Port and Center Rigger crossing!?

[trenchfisherman]

It seems quite often that my port side fishing lure will get wraped around my center rigger cable.  I run three cannon riggers with booms fully entended on the port and starboard sides and the boat has a ten foot beam so i should have plenty of spacing.  I run 12 lb slim darters type weights (bought at Fat Nancy's) on the outsides and a 12lb ball on the center.  So far the only thing i can think of is that the ball is either swinging or tracking in that direction or that since I am near Henderson Harbor and fish near the trench a lot that the current from the black river is making them cross.  It just seems weird that its only that one side and not the starboard side as well.  Any suggestions on how I can fix this?

[Don Supon]

What you describe doesn't make sense to me. Shouldn't be a problem. Is your port rigger weight bent so that it tracks toward center of boat while the round center ball is swinging? Maybe replacing the center ball with what is on the outside two would solve it.

[LongLine]

If the current is doing it then when you reverse direction, i.e go the other way, then the other two should cross.  Sounds to me like a fin is bent causing the outside rigg'r ball to go towards the center.

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[bout time]

Lower both weight so they are just a couple feet under water but still visible. Troll with them and see if they are tracking correctly. Even if they track a couple inches off that will be magnified times ten when you run them deeper

[TOP SECRET]

Do you use a kicker? When I use mine my boat tends to "crab" and if not careful my rigger cables tangle.

[Fish Hunter]

Sounds odd.

[trenchfisherman]

i am definitely going to switch the balls around and no i do not use a kicker.  Nothing worse than trolling for 30 minutes only to find out that one of your lines is caught up on the other wire!  thanks for the suggestions and tips!

[Don Supon]

After rereading your question I realize your lure on port side is catching the center rigger cable. My response was to the idea that the cables were being crossed somehow.

 

Do you run the leads from the ball to lure very tight to the ball? If so, I could understand a 5 ft. lead catching the center cable if that cable's ball has excessive blowback and/or is swinging wildly. Or if the port ball is tracking toward the center. If this is the case, suggest you increase the lead length to the lures (to 10 ft. or more) to get the lures outside of the swing area of the center ball.

 

It still seems like there is a problem with how your center and port balls track. That it still the likely problem. I was wondering why a fellow would run a ball in the center with fish shape or torpodeo shape on the two outsides. Seems to me that all three should be of the same shape for consistency.

Edited July 16, 2013 by Don Supon