Downriggers – wire or braided line?

  • James Holst
    Keymaster
    SE Minnesota
    Posts: 18926
    August 19, 2012 at 4:52 am #1319558

    Guys

    On our trip to Superior last week we lost a down rigger ball while setting a line. No snag. No warning or previous indication that the wire cable had been damaged. Basically Grant started to lower the ball into the water and PING… gone. While the look on his face was priceless I’d rather not see this repeated for obvious reasons. I did check the rest of the cable earlier today and I couldn’t find any signs of kinking or other damage but I could say the same thing about the cable before we lost the ball.

    So it got me thinking about replacing it. Better safe than sorry, right?

    Anyway, I was browsing Cabelas and I noticed they make a braided line as a replacement for cable. Here’s the description:

    Quote:

    Super-strong, low-stretch braided line won’t kink like stainless steel downrigger lines. This exceptionally strong line makes no noise when pulled through the water, so it spooks fewer fish. Tracks better than regular downrigger lines; won’t swing back, stays straight under the boat. Allows you to use a lighter downrigger ball to gain the same depth.

    Being able to use lighter weights would be a nice benefit but to be honest I really don’t have any reason the 10# balls we use now. Anyone has any first-hand experience using this product or something similar?

    Cabelas Depth Trac Downrigger Line

    Thanks in advance for any info you might have to share.

    mark-bruzek
    Two Harbors, MN
    Posts: 3863
    August 19, 2012 at 5:44 am #1093140

    This has been discussed quite a bit on GLA. I too was thinking the same to ruduce blowback and wire hum. What I found was 2 answers across the board.

    1. You need a SS spool on the rigger and end of boom as the super line can cut into the plastic spools.

    2. Braid is fairly abrasion resistant UNTIL it is put under a load. (i.e. a 10# rigger ball plus water resistance) When under load the Braid will easily cut with only a small knick.

    These were my findings and have stuck with SS wire. I will trust others here as it all makes perfect sence to me.

    Are you sure the SS cable broke or did the cable slip out of the terminator end?

    James Holst
    Keymaster
    SE Minnesota
    Posts: 18926
    August 19, 2012 at 7:22 am #1093143

    Quote:

    This has been discussed quite a bit on GLA. I too was thinking the same to ruduce blowback and wire hum. What I found was 2 answers across the board.

    1. You need a SS spool on the rigger and end of boom as the super line can cut into the plastic spools.

    2. Braid is fairly abrasion resistant UNTIL it is put under a load. (i.e. a 10# rigger ball plus water resistance) When under load the Braid will easily cut with only a small knick.

    These were my findings and have stuck with SS wire. I will trust others here as it all makes perfect sence to me.

    Are you sure the SS cable broke or did the cable slip out of the terminator end?

    Yup, it definitely broke well above and away from the ball.

    Thanks for the info re: the need for the SS rigger parts. I wouldn’t have thought of that as a potential issue and I really don’t want to replace rigger parts.

    finman
    Posts: 277
    August 19, 2012 at 7:33 am #1093144

    Which side DR was it that broke? Port or starboard?

    Tom Sawvell
    Inactive
    Posts: 9559
    August 19, 2012 at 12:26 pm #1093153

    Quote:

    Yup, it definitely broke well above and away from the ball.

    It sounds as though a kink slipped past you. If one of those developes the weight of a ball could cause the cable to break especially if the kink has been in there a while. Kinks will slowly come apart, one strand at a time and if the wire isn’t fraying much around the break it could be hard to notice.

    We tried the braid for a short while and I now use whats left of it around the garden.

    mnfishhunt
    Brooklyn Park, MN
    Posts: 523
    August 19, 2012 at 1:14 pm #1093154

    Another thing to consider is if you run a probe. Other then the x4 the rest need a coated wire to send the signal back

    James Holst
    Keymaster
    SE Minnesota
    Posts: 18926
    August 19, 2012 at 2:45 pm #1093156

    Quote:

    Which side DR was it that broke? Port or starboard?

    Starboard.

    timmy
    Posts: 1960
    August 19, 2012 at 3:41 pm #1093162

    Not sure what you run for riggers, but if you run cannon electrics withe the auto short stop feature – you need wire to keep the circuit complete. When the ball is raised, the insulater at the clip cuts the circuit when it hits the surface, stopping the rigger motor. The auto up will not work with braid. The Positive Ion Control also req’s wire.

    finman
    Posts: 277
    August 19, 2012 at 6:41 pm #1093177

    Quote:

    Quote:

    Which side DR was it that broke? Port or starboard?

    Starboard.

    Thought maybe the kicker prop might have knicked the cable

    James Holst
    Keymaster
    SE Minnesota
    Posts: 18926
    August 20, 2012 at 2:07 am #1093222

    Quote:

    Not sure what you run for riggers, but if you run cannon electrics withe the auto short stop feature – you need wire to keep the circuit complete. When the ball is raised, the insulater at the clip cuts the circuit when it hits the surface, stopping the rigger motor. The auto up will not work with braid. The Positive Ion Control also req’s wire.

    Yup, running Cannon electrics. And I would not have thought of this had I decided to make the switch. Needless to say, I’ll stick with wire and do a better job of inspecting it before each day on the water.

    Thanks again for all the very helpful info, everyone.

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