Has anyone used a Black Box to attract fish while ice fishing?

[gastriclavage16]

I'm obsessed with kokanee fishing in open water, and primarily fish for them under the ice.  I've had a lot of success but as any kokanee angler knows, it's all about improving efficiency.
I'm getting a black box for Christmas from the wifey to install on the boat, but I plan to try it out ice fishing too.  However,  I've searched and searched online and haven't found any information on the topic.

Has anyone tried this out?  I'll be sure to report on my findings if nothing else.

Cheers!

[WYIfish]

Sooooo pardon my ignorance but what is a black box besides what is on a dead airplane?

[Just a random icefisherma]

Sooooo pardon my ignorance but what is a black box besides what is on a dead airplane?

I think this is what he's talking about. Something about it makes electronic pulses or something in the water

https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Troll-Fishing-Products-Electronic-Attractor/dp/B00030AFVQ

[missoulafish]

Sounds like a questions for the Ice Fishing Hotline😛

[kasilofchrisn]

The black box is used to produce a positive charge around your boat via the downrigger cable from your boat.
Some boats due to mineral content of the water, electrical issues on your boat, etc. produce mild electrical currents that can detract fish that are then are transmitted to your bait/lure via the downrigger cable and ball.
Since we have no metal boat in the water and no metal downrigger cable and ball I would say the black box would be of no use on the ice.
You are not generating any electrical charge positive or negative that would attract or repel the fish.

[eriksat1]

You mean "Action" Jack Barkers black box?

[kasilofchrisn]

You mean "Action" Jack Barkers black box?

I believe you are thinking of the wrong black box.
The one we are discussing, that a link was posted to earlier, is one that adjusts the electrical charges coming off your boat and transmitted down the downrigger wire to the ball and your bait.
If I remember correctly both Cannon and Pro Troll have versions of the troll fishermans black box.

[Icemole]

  Kevin van Dam and Jeff Kriet were peddling these things to bass guys a couple of years back.  http://www.hydrowave.com/c-4-accessories.aspx  I was not hooked so I can't say if they work or not 

[rgfixit]

There's one born every minute.
I remember the color meter . Told you what color to use by depth. Yeah........I bought one.

Like I said, "There's one born every minute".

Rg

[pot-belly-perch]

yes that is true RG

[Seamonkey84]

There's one born every minute.
I remember the color meter . Told you what color to use by depth. Yeah........I bought one.

Like I said, "There's one born every minute".

Rg

I saw one of those advertised a while back, though it may have some merit but didn't believe the price. Did it do you any good at all?

[spoofhoundicefisher]

There's one born every minute.
I remember the color meter . Told you what color to use by depth. Yeah........I bought one.

Like I said, "There's one born every minute".

Rg

i still see them in either the cabelas or bass pro shops fishing catalog.  my dad had a buddie years ago who was a gadget guy and bought everything that was the new rage and bought one of them and said it was going to revolutionize his fishing and he was going to leave us in the dust.  took about 2 outings of him being outfished by his buddies son (me) who was only 7 or 8 at the time for him to throw it out.

[kasilofchrisn]

While the color C-Lector may have been a gimmick the black box is not quite the same.
The thing is that not every boat needs one.
Only boats trolling with downriggers and that put out a negative charge in the water will benefit.
This negative charge can actually be measured as can the effects from the black box.
Those trolling without downriggers on a smaller lake will not benefit from them either.
I think the black box is one of those things that will benefit some troll fishermen and not others but for certain fishermen on certain boats it can help.
It isn't an attractor though. More so it eliminates a detractor ie the negative charge becomes positive.
But for ice fishing I see zero benefit.
No metal boat and no metal cable or wire hanging in the water means no electrical charge put out. So no electrical charge to correct.

[WYIfish]

Quote No metal boat and no metal cable or wire hanging in the water means no electrical charge put out. So no electrical charge to correct. end quote:

 Would it have any interaction with a fish finder?

[kasilofchrisn]

Quote No metal boat and no metal cable or wire hanging in the water means no electrical charge put out. So no electrical charge to correct. end quote:

 Would it have any interaction with a fish finder?

Not sure what you mean by interaction?
But unless your fish finder is broken and emitting a negative charge into the water it wouldn't do for you what it does on a boat.
So my guess is no it wouldn't have any positive interaction with a properly working fish finder or flasher.

[rgfixit]

"c-Lector" that was it.
Nope...it never did any better than my own common sense. As far as this black box is concerned, it would take a lot to talk me into that one.

Rg

[IFF]

Sounds like a questions for the Ice Fishing Hotline😛

  I believe your right.

[FG Steve]

There's one born every minute.
I remember the color meter . Told you what color to use by depth. Yeah........I bought one.

OK, to start with, I'm not going out to buy one.  But I did have an experience this Fall that gives me a little pause.

I was a volunteer fisheries tech for a day, and we went electrofishing in a small stream to collect some cutthroat trout and relocate them to a brood stock facility. 

The biologist I was working with told me that fish are attracted to the anode then they get too close and zap.

Even if the things are ineffective, there just might be some science behind it somewhere.

[DR.SPECKLER]

ive bought a lot of crap for fishing in my days however the black box/hydrowave whatever its called has never crossed my mind..its a super gimmick in my book.jmo

[gastriclavage16]

Ok, sorry for not providing more context about what I meant by black box, but yes, it is a positive charged unit that is typically used when trolling with downriggers that have steel cables.  I sample fish with electricity for a living so I have a good understanding of how fish are attracted to positive charges.  If you read the literature or have experience with salmon or kokanee fishing, it's proven science that black boxes attract fish and improve catch rates considerably. They were first developed by commercial salmon fishermen decades ago.

Regarding ice fishing, I was planning to attach a manual downrigger with a steel cable to a frame, hooked up to the black box, and drop it down a hole.  This should work and wouldn't be much different than a open water trolling operation.  This would be used mainly for kokanee fishing, both to attract fish and keep the schools in the general vicinity.  I know I can't be the first person to try this, so was just curious if anyone else out there had any experience.

[gearheart]

You really do not want to have a cable dangling down your ice hole for the fish to wrap himself and your line around. BTDT with my camera cable.  Since the black box uses the downrigger cable as one of its contacts, no cable = no workee.