Rigger weight?

[Xxx]

In general, what # rigger weight do most of you guys run, and what shape or style do you use. (fish, torpedo) any input would be great. PAP

[Yankee Troller]

I would say a majority of these guys are running 12-16lb weights. Balls will work, but torpedos are much more streamlined and will cause less blowback. If you are running a Big John, Cannon, Scotty, or Traxstech/Vectors you will have no issue with an A-TOM-MIK 15lb Torpedo. It wont hurt your riggers one bit. They are also priced right. Sharks are nice, but you need to be a CEO to afford one, and god forbid you lose one! 

 

Less blow back means netting fish is much easier! Especially one that comes in green.

[Hooked on Kings]

I use 12.5 lbs torpedo weights that that work well down to 100 or 110, after that you will start seeing more blow back. The first set I bought were only 9 lbs fish and the blow back was terrible.

Edited April 30, 2013 by Hooked on Kings

[Xxx]

Thanks guys, I have 2 of the pancake style at 12# and at over 110ft the blowback is terrible, I also have cannon riggers, they are the old style with no auto stop, they are electric but everything is manual they are very strong so I don't think 14.5# would be to much for the old girls LOL.

[Sk8man]

Some of it may depend on how big your boat is too.....and how deep you usually fish riggers. If fishing from a small boat (say 18 ft.) and fishing almost exclusively within the top 100 ft. of the water column and you are primarily running lures and not stuff with a lot of "drag" (e.g. stealth rigs) you don't need a super heavy weight. The larger boats especially the charters etc. may have very different issues with "blow back" and they can afford to replace their equipment (e.g. downriggers) more frequently so running heavy weights may not be as much of an issue as it is with the average sport fisherman on a normal budget without "write-offs". I've run 8-10 lb weights for over 35 years with success. That being said I seldom use them below 100 ft. but my point is that common sense would dictate that the heavier the weight the more stress on the downrigger motor bringing it up even within the range they were designed for so if you plan to hang on to your electrics for awhile you may want to consider using only the amount of weight necessary to run the what you want to. There seems to be a lot of "overkill" in the way of equipment these days. Fishing salt water may necessitate it but on Lake O I think the minimum to get the job done is what you shoot for especially when you keep your equipment long term. I just put on my flack jacket and body armor just in case the responses to this get "dangerous"

[LongLine]

Sk8 has some good points.  Here’s my history:

 

I used to use 8 Lb herbies (fish) but found they were only good to about 50 ft down. (Molded my own) I then moved to 10 Lb balls with fins which worked pretty well to about 70-80 ft down.  (Also molded my own)  I then bought a 10 Lb herbie (too cheap to buy a mold) which is pretty good going a little deeper.  Then I bought a Sub-T and needed a little more weight so I molded a 2 Lb weight in an aluminum measuring cup and screwed it to the bottom of the 10 Lb ball.

 

I still had some blow back with the probe down 80-90 or so, especially with the heavier cable on the probe, so I had to put on the old thinking cap.  What I came up with is the “LongLine Missile†which allows me to take the probe down 120 ft with no problem.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v502/LongLine/album%201/2010newestaddition_zps8b22b00c.jpg

It weighs in at 14.4 Lb.  That same year or so they came out with the torpedo.  (Guess I just wasn’t fast enough – oh well)

 

Obviously my vote is for the torpedo shaped weight.

 

A word of caution about weights: Make sure your rigg’r is rated for that weight.  You have to be careful in choppy water if your anywhere near the rating.  Up & down motion of the boat will cause additional strain on the rigg’r arm.

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

 

 

[Sk8man]

In light of Tom's comments I should clarify something too. I never considered either coated cables or probes being attached as I don't use either...that would make a hell of a difference too. That homemade weight looks pretty neat by the way...maybe not too late ....NASA might be interested Tom

[Xxx]

If the 12.5#  torpedo's do the trick down to 100-110 with minimal blow back that's the route I'm going to take. The 12# pancakes I have now do well down to 70-80ft, then they just give up and blow back a lot, so the 12.5# torpedo's should buy me another 30-40ft and that will do me just well without killing my rigger motors. I'm mostly a weekend, and maybe a full week once a year fisherman, so I think with a little common sense I should be ok. Thanks guys for your input I will definitely use your knowledge to my benefit, that's what this site is all about. Thanks again PAP. 

 

[Richard]

My vote is for the 13# torpedo weight. I have a 19' boat with  under a eight foot beam. Four riggers in the back. I have had them down well over 100 feet in bad currents at the Niagara bar without issues.