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Old 04-09-2015, 02:44 PM   #1
Mink Islander
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Default Downrigger reviews?

My old Cannon Mag 10 died last summer and I'm looking at replacements. Curious what others use/prefer: Cannon, Big Jon, Scotty?? I'm particularly wondering about the Cannon Digi-troll product. Expensive but the bottom tracking feature looks great. Thoughts/advice?

Thanks
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Old 04-09-2015, 03:33 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by Mink Islander View Post
My old Cannon Mag 10 died last summer and I'm looking at replacements. Curious what others use/prefer: Cannon, Big Jon, Scotty?? I'm particularly wondering about the Cannon Digi-troll product. Expensive but the bottom tracking feature looks great. Thoughts/advice?

Thanks
O.K., this is going to be a little long...

The digi-troll's I know quite a bit about as I have two of them. Yes the bottom tracking feature is great...when it works properly! The digi-troll requires a seperate transducer for bottom tracking and they are VERY, VERY prone to interference from other transducers and many other electrical devices on your boat like the charging system on your motor. It took me forever to get mine working even somewhat properly and even now they still do not work 100% of the time.

I had to set mine up on a separate battery as the interference from my main motor charging system as well as my kicker motor charging system would cause it to go haywire. I even installed ferrites on all the cable to help eliminate some of the interference. They seem to help a little bit but not much.

The digi-troll transducer cannot be mounted anywhere near another transducer, even though it is on a complete separate frequency. Kind of a PIA when your running a Lowrance fish finder at the same time. I had to move my transducer to the front of the boat!

I also know of two other people who are experiencing the same problem with them and I am working with one to help eliminate some of the issues.

The techs at Cannon haven't been much help unfortunately.

If you read this thread, you will see this is not an isolated thing... http://www.lakeontariounited.com/fis...s-10-problems/

When they do work, they are great! You can link your digi-trolls together so they all read the bottom off one transducer. It's pretty cool watching them go up and down on their own following the bottom and they are very accurate!

The other features of the digitroll such as the "cycling" feature work just awesome and in my opinion is worth paying the extra just for that one feature alone!

I just finished setting up my second fishing boat which has a fiberglass hull (22' eastern). I am hoping the digi-trolls bottom track will work better on this boat than they did on my aluminum hull Premier tri-toon. I think the aluminum may play a part in the interference...not sure yet though.

Still a work in progress!

Edited to add: See updated post below.

Dan
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Old 04-09-2015, 04:02 PM   #3
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Very helpful. Appreciate the insight a lot.
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Old 04-11-2015, 08:30 AM   #4
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don't the Cannons have a life time warranty? I think you have to ship it to the factory but I recall reading about the warranty some time back.

I really like the idea of the digitroll option but I have several other upgrades to consider before adding this type of feature that is essentially just for lakers. This is the first I read about the problems with the product. If I'm tracking bottom, I'd really want to rely on a system that wasnt responsible for leaving DR balls, releases and terminator kits all over the bottom of the lake. Before that type of gadget, I would probably look at the iTroll to up my numbers.

Back to the original question. I have no problems with the competition but have been very happy with Cannon product and can't think of a reason to leave that product behind to try something different. The Scotty's seem to be the competition chasing Cannon and people that have them say good things about them.

Good luck...a few more weeks and we should be able to wet out gear.
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Old 04-11-2015, 03:21 PM   #5
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Hi Mike;

There is one other function that the digitrolls have beside bottom tracking, (which I agree is mainly for lakers) that is definitely advantageous for salmon fishing and that is the cycling feature. I do not believe any other downrigger offers this feature but I could be wrong.

The cycling feature lets you fish multiple depths at given intervals. For example, you can have the down rigger set to fish at 25' for 1 minute then automatically drop 5' 10' or whatever for the next interval. This is all done automatically by the rigger.

Now if you stack your down rigger cable and use the cycling feature, you can fish 4 different depths at given intervals! I don't do this very often but do know people that do and are very successful at it. It really allows you to target where the fish are at precisely.

In my opinion the cycling feature is worth more, at least to me, than the bottom tracking feature. The good thing is the cycling feature does not require the transducer, which has issues , and simply uses internal electronics.

Take care!

Dan
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Old 04-23-2015, 05:27 PM   #6
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Default Downriggers

Here's my opinion on Riggers, if it works don't fix it.

I've been using Cannon Mag 10's for about 15 years now. I absolutely Love them!! Yes the Digitrol with bottom track is great for fishing the BIG LAKE O but for winni were our bottom changes instantly, you may run into issues.

Ive read and heard of lots of people with the same issues as Dan. Those comments alone would steer me away from my purchase esp when there 1300$ each.

I'm currently running 3 Mag 10 STX Tournament series on my 27' Eastern and couldn't be happier. Add in the Fish Hawk X4D and Raymarine E120 Chartplotter combo, makes the package unstoppable.

Steve
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Old 04-23-2015, 06:35 PM   #7
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KJ,

Thanks for your insight! You certainly don't need digitrolls to catch fish on Winni. I bought them because I got a smoking deal on a pair.

On another note, how do you like your Eastern as a fishing platform? I just outfitted my 22' Eastern completely and will be splashing it tomorrow. On land it sure looks like it will work just fine!

If your ever on the west side of Welch stop by you will recognize the boat or hail me on channel 12.

Take care!

Dan
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Old 04-24-2015, 08:33 AM   #8
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Default KJ Louise

That was my question, How do you like fishing out of your Eastern. I'm kind of looking for a new boat but I was concerned about the sides being low. I also have an E120, fishhawk, 4 electric big jons, 2 electric sideplanners, and auto pilot for the main and kicker engine. The autopilot for the kicker engine is the best thing on the boat. When I fish along I don't have to worry about driving I can concentrate on fishing. I may put mine in this weekend or wait until next.
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Old 06-06-2015, 04:36 PM   #9
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That was my question, How do you like fishing out of your Eastern. I'm kind of looking for a new boat but I was concerned about the sides being low. I also have an E120, fishhawk, 4 electric big jons, 2 electric sideplanners, and auto pilot for the main and kicker engine. The autopilot for the kicker engine is the best thing on the boat. When I fish along I don't have to worry about driving I can concentrate on fishing. I may put mine in this weekend or wait until next.
Tackleman,

I apologize for not responding earlier but just saw your post today.

I love fishing out of the Eastern! It makes a wonderful platform to fish from. Trolls very well when it's windy and choppy. The pilot house offers great protection from the cold wind and rain. The cuddly cabin is a great place to store gear when not in use also.

Currently I'm running two Digi troll 10's mounted in Berts Track on the gunwale on each side of the stern, two jig pods gimbal mounted on each side, two planer reels mounted at the rear top on each side of the pilot house with the pulley at the top front of the pilot house to allow for extra room. All my rod holders are also track mounted for quick and easy removal.

I utilize a panther wireless steering unit on my kicker as I fish alone a lot. This allows me to reel in or out, land / net fish and still control the boat easily via a steering key fob which I wear around my neck. It really works nicely!!

I very much enjoy fishing out of this boat!!

Good luck in your search!

Dan
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Old 07-17-2015, 11:51 AM   #10
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Default Big jon

We have been using a pair of Big Jon's electric captain's packs for 14 years without any interruptions. Built like tanks!
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Old 04-17-2017, 07:25 PM   #11
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Default Update

I wanted to update post #2 above to let anyone who may be interested in Cannons Digi Troll downriggers, that I have fixed the problem with the bottom tracking and they are now working flawlessly! It only took two years!

While the issue was not user error and definitely a Cannon issue, it was not caused by any electrical interference as I originally thought and stated in my post above.

Too long to post the fix, so I will reply to any interested parties who PM me.

Happy fishing!

Dan
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Old 04-30-2017, 07:46 AM   #12
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Shout out to my new hero Dan who gave me a fix on my Cannon digi troll bottom tracking issue!

I will try his suggestion, and hopefully fix the 2 plus years and counting problem.

Lee
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Old 08-22-2018, 09:11 AM   #13
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Default digitroll 10 depth issues for bottom track

Quote:
Originally Posted by ishoot308 View Post
I wanted to update post #2 above to let anyone who may be interested in Cannons Digi Troll downriggers, that I have fixed the problem with the bottom tracking and they are now working flawlessly! It only took two years!

While the issue was not user error and definitely a Cannon issue, it was not caused by any electrical interference as I originally thought and stated in my post above.

Too long to post the fix, so I will reply to any interested parties who PM me.

Happy fishing!

Dan

Hello all . I just purchased a set of digitroll 10s with bottom track
any suggestions why im getting the same issues as everyone else?
the Reading on the depth is all over the place and ive tried everything to make it work to no avail.
any input would be more than appreciated greatly
thank you
Kevii
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Old 01-30-2019, 08:08 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ishoot308 View Post
I wanted to update post #2 above to let anyone who may be interested in Cannons Digi Troll downriggers, that I have fixed the problem with the bottom tracking and they are now working flawlessly! It only took two years!

While the issue was not user error and definitely a Cannon issue, it was not caused by any electrical interference as I originally thought and stated in my post above.

Too long to post the fix, so I will reply to any interested parties who PM me.

Happy fishing!

Dan
Yes please someone help me with this issue!!!! Im going nuts trying to figure it out!
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Old 01-30-2019, 08:46 PM   #15
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Yes please someone help me with this issue!!!! Im going nuts trying to figure it out!
Don,

P.M. sent...

Dan
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