Sk8man

The main difference for rme is that the shark weights seem to track better in the water.I used the cannonball with rudder and fish type for years before switching and glad I did.

At least you have your stash of perch Mike....and then there is always your favorite seat at Wegmans

Yes Justin. I think the article was a bit short on important details as some of the others have mentioned. It was dealing with Canandaigua which doesn't have walleyes yet they make a big deal about them and don't give any lake specifics mor comparisons for the places that have them.

I'm not a doctor or chemist so alI I know is what I have read over the years. A couple things come to mind Don - .first is that mercury is a heavy metal and we probably ingest small amounts of it along with other chemicals in our lifetimes in a number of ways some "natural" and some not. So, the thing about heavy metals is that they stay in our systems and accumulate over our lives. Other toxins may be just as dangerous in significant amounts but many of them allegedly are stored in the fat layers of the fish; priincipally in the belly and back regions and dark material on the sides, so that when they are filleted in a manner by discarding these sections the concentrations and larger amounts of contaminants are removed - at least this is what has been thought for years. My feeling is that at our age (sorry Don) eating a few fish isn't as worrysome as a bunch of other things that can and do happen. The same is not true for younger people and women and girls of childbearing age as some of these toxins and heavy metals have been highly associated with birth defects and possibly cancer and eating the fish for longer lifetimes could predispose them to illnesses or these concerns. I'd say fillet the laker properly and have a beer to go with it....that way if you croak from it at least you'll go happier.....guess that proves I'm not a doctor eh

Don - I haven't eaten a lake trout in about 20 plus years and other than an occasional relatively small rainbow or landlock on the grill, I do eat perch routinely (3 or 4 times a month) and have had an occasional walleye which is my favorite freshwater fish to eat (unfortunately I guess). Swordfish (another favorite) and tuna also are reputed to have high levels of mercury but they too are a much larger fish....

Rob brings up and interesting issue: weight of the object vs. shape (hydrodynamic relationship in the water). There may be data on it that I am unaware of but either factor relates to "blowback" or the water resistance encountered by the weight pushing it backward and thus forcing the depth of the weight and lure upward. I haven't ever done a direct comparison with specific measurements of the two but an additional thing to consider is whether your downrigger can tolerate the heavier weights. Many of the older Cannon electrics (e.g. older 10's or 10A's) which are still in use by quite a few folks are not recommended for weights in excess of 10 lbs. because of motor wear concerns. In that case the options become more limited and the shaape of the weight may become more important. A 10 lb shark weight slips through the water quite nicely within the first 100 ft or less with less of an angle less than that of a cannonball weight which tends to go a little sideways (especially the ones without a back fin) as well as riding upward more, but trolling speed (and current) is also a big factor. The heavier the weight the more it tends to stay down when speeds are increased and as the weight goes deeper as well and this is especially apparent at depths in excess of 80-100 ft.but you need a downrigger capable of handling these heavier weights too.

Guess we'll have to show a little restraint Skipper

The thing I was surprised about is that the mercury isn't stored in the fat but in the muscle areas..... http://www.mpnnow.com/news/20180307/are-finger-lakes-fish-safe-eating

Regardless of the weight considered go with either the shark shaped or the torpedo shape - all the difference inthe world. Troutman87 on LOU has the torpedo style and bikinibottom on here has the shark style both great weights.

Good to know....maybe I can use it as an excuse for when I tangle it up with leadcore and end up with short one

Good points Rob and I fully agree. I've never run coppers shorter than 200 ft.long

I guess I look at the long leads a different way. If you already have hudreds of feet out away from the boat turbulence etc. a fish isn't going to be "spooked" by it and the "stealth" factor may not be the critical one at that point and may be more important with surface related things like planerboards run shallow, shallow run downriggers and toplines. I've always thought that both the coppers and leadcores may actually "attract" fish to it because of the vibrating action (different for each) in the water and a 20 ft leader following it wouldn't spook them unless they were maybe wearing virtual reality glasses or something

It still could be a lamprey Mike.The very precise outer edge of the red area suggests it. They suck the heck out of them.