# Braided downrigger cable?



## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

Anyone used this or dealt with it? How is the blowback and what other pro's/con's are there with it?


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

Blowback is reduced but it can be really expensive if you want braid that has the same ratings as steel cable. On the upside, you can get a lot more line on the spool with braid than with steel cable so you can go deeper.


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

Is it true that all the noise and vibration is taken away with the braid?
As for going deeper, i have never ran any deeper than 90' and anything more than that is masochism. Not looking to get deeper, just reduce noise and reduce blowback.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

"Blow back" is caused by diameter of the cable, the larger the cable the more force the water can exert on it.

As for vibration, I have 2 identical downriggers. They both occasionally "sung" but not constantly. After a recient mishap, I got a new ball and termination kit... that downrigger now sings constantly. Same cable, same depths... only thing that changed is the ball. I cant for the life of me figure out how that could affect it (its the same weight as the prior ball).

I will run some more experiments next time out and see if I cant figure out why one sings, the other doesnt.



-DallanC


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

Good info, thanks. Is the ball design the same or did you change shapes? I often wonder if there is a "wobble" with some of the various designs and causes vibration. I know the deeper i go the more vibration i get and the higher speed same result.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

lunkerhunter2 said:


> Is it true that all the noise and vibration is taken away with the braid?
> As for going deeper, i have never ran any deeper than 90' and anything more than that is masochism. Not looking to get deeper, just reduce noise and reduce blowback.


You will lose most of the noise with braid. As I understand it, the noise is caused by harmonics that are created by the friction of the cable going through the water. Since the braid isn't metallic, it doesn't have the same harmonics and so you don't have as much noise.

I agree with Dallanc and one more thing that might be relevant is the size and shape of your rigger ball. The weight, size, and shape will all affect the blowback you see from the top.

Depending on how fast you are trolling, 90' may only really be 70-85 ft down. If you go to braid, 90 feet will probably be more like 85-89 feet, depending on the size/shape of your rigger ball. Blowback with braid will largely depend on the rigger ball as it will be mostly responsible for the majority of the friction between the water and your downrigger setup.

In most cases, I don't think vibration is really caused by the rigger ball. For example, imagine that you are looking at a piano string stretched between two posts. Vibrations in the piano string are caused by the hammer hitting the string. In the case of a downrigger, you have a wire stretched between two posts, the spool on the rigger the rigger ball. Vibration in the wire is caused by the friction of the water on the string. The deeper you go or the faster you go, the more you change the tension on the rigger wire (just like piano strings that get stretched more or less depending on the pitch that you want).

You'll still get the same vibration with braid. But, because the harmonics of braid are different from the harmonics of steel cable, you won't ever notice it, regardless of speed or depth.


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## BROWN BAGGER (Sep 13, 2007)

I have used the braid. I loved it, extremely quiet. It will ware out on you, have to check the knot every trip. I really do hate the humming noise from cable, but I think it is my personal problem not the fish'es. I would give it a whirle..... 8)

this braid from cablea's is 135 lb strength, close to the 150 lb of cable


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