my aluminum boat I put the negative on the gunnel and the positive on the downrigger cable with the cable down in the water about 20'. I would unplug the downrigger from the power to see what the boat was kicking off and then plug the downrigger back in and check my voltage as I would turn the adjustment dial.

On my Striper I put the negative lead on the battery and again run the downrigger down a little before unplugging it to check boat voltage and then again plugging it back in to check adjustment.

If you don't have a downrigger and want to check voltage some guys just use a welding rod or piece of wire in the water.

If your out on the water and find the voltage too hot you can wrap a little zinc ball around the cable. They are about the size of your thumb with a wire coming out each end and can be found at Englund Marine.

The key is to make sure your zincs are in good shape. Although you can get a short in your wiring from time to time and it'll make a difference in your catch rate if you don't notice it right away.