Attract fish with electrical charge? (scam?)

[BperryB]

Is there any truth to the idea that a submerged wire around a fishing
boat that has some positive potential relative to the hull of the boat
will attract fish?

I see a "black box" advertised for $99 that claims to do the job at :
http://www.protroll.com/blkbox.html

Is this a ripoff, or is there some benefit to applying a electrical
charge to a submerged wire hanging off the boat?

If there is some benefit, why can't you just use a 12 volt battery and
resistor to do the same thing and save 100 bucks?

-Bill

 

[Rich Grise]

Is there any truth to the idea that a submerged wire around a fishing boat
that has some positive potential relative to the hull of the boat will
attract fish?

I see a "black box" advertised for $99 that claims to do the job at :
http://www.protroll.com/blkbox.html

Is this a ripoff, or is there some benefit to applying a electrical charge
to a submerged wire hanging off the boat?

If there is some benefit, why can't you just use a 12 volt battery and
resistor to do the same thing and save 100 bucks?

I'd recommend starting with a 1.5V cell, maybe an AA or AAA alkaline, and
at least a 100K resistor, preferably more.

Take notes as to the results you observe. If you get no results with
the one AA cell, try two, then four, then depending on your observations,
you might want to try higher voltages, or less resistance; but the fish
that have electric sense organs can sense very minute electric fields,
like on the order of what's generated by another fish.

See if you can find a platinum or platinum-plated electrode; this will
help eliminate electrochemical confounders.

Report back with what you find.

Good Luck!
Rich

 

[[email protected]]

Is there any truth to the idea that a submerged wire around a fishing
boat that has some positive potential relative to the hull of the boat
will attract fish?

Kinda. If the wire makes an electric field (practically, this means
passing
current) the local fish will find it difficult to avoid aligning to the
field,
which means half of 'em swim straight for the wire, while
half swim straight away (and when the field gets small, they
randomize their orientation until the field catches 'em again).

I'm not sure of the mechanism (the lateral line is the sense organ for
this effect), but it's DEFINITELY against any sensible game laws
to fish this way.

 

[[email protected]]

Is there any truth to the idea that a submerged wire around a fishing
boat that has some positive potential relative to the hull of the boat
will attract fish?

Kinda. If the wire makes an electric field (practically, this means
passing
current) the local fish will find it difficult to avoid aligning to the
field,
which means half of 'em swim straight for the wire, while
half swim straight away (and when the field gets small, they
randomize their orientation until the field catches 'em again).

I'm not sure of the mechanism (the lateral line is the sense organ for
this effect), but it's DEFINITELY against any sensible game laws
to fish this way.

 

[Roger]

Is there any truth to the idea that a submerged wire around a fishing
boat that has some positive potential relative to the hull of the boat
will attract fish?

Yup!

My first job was with a small power electronics company that made
chopper controllers the DC motors. Specialist stuff back in those days.

One day I was on my own during the lunch break and a van from the East
Anglia water board rolled up with a couple of "electronic fishing
units" in the back, which he wanted repaired!

I was speechless. But the boxes had the company logo on them and
looking inside the big waterproof boxes there was one of our standard
chopper control units for printed motor servo motors. They both had
simple common faults so I fixed them, and off he went.

Talking to my boss when he came back he explained that they used them
for researd, the would connect probes on poles and dip them into the
water to stun the fish, which then floated to the surface. They could
then easilt pick out a few samples and throw them back after checks
(the fish were only stunned) and by taking a photo of the fish that
floated to the surface they would later estimate the quantity.

Apparently by varying the frequency, voltage, impulse (a little
daughter board made the chopper give intermittent pulses out instead of
continuous PWM) they could even be selective about the type and size of
the fish they stunned.

Those choppers, IIRC, were 2KW and worked at 3KHz with a nominal output
voltage of 160V, just to give you some idea of what you are looking at.

 

[Rich, but drunk]

Those choppers, IIRC, were 2KW and worked at 3KHz with a nominal output
voltage of 160V, just to give you some idea of what you are looking at.

But he said, "attract", not "stun".

Hell, if you just want to get fish on the cheap, use dynamite. Not too
much, though, because you don't want to rupture their air bladder - that
sinks them. ;-)

Good Luck!
Rich

 

[The Real Andy]

But he said, "attract", not "stun".

Hell, if you just want to get fish on the cheap, use dynamite. Not too
much, though, because you don't want to rupture their air bladder - that
sinks them. ;-)

Good Luck!
Rich

Indonesian fisherman use bombs. What they dont realise is that they
are destroying the reef in the process, hence destroying there
traditional fishing grounds. IT is now illegal and I beleive
Indonesian authorities are now policing it. It is interesting to watch
them light those things and chuck them in. THe bomb itself looks like
a little red oil can with out the handle.

I have also seen the electrical/electronic method of stunning fish,
but as mentioned alsewhere here, the fish have to be there first. It
does not attract them...


Light at night on the other hand.. I use ot for sea mullet and
prawns..

 

[jasen]

Is there any truth to the idea that a submerged wire around a fishing
boat that has some positive potential relative to the hull of the boat
will attract fish?

put anough charge on it and it'll stun them and you'll just be able to grab
them off the surface. (prolly illegal and all that)

Bye.
Jasen

 

[Jitt]

Is there any truth to the idea that a submerged wire around a fishing
boat that has some positive potential relative to the hull of the boat
will attract fish?

I see a "black box" advertised for $99 that claims to do the job at :
http://www.protroll.com/blkbox.html

Is this a ripoff, or is there some benefit to applying a electrical
charge to a submerged wire hanging off the boat?

If there is some benefit, why can't you just use a 12 volt battery and
resistor to do the same thing and save 100 bucks?

-Bill

True.
Northwest salmon trollers have been using them for years.
A lot of the early study was done by Bill Russel of
Russels Electronics in Victoria. His subsequent "black box"
was called the V.I.P. for Variable Impressed Potential.
Google some of these terms maybe you'll be lucky!