Downrigger Braid

[Prairie Locked]

Getting things lined up for the season, as we head to Courtenay in two weeks. In the fall I sold an older model and bought a brand new 1106 and like I've done previously, will switch out the cable with braid.

Something different though is I was thinking of instead of pulling off all the cable, leaving on 100' or so then tying the braid onto it to give me a bit of a buffer and to also act as a marker as to how much line you have remaining in event of snags, line break, retying terminal gear, etc. Would also save on cost of material, albeit marginal. Not really intending to have any cable actually enter the water though.

Anyone have any experience with same, looking for any negatives or drawbacks, though can't really think of any off hand.

Thanks, as always.

PL

 

[tubber]

Can't see a problem doing that. Here is the knot.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...A72FAD516E4154DD430AA72FAD516E4154D&FORM=VIRE

 

[Dogbreath]

Check your pulley really carefully before loading the spectra it's possible the cable has cut a groove in the wheel-if so some judicious sanding can remedy the issue.

 

[wishiniwasfishin1]

Can't see a problem doing that. Here is the knot.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...A72FAD516E4154DD430AA72FAD516E4154D&FORM=VIRE

That was a great link Tubber. Probably the best I have seen re rigging a downrigger...

 

[Prairie Locked]

Can't see a problem doing that. Here is the knot.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...A72FAD516E4154DD430AA72FAD516E4154D&FORM=VIRE

Thanks tubber, that's actually where I got the idea from and thought, 'why waste all of the cable?' Save a few bucks on the braid while I'm at it!

 

[Prairie Locked]

Check your pulley really carefully before loading the spectra it's possible the cable has cut a groove in the wheel-if so some judicious sanding can remedy the issue.

Thanks for the heads up. Luckily though, since it's brand spankin' new, there's never been any cable run through it.

 

[ericl]

I suggest you re-watch the video until you hear Dave say "you don't want to get to this knot"

 

[Gear'n'beer!]

I'm a bit confused why you would leave 3' of cable on your rigger and tie braid to that? What is to be gained?

GnB

 

[Rockfish]

In my experience Scotty Riggers are calibrated to be depth accurate with 300 feet of steel on them. When I go to more than that (say 400 or 500 feet) I determine the depth error by going out in 100 feet of water column (sounder), flat bottom on slack current, not moving and drop it to the bottom. This will tell you how much you are out at that depth and you quickly learn to compensate at various depths. Various braid and cable types and lengths take up more or less space on the rigger drum. Something to consider if you move away from the standard 300 feet of original scotty steel or in your case want to combine braid and steel.

The steel underneath is going to corrode over time and weaken if you leave it on there long enough and will not get exercised until you get hung up one day and the rigger plays out into the steel and then breaks, assuming it does not break at the knot. If it were me I would go all one or the other and just sell the new steel cable or run it till it begins to fray and then replace it with braid.

Steel also has electrical field issues which can both attract or repel salmon and sometimes you need to have the field determined and adjusted. Not sure how running half cable would effect that but likely not an issue if it were always on the drum or a long ways from the lure as it would be in your case, although perhaps it would effect other riggers at higher depths if you had a hot field on the opposite side.

 

[TheBigGuy]

As Rockfish said above, the steel cable under the spectra will rust. Best just to use spectra in my opinion.

 

[Prairie Locked]

As Rockfish said above, the steel cable under the spectra will rust. Best just to use spectra in my opinion.

Would that be more because the braid will hold water more than the cable?

 

[TheBigGuy]

Would that be more because the braid will hold water more than the cable?

Not really. If you use steel cable you should really flush it off with fresh water after a dunking in the salt. With braid I don't flush with fresh water very often. The salt gets down close to the drum and it will start to corrode the steel pretty quickly if not flushed religiously. At least that was my experience with most of the poor quality cable manufactured before I switched to braid. Good quality steel cable is getting hard to find, a lot of brands fray or rust really quickly. Leaving a section of steel buried close to the drum under the spectra is just inviting rust problems you don't need. Just go full spectra. You won't regret it.