Port or Starboard?

C

catcher

Guest
Does anyone notice that one side of the boat out fishes the other? On my boat 8 out of 10 fish come from the starboard side. I'm not sure what causes this? Same gear same depth same presentation. I Have a scotty black box thats controls voltage on both riggers( I know some of you dont believe in this). Could vibration from the kicker cause this. The kicker is mounted on the less fishy side. I havent tried trolling with the big motor much as it seems to foul the plugs in a hurry. Oh yeah on the starboard side I use an electric scotty, on the port its a manual scotty.

Thanks
 
Leave the black box off...... Check your voltage . Dont beleive the guys that say it will go away with braided :p
Watch for something different with your set up between fishy side and non fishy side(DRS)..... Do you fish the same dr on the same side every time out?


As for some kinda noise off the kicker side I would have to guess no.
Id put more $$ in to dumb luck
 
Last edited by a moderator:
OK. Dumb Luck may be the case... I have Scotty Braided and Electric Scotty riggers on both sides. One side is always is better then the other. No matter what is on the line. But it seems to change at different times of year... Sure call me crazy, you won't be the first.
I have zincs all over my boat and motors. It is a very fishy boat don't get me wrong it catches tons of fish. But one side always catches more.
WHY?????

That is why I hate A-Holes that think they own a side of my boat when I fish with me. The sport is for every one to take apart of. Not just one person. Every man or woman on my boat should get a turn at a fish no matter which rod it happens to be on. Even if it happen to be my gal out fishing me. I am not upset she has caught the biggest fish in my boat two years in a row am I?
 
catcher said:
Does anyone notice that one side of the boat out fishes the other? On my boat 8 out of 10 fish come from the starboard side. I'm not sure what causes this? Same gear same depth same presentation. I Have a scotty black box thats controls voltage on both riggers( I know some of you dont believe in this). Could vibration from the kicker cause this. The kicker is mounted on the less fishy side. I havent tried trolling with the big motor much as it seems to foul the plugs in a hurry. Oh yeah on the starboard side I use an electric scotty, on the port its a manual scotty.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Well, as a matter of fact – I have! The side that seems to catch the most fish always seems to be the side I am fishing? ;)

First, I can’t say leave the black box off? I don’t know your boat, so you may or may not need that black box? I personally don’t need a black box, but I do fish with Cannon Mag 20’s that have positive ION.

If what you are saying is true, the first thing I would check is the voltage that black box is putting to EACH of those individual downriggers? It should be the same and as you turn it up, it should also be and stay the same on each!

Yes, the vibration from the kicker could cause this, but I doubt it. Keep in mind that vibration should be an attractant, not a deterrent. So if your kicker happens to be mounted on the starboard side I might have to consider and possibly agree with that. That is not likely, chances are the kicker is NOT putting out enough vibrations to become a deterrent! I would have a hard time believing that one!

You main engine should NOT foul the plugs trolling? Are you running the right plugs and right octane rating?

It shouldn’t make any difference if you are running manual or electric downriggers; however, back to the current that black box is sending to your cables COULD make a difference and they may not be getting the same amount of current for various reasons – check that! As in size, age, and condition of cables. They need to be the same!

The natural amount of current your boat puts out (around the boat) will always be there and that is what needs to be controlled, but it doesn’t sound like you have that problem. That natural current (around the boat) will NOT change regardless whether you are using cable or braid; however, that is where that ends! Cable conducts current down the cable (attractant), the black box controls that current. Braid does NOT conduct current! Me, I personally want that current going down the cables.
 
Charlie said:
Well, as a matter of fact – I have! The side that seems to catch the most fish always seems to be the side I am fishing? ;)

First, I can’t say leave the black box off? I don’t know your boat, so you may or may not need that black box? I personally don’t need a black box, but I do fish with Cannon Mag 20’s that have positive ION.

If what you are saying is true, the first thing I would check is the voltage that black box is putting to EACH of those individual downriggers? It should be the same and as you turn it up, it should also be and stay the same on each!

Yes, the vibration from the kicker could cause this, but I doubt it. Keep in mind that vibration should be an attractant, not a deterrent. So if your kicker happens to be mounted on the starboard side I might have to consider and possibly agree with that. That is not likely, chances are the kicker is NOT putting out enough vibrations to become a deterrent! I would have a hard time believing that one!

You main engine should NOT foul the plugs trolling? Are you running the right plugs and right octane rating?

It shouldn’t make any difference if you are running manual or electric downriggers; however, back to the current that black box is sending to your cables COULD make a difference and they may not be getting the same amount of current for various reasons – check that! As in size, age, and condition of cables. They need to be the same!

The natural amount of current your boat puts out (around the boat) will always be there and that is what needs to be controlled, but it doesn’t sound like you have that problem. That natural current (around the boat) will NOT change regardless whether you are using cable or braid; however, that is where that ends! Cable conducts current down the cable (attractant), the black box controls that current. Braid does NOT conduct current! Me, I personally want that current going down the cables.
Click to expand...

"The side that i'm fishing"........ good one, Charlie. You beat me to it. If the wiring is the same to the downriggers i would call ir dumb luck as well. I use wire w/o a black box and my hotter rod changes from day to day - maybe the fish are coming into your field from one side or the other while on the move???
 
No difference. Its the luck of the draw if both sides are using the same lures/bait.

Hey FA-- Why dont you just alternate ??? Then it doesnt matter which side the fish in on???
 
Depends on the depth fish are running... LOL LOL although from what all the experts say the kicker side is not "supposed" to catch as much??? WHATEVER!!!!! LOL I have gotten a lot of fish on both sides it seems the bigger ones though come from the kicker side hhhhmmm coincedence?? dont know really dont care as long as both sides catch fish im happy.do you really thin it matters when the line is 80 ft down from the kicker???

Will say in all the years of fishing certian times of the year I do use different color flashers and teaser heads aug is a month that I really change things up with good results and that has come with a lot of experimention and LOTS of time on the water. also helps when you have a good network of buddies(guides) who share valuable info take it all in and break it all down you really have to think like a fish to get a fish, water color and weather play a bigger factor into things more than people give credit for.

Just make sure both side are close in the voltage department. people who run wire get voltage people who dont dont get any soooooo is it really the boat ???? quite obvious NOT as if there is NO voltage then the black box is totally hyprocritical cause ALL these years we have been told you need theis certain number of 5.4 to 7.0 to catch big springs well if there is no number and no voltage WTF???? LOL LOL it all comes down to one thing and one thing only CONFIDENCE in knowing what works and 100% presentaion of the bait your rolling, I have been with guys and see what they put down im like really your going to fish that!!!! (sorry Dan) LOL and ill put mine down with usually good results but there are them days where no matter what you put down it doesnt matter thats fishing it happens, Most guides are good because they watch EVERYthing not just your own boat.
For example you know the ol guy who fishs otter faithfully in the yellow 14 tin boat he is out there all the time facing the back of the boat trolling if I see him hook a fish 2 times in where he fishes I move too as I now have seen a pattern and trust me he is a great fisherman If we could get him to write a book of his knowledge. Yes you will see someone get a fish out in 300 ft of water but thats in most cases is a drive by but if you se it constsntlly then move. in the last couple of yrs I have found you really have to think outside the box more I am finding fish now where I never have before ?? were they there all this time ?? who knows thats the joy of fishing the challenge of trying to figure them out.


Good luck wolf
 
everytime this seems to be happenning, i pull both sides, lay out the gear on the tape and sure enough i invariably find a differnece in leader length. its a good clue to me that small increments in length do make a difference day to day. i switched to braid because of the rusting of the stainless cable. the 150# has slightly less blow back than the cable; the 200# has about the same blow back, interesting but it really makes no difference at the end of the day.
 
catcher said:
Does anyone notice that one side of the boat out fishes the other? On my boat 8 out of 10 fish come from the starboard side. Thanks
Click to expand...

The reason is simple. There are very few left handed fish in our waters as they were pretty much fished out 20 years ago. Another example of DFO mismanagement.
 
Thanks guys!

The natural voltage my boat puts off seems to be about .700 give or take. Both down riggers have fresh ss cable. and are setup the same only difference is one is a manual. The boat is only wired for electric on one side. This has been going on for a few years now, I installed a black box this year hoping it would increase yield on the port side, it made little or no difference. Could the downriggers be putting off different voltages? The main motor is a evinrude ETEC 90, they say it should troll fine but I disagree. My kicker was stolen only a few days before a week long trip so I was forced to troll with it. The plugs were dead after about a 100 hours total run time, about 40 or so being trolling hours.
 
Derek Zoolander: " I'm not an ambi-turner". Could be the port is always too slow (or fast) depending on which way you never turn.
 
The side that always catches more fish is the side my wife is fishing...happy wife, happy life
 
Haven't really counted or kept track but it seems starboard side on our boat is the most active. That's the side our kicker is on as well, coincidence? But when fishing socks this summer we lost the false flasher setup on one side and there was no love for that rod for the rest of the day.
 
In my aluminum boat,the Port side always caught more fish.In my glass boat it's split about 50/50.
Dave
 
I actually had this happen. I had tied one of my blackbox wires into an existing electrical wire already in my boat. My wife and I were fishing kings in an area in the Puget Sound that I was very good at. I had a boat on each side of me pull up a 20 and 25 pound king. I had my wife still catching fish. I was not even catching shakers. At the end of the day I was very puzzled and frustrated. I unplugged the quick disconnect black box wire off my downrigger and immediately had a shaker hit. I plugged it back in and pulled out a voltage meter and my blackbox was set on 520 and it was reading 910! When I got home, I pulled that wire and found a splice in it. It appeared to be laying the bilge water or something to that effect. I ran a new wire and it went away. Fish on!

I would check it with a digital volt meter while fishing and see if it has a problem reading. See if it matches your black box reading.
Good Luck
 
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