Cannon Mag 10 Riggers?

[ironman]

I'm looking to purchase a few mag 10 downriggers, has anyone had any luck with the positive ion control that cannon offers now? If so what do you run your setting at? I was just wondering if they made any difference catching kings or trout? I've been running Penn riggers w/o the positive ion control and did well with those.

[Bill Hooper]

I was going to buy new Mag 10's to replace my old ones, until a friend suggested I look at new Walker electrics.Not only were they a lot less money, the store guy pointed out that they are more than twice the speed of Mag 10's, and for a lot less money.
Also I had heard the new cannon swivels have been falling apart within a year or so, which was also confirmed by the the store.Apparently the lexan just isn't cutting it.
I bought Walker's new Tournament electric downriggers, that have auto stop and positive ion design , they're working really nice on Chinooks and steelhead. They are a lot faster, especially with the heavier weights.
They aren't adjustable ions but my friend who's an electronics wiz checked them for me and found mine are putting out about 0.7 volts positive when trolling. Apparently that's really good.
The fish seem to think so.

[Gunga Din]

The Mag10's are nice downriggers, but as Hooper said they are fairly slow. But the speed is typically only needed if you're fishing deeper than 50'.

I own a pair of the older Mag20's, before they eliminated that model. They have the positive ion control, but I think it's a gimmick. Find the fish, put your bait in front of their noses, and they'll bite (no ions needed).

Good luck.

[Mcfish]

I have been running a Cannon Mini-mag w/o the new positive ions and a Mag 10 with the positive ions for 3 years, never noticed any difference in catching fish I also think its a gimmick. However I like their performance and fish with them in water up to 140 feet, always seemed fast enough, but faster would probably be better at those depths.

[John Pless]

Positive Ions are not a gimmick.There are many scientific studies that prove otherwise.
But, if you understand the concepts involved you'll find out that nearly any downrigger made already puts out positive ions passively in exactly the right levels to attract fish.This is because,
As long as the stainless cable is on a non coductive spool, it is insulated from the boat hull ground and there will be a positive differential between the stainless cable and the boat ground, resulting in positive ions. Actively
adding more voltage to the cables with a black box or by other means is unlikely to help.