# nylon coated downrigger cable vs non coated cable



## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

Just curious who has personal experience with both and if the coated takes up a lot more room on the spool/reel?


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

Anyone??


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

It is common sense that if a 1/4" cable is coated in nylon or another substance it will take up more room on a spool than a non coated one. That along with a problem that you may not see a cable that is about to break with a coating on it over a bare cable.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

What is the purpose of a "coating"? I could maybe see an argument to protect the wire for saltwater applications but nothing for freshwater.


-DallanC


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## adventuringadam (Jan 3, 2015)

Does the coating change harmonics? My bare wire has a tendency to "sing" at some speeds.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

adventuringadam said:


> Does the coating change harmonics? My bare wire has a tendency to "sing" at some speeds.


I always wondered the same thing. I ran Berkley brown nylon-coated downrigger cable on my old boat and it seemed to be much quieter than the uncoated cable I'm using now. The coating on the cable was not very thick. I think there was 150 ft of the nylon-coated cable on each spool of the Cannon Mini Mag electric downriggers. 150 ft is too short for the Gorge or Lake Powell. There was plenty of room on the spools for say 100 more feet of the coated cable.

The boat I have now has 200 ft of bare cable on Cannon Mag 10s. It is very noisy, especially at the speed lake trout like.

The coating on the old cable was very thin and only made the outside diameter of the cable slightly larger. It didn't diminish the spool capacity enough to cause any concern. I don't know what's out there these days for coated cable, I don't follow that stuff too close any more.

Kinda odd:
We caught more fish in our old boat vs. the new boat and the tackle and techniques were identical; the only thing different were the downriggers on the new boat had bare cable. Some claim that bare cable puts a negative ion, or an ion level that fish don't like, behind the boat.

30-06, keep us posted.

.


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## troller (Jun 27, 2013)

Ever wondered why some boats consistently out fish all the others? Every experienced fisherman has seen it. Two boats using the same lures, same gear, same depth and one will catch most of the fish. The answer may not be as mysterious as it seems. Research in recent years has shown that positive voltage on your downrigger cable can have a major influence on fishing results
Every boat takes on a natural electric charge in the water because of the different metals reacting with the minerals in the water. The zincs on the motor will be positive in charge. This drives the other metal parts on the boat to a negative charge. Any unconnected metals like downrigger cable will take on a positive charge.
A voltmeter with a scale of zero to one volt will measure the natural voltage of your wire. 
The negative lead is connected to the engine or the negative pole on the boat battery. the positive lead is touching the downrigger wire.
Recommended Voltages 
There has been a great deal of work done on the correct downrigger wire voltages for salmon, trout, kokanee, bass, laketrout and other species. The following table should be used as a suggested starting point. You may find other voltages that work better.
Species Voltage
Sockeye Salmon .750 volts
Kokanee Salmon .650 volts
Halibut .450 volts *
Laketrout (Mackinaw) .650 volts
Rainbow & Brown Trout .650 volts
Cutthroat Trout .650 volts
Black Bass .750 volts *
Sharks .400 volts *
Striped Bass .650 volts *
Sturgeon .500 volts *
Catfish .500 volts * 
. If the reading is significantly outside this range, you have a problem


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

troller said:


> Ever wondered why some boats consistently out fish all the others? Every experienced fisherman has seen it. Two boats using the same lures, same gear, same depth and one will catch most of the fish. The answer may not be as mysterious as it seems. Research in recent years has shown that positive voltage on your downrigger cable can have a major influence on fishing results
> Every boat takes on a natural electric charge in the water because of the different metals reacting with the minerals in the water. The zincs on the motor will be positive in charge. This drives the other metal parts on the boat to a negative charge. Any unconnected metals like downrigger cable will take on a positive charge.
> A voltmeter with a scale of zero to one volt will measure the natural voltage of your wire.
> The negative lead is connected to the engine or the negative pole on the boat battery. the positive lead is touching the downrigger wire.
> ...


Yeah, thanks for clearing that up. It's the voltage range not the positive or negative charge thing.

Boating is complicated. I've limited my boating activities these days to weed whacking a circle around our boats and then putting all the required annual stickers on the hulls.

.


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