Who out there has one? What do you think?
I have installed one last year but I do not notice a large advantage. I have tried to follow the instructions to the letter, but still do not get an even current across my three down riggers.
I bought this for my dad and he was ecstatic, but has since began to wonder whether the expense was worth it.
So, anyone got info, advice, or results, just let me know.
Thanks,

Scott

DeKuma,
I just bought one and have yet to fish it so don't have any first hand experience. What I can tell you is out of the 3 most experienced guys (in our camp) that I met fishing in Canada last summer....guys who I considered very successful all swore by them. Their take was that although they were successful before buying the box they thought they were maybe 30% more successful after buying the box.

The motivation for me to buy one came after getting only one hit during the first 3 days of a summer trip to Nootka Sound while nearly everyone else was catching fish. Luckily several guys in our camp helped me out. One took me fishing in his boat.....using my rods, my setups, my bait, etc. and I hooked into a fish within 5 minutes of putting my gear in the water then had 6 more takedowns that day. Another guy confirmed I had a "hot" boat after testing the voltage coming off my downrigger wire.

The true test will come over the next year or so when I have a chance to put it to work.
JMS

Sounds like a grounding problem to me and you are still hot on one or more of the wires. What kind of downriggers are you using? Ball, snaps, SS Wire? All these items effect the wires. Also, I assume that you checked out the boat(?)

I am a firm believer in the Box. My catch rate has tremendously improved over the last few years. Keep in mind the voltages listed are recommendations. It takes a little tweeking to find out what voltage is best for your boat.

Lastly, a cheaper version of the Box can be purchased at Cabela's. Here's is the link for the Cabela's Box and useful info about it (same info on the Scotty website however, it is currently down). I don't know anyone who has the Cabela's Box, but I imagine it works as well as the Scotty. Hope this helps!

Downriggin'

they are an advantage, but you do have to adjust the output this year at bouy 10 we were running alot hotter than last year to get fish and took us a day to figure that out but once we didit really made a difference. I think the more you use it the more you will like it. One of the really cool things I have learned to if you have seals around your your boat just turn it up to the max for a little bit and they fly away have saved some nice fish on the hook by doing this!!!!

Thanks for the info.
I am running the blox box on three scottyy electric DR, all stainless wire, insulated spool, scotty ball clips (plastic). I know that we are "hot" from what I have read, but so far, we have been unable to isolate why.....
I am tempted to remove the kicker motor and see if it improves. Prior to the kicker installation, the boat fished awsome on all three rigs everytime we went out. Now it seems not so good. It could be that I am just spoiled from previous years catching fish..........

DeKuma,
Have you ground your kicker? Another common problem is having electrical leakage from a bilge pump.
JMS

The kicker is ground to the battery as well as the engine if I remember correctly. It is a Yamaha 9.9 electric start. All cables are connected to the remote control and the main fuse box. I am no genius when it comes to this stuff, but my dad, our fishing partner and myself have gone over everything with a fine tooth comb and cannot seem to find the problem. I am sure it is something simple we are overlooking..... Feel a little dumb that I cannot locate it. I am an Aerospace engineer and our partner is a ship mechanic for Marco and with our experience, we are at a loss...........
Someone out there will get us in the right direction I hope.

"Another guy confirmed I had a "hot" boat after testing the voltage coming off my downrigger wire."

Does a simple voltmeter perform this test?

What is good and what is bad?? I want to test mine now that I have read this thread..

Is your kicker electric or pull start?
An electric will not have to be grounded.
Also, how many elecronics do you have hooked up to one battery? The Box may not be drawing enough power to operate properly. The box drawns a small amount, but this can may a difference. Also, it may be a simple as cleaning all connections. I was baffled last year when I was running at negative. Cleaned all the terminals and was back in business.

Downriggin'

This thread caught my interest, so I did a little research on the web. Found a good read for all you positives and negatives out there:

http://www.sportsmanshow.net/Articles/article5.htm

BE POSITIVE!

Sky-Guy,
Looks like you answered you own question. FYI I bought my black box from Cabelas. Its made by pro-troll. The pro-troll boxes recently started showing up in the local stores (saw on at Outdoor Emporium for $99).

DeKuma,
If Downriggin's idea doesn't fix it, here is one other thought. One of the guys I met in Canada mentioned his Black Box wasn't working very well and eventually he said the wires going into the box came loose and fell out. Is it possibly, you have a similar problem....bad connection inside the box due to a manufacturing problem?

JMS

I too have electrics and my cables make a humming noise traveling through the water, Is this or could it be a symptom of positive or negative charged boat? I don't seem to have a problem with catching fish, unless I could be catching more.

Fishgut,

That humming noise is from using too much weight on the downrigger. It doesn't hurt the fishing whatsoever. It is bothersome though- isn't it? If you can't stand it anymore, change to a smaller weight. I have grown accustomed to it and it doesn't bother me anymore. However, it is kinda like living next to the train tracks. Just a matter of time...

Downriggin'

Thanks for the info Downriggen, I would of never looked in that direction.

To learn more about black boxes and how to test your boat, check out this link, this is chapter 1 of 11 chapters: black box info

The humming you hear is unrelated to electrical charge... it's just a harmonic hum on your cable, it will change with your speed, the amount of cable you have in the water, and your downrigger ball weight. It's like a big guitar string, it's just vibrating as it gets pulled through the water. Don't worry about it.

-N.

Is the $99 box from Cabella any better or worse than the Scotty $300 model. The $99 model appears to be made by Scotty or is advertised by Dick Pool? Is Scotty still in Business or and who is this is the Pro-Troll?
Who in Seattle handles the Scotty Black Box?

I have often wondered about the difference between the Pro-Troll/Cabela model versus the Scotty. Pro-Troll is a division of Scotty I believe......... The Pro-Troll was not avail. when I purchased the Scotty.

As far as where to go, in Tacoma, the closest I know would be Sportco in Fife. That is where I got it. I have also saw it at Auburn Sports & Marine and at Sport Emporium in Seattle all in the $300 range.

Russell Electronics manufacture the Scotty BB. Not sure who makes the Cabela's model. Both have the same working principles.

Differences- other the shape, the connection sleeves. Scotty's are a flaired tube and Cabela's are coiled just like a spring.
Scotty's offer a pulse mode which I have had success with. Not sure about the Cabela..

Both units are water resistant- not water proof. With that, one advantage the Scotty model has is that it can be mounted in dash. Not on top like the Cabela's model. Just a little more protection from the elements IMO.

SPORTCO has the Scotty for $249.00. Pretty darn reasonable compared to ......

Downriggin'

I don't know the exact relationship, but Pro-Troll and Scotty are related....maybe both owned by the same parent company?

Cabela's (Pro-Troll) black box doesn't have a pulse mode.

FASTWATER,

Great report!!!

I got a friend who just bought a new Willie sled and can't catch a thing!! I'am sure the black box would set him up right.

Cigar