Downriggers
Cannon Magnum 10 review
Quick answer
The Cannon Magnum 10 is a $536.93 electric downrigger with a 250 foot per minute retrieve, a 20 lb weight capacity and a boom that telescopes from 24 to 53 inches. The catch: its depth counter measures cable out, not true depth, and at 30 degrees of blowback a ball with 100 feet of cable out sits at about 87 feet.
The Cannon Magnum 10 is the Great Lakes standard electric downrigger, built around a longer telescoping boom and a faster retrieve than Cannon's smaller Magnum 5. At $536.93 it is priced for a boat running one or more riggers seriously, where hauling a heavy ball up by hand on every strike stops being a reasonable way to fish.
This review is built from Cannon's published specifications for the Magnum line and the recurring themes in verified owner reviews of the Magnum 10, along with the published trigonometry that governs how a downrigger's own depth counter actually behaves once the boat is moving.
On this page
- What the Magnum 10 actually is, and what electric buys you
- Published specifications across the Magnum line
- The catch: the counter measures cable, not depth
- The blowback trigonometry, published and unavoidable
- How much depth blowback actually costs at common angles
- Cutting blowback for free with weight shape
- Alternatives: budget to the Magnum 5, or step up to the TS or a networked system
- Magnum 10 against the smaller Magnum 5 and the tournament grade TS
- Who should buy the Cannon Magnum 10
What the Magnum 10 actually is, and what electric buys you
An electric downrigger like the Magnum 10 retrieves the ball and line at the push of a button rather than a hand crank, at a published 250 feet per minute. That matters most the moment a fish strikes: a manual downrigger owner is cranking a heavy ball up by hand while trying to fight a fish at the same time, and running two or four riggers on a boat multiplies that problem. The Magnum 10 also includes an Auto Up feature, automatically retrieving the weight and stopping precisely at the waterline once triggered, which removes the risk of a swinging ball at the surface while someone else on deck is netting a fish.
Published specifications across the Magnum line
Cannon sells three electric Magnum tiers built around the same core mechanism. The table below lines up the differences that actually matter on the water.
The Magnum 10 steps up to a telescoping 24 to 53 inch boom and 20 lb capacity over the fixed 24 inch boom on the Magnum 5.
Published figure A published engineering, regulatory or manufacturer figure. It does not change because somebody disagrees with it.
| Model | Boom | Weight capacity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannon Magnum 5 | Fixed 24 in | Not stated in listing | $460.91 |
| Cannon Magnum 10 | Telescoping 24 to 53 in | 20 lb | $536.93 |
| Cannon Magnum 10 TS | Telescoping 24 to 53 in, 316 stainless | Not stated in listing | $711.77 |
Both retrieve at Cannon's published 250 feet per minute rate; the differences between the three are boom reach, material and bottom tracking features rather than retrieve speed.
The catch: the counter measures cable, not depth
A downrigger's depth counter tracks how much cable has been let out, not how deep the ball actually sits. Once the boat is under way, water pressure pushes the cable and ball backward into a trailing angle called blowback, and the ball's real depth is always less than the cable reading shows. Ignoring that gap is the single most common reason a lure fished at a counter reading of 30 feet turns out to be running well above the fish holding at that depth.
The blowback trigonometry, published and unavoidable
True depth from cable out and blowback angle
Published figuretrue depth = cable out x cos( blowback angle ) At 30 degrees of blowback with 100 ft of cable out: 100 x cos(30) = 100 x 0.866 approx 87 ft, not 100 ft
This is published trigonometry, not a Cannon specific figure. It applies to any downrigger cable regardless of brand.
How much depth blowback actually costs at common angles
At 30 degrees of blowback, 13 feet of the 100 feet of cable out is lost to angle, not depth.
Published figure A published engineering, regulatory or manufacturer figure. It does not change because somebody disagrees with it.
| Blowback angle | Cable out | True depth | Depth lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 degrees | 100 ft | 94 ft | 6 ft |
| 30 degrees | 100 ft | 87 ft | 13 ft |
| 40 degrees | 100 ft | 77 ft | 23 ft |
| 50 degrees | 100 ft | 64 ft | 36 ft |
Figures are computed from the published trigonometry above. Blowback angle should be read directly off the rigger with the boat under way, not assumed from a table.
Cutting blowback for free with weight shape
Weight shape changes how much a ball trails behind vertical at a given trolling speed, without touching the electronics at all. The Extreme Max coated pancake downrigger weight, 10 lb tracks with less blowback than a round ball of the same weight, which means less of the cable reading above gets eaten by angle at the same trolling speed. That is free depth, in the sense that it costs nothing to read the blowback angle correctly and choose a weight shape that trails less in the first place.
Alternatives: budget to the Magnum 5, or step up to the TS or a networked system
A boat running a single rigger on a smaller boat and not chasing the longest boom reach should look at the Cannon Magnum 5, the same 250 foot per minute retrieve and Auto Up feature on a fixed 24 inch boom for about $75 less. Tournament anglers who want bottom tracking and a saltwater grade 316 stainless boom should step up to the Cannon Magnum 10 TS instead. Anyone running four riggers who wants them networked together and controlled from one app should look past the Magnum line entirely to the Cannon Optimum, a real step up in price that is not worth it for a boat running one or two riggers on weekends.
Magnum 10 against the smaller Magnum 5 and the tournament grade TS
| Specification | Cannon Magnum 10 electric downrigger | Cannon Magnum 5 electric downrigger | Cannon Magnum 10 TS tournament style electric downrigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $536.93 | $460.91 | $711.77 |
| Drive | Electric | Electric | Electric |
Every figure above is the manufacturer own published specification. Where a maker does not publish a figure the cell reads "not published" rather than carrying an estimate, because on ratings and currents an estimate that reads as a specification is a safety problem rather than a gap.
Who should buy the Cannon Magnum 10
This is the right downrigger for a boat running one or more riggers on Great Lakes or similarly serious trolling water, where the telescoping boom's reach and the 20 lb capacity matter and hand cranking a manual unit on every strike is not realistic. It is the wrong choice for a casual troller running a single line occasionally in shallow inland water, where the Scotty 1050 Depthmaster manual rigger does the same basic job at a fraction of the price.
How we chose
We did not test this equipment in person and we never claim to. Picks are researched from manufacturer specification sheets, published engineering and regulatory figures, and the recurring themes in verified owner reviews. Every pick is matched to a real thrust rating, a real published amp draw, a real capacity or a real conductor size rather than to a price bracket, and it is placed in the tier where its published capability actually belongs. We rejected the unbranded flood that dominates several of these search results, because a lithium pack whose management board is the only thing between a cell fault and a fire, a breaker protecting a battery cable, a life jacket and a bracket holding a two thousand dollar motor to the bow at highway speed are all parts whose failure has a consequence nobody can walk away from. Where a figure is convention rather than a published standard we label it that way, and where a manufacturer does not publish a figure we leave it out instead of estimating it.
Sources
- Cannon published specifications for the Magnum 5, Magnum 10 and Magnum 10 TS
- Cannon published specifications for the Optimum electric downrigger
- Published trigonometry for downrigger blowback and true depth
- Verified owner reviews of the Cannon Magnum 10 on major retail listings
Frequently asked questions
Does the Cannon Magnum 10 show the actual depth of the lure?
No, not directly. Its depth counter tracks cable out, and the ball's real depth is the cable out multiplied by the cosine of the blowback angle, which increases as the boat picks up speed or fights current. At 30 degrees of blowback, 100 feet of cable out puts the ball at about 87 feet, not 100. Reading the blowback angle off the rigger corrects for this.
What is the retrieve speed of the Cannon Magnum 10?
Cannon publishes 250 feet per minute for the Magnum 10, the same rate as the smaller Magnum 5 and the tournament grade Magnum 10 TS. What differs between the three models is boom length, weight capacity and material, not how fast the electric motor pulls the ball back to the surface.
What is the weight capacity of the Cannon Magnum 10?
Cannon's published listing states a 20 lb weight capacity for the Magnum 10, paired with a telescoping boom that extends from 24 to 53 inches. That capacity covers the heavier balls used in deep water trolling, where a lighter ball would see more blowback at the same trolling speed.
Does a pancake weight really reduce blowback compared to a round ball?
Yes, based on the tracking behavior manufacturers and anglers describe for pancake shaped weights versus round balls of equal weight. A pancake weight trails less behind vertical at a given trolling speed, which means less of the cable reading is lost to angle. It does not change the trigonometry itself, only the blowback angle the trigonometry is applied to.
Is the Cannon Magnum 10 worth it over a manual downrigger?
For a boat running multiple riggers or fishing seriously enough that retrieving by hand on every strike becomes a real problem, yes. A manual downrigger like the Scotty Depthmaster costs a fraction of the price and does the same basic job for a single line fished occasionally. The Magnum 10 earns its price on boats where retrieve speed and Auto Up genuinely change how fishing goes.
What is the difference between the Magnum 10 and the Magnum 10 TS?
Both share the same telescoping boom length and 250 foot per minute retrieve. The TS version adds bottom tracking, a 316 marine grade stainless steel boom built for saltwater, and a saltwater rated line release, at a price roughly $175 higher. Freshwater anglers not chasing tournament features typically get equal fishing performance from the standard Magnum 10.
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Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published engineering and regulatory figures, manufacturer specifications and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Figures described as a rule of thumb are boating convention rather than published standards, and they are labelled that way wherever they appear. Marine electrical work is not house wiring. Use tinned, finely stranded marine cable, size it for voltage drop and for the ABYC E-11 ampacity table rather than one or the other, and put overcurrent protection within seven inches of the battery positive terminal, because everything between the post and the fuse is unprotected. A lithium battery needs a charger with a lithium profile. Never load a boat past its capacity plate, and remember that canoes and kayaks carry no federal capacity plate at all, so their stated capacity is the manufacturer own figure. Wear the life jacket, and treat early season water as the hazard it is: cold water immersion takes your breath and then your hands long before it takes your core.