Downriggers Weights

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I was planning on picking up some new weights to reduce blowback on my riggers. I typically run 8 lb balls, but have borrowed 12 lb fish shaped weights that had less blow back (and loved them). I was thinking on bumping up to a 15 lb weight. I have cannon dual crank 6 downriggers (manual) that seemed to handle the 12 lb weights no problem. Anyone have experience with a similar set up. Do you think the riggers can handle the 15 lb weights?

Pancake, shark, or torpedo weights?

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Sk8man]

I'd stick with 12 lb torpedo (troutman87) or fish shaped weighs that (bikinibottom) makes....they are both great. Manually hauling up 15 lb weights can be brutal when you fish deep or make frequent changes.

[Richard]

I have the 13# a-tom-mic weights which are torpedos. Love them. I would use these or the ones stated above. I think 15# might be a little much for the manuals but you could check with cannon to see what the max weight for them is.

[BAZOOKAJOE]

I have hand crank riggers and I would say it depends on your boom diameter. A slim profile 15 lbs weight like a shark or torpedo should be fine. The uni-trolls are rated for up to 20 lbs weights. I'm still using troutmans 13 lbs ers. But considering the 15 or 17 lbs sharks.

[Sk8man]

After a lot of years of trolling it seems to me that the issue of downrigger weight is really basically a personal preference issue (like many other things in fishing) for most sport fishermen. If you are driving a large heavy boat with your main power supplied by your main large engine a heavier weight may be advisable and justified but for most other common situations (e.g. boats 16-24 ft) weights heavier than 10-12 lbs are probably not truly necessary for these smaller lighter boats using an auxillary trolling motor for trolling . The total elimination of "blowback" is something akin to looking for unicorns and just about as important as far as I'm concerned. Learning to use and interpret a depth finder properly,  continual monitoring of the angle of your downrigger cable, listening to the sound of the cable in the water, and tightly controlling boat speed and closely monitoring a down speed probe (if you have one) are much more important than adding considerable weight to your equipment -especially older downriggers.  Because of the nature of the electronics being used often times we may not be exactly where we think our riggers are running on screen anyway (cone angle factors etc.). If interested in a presentation fish will come up for it and sometimes even right up off the bottom for a look or horizontally from good distances away ( just look at some of the videos taken of flasher/fly action where they seem to appear out of nowhere). Did the actual weight of the downrigger ball or "blowback" heavily figure in to that situation....probably not. If using a heavy weight gives you increased confidence in your presentation then go for it but in actuality downrigger weight and "blowback" may not be as critical to success as some folks seem to think. It probably is more productive to pay closer attention to ones particular tackle setups and trolling speeds than thinking a heavier downrigger weight is the "magic solution" . I know this view will probably ruffle some feathers of the big weight "die hards" ......so convince me I'm wrong in my belief

[Iceman]

The depth that you are fishing determines how much weight to use, Spring fishing I use 10 lb pancakes with the tails bent out on my out & down riggers, & fish shaped 12lb weights on the rear riggers, typically not fishing deeper than 100'. In the fall, I use 16lb Atomic weights because I will be fishing deeper than 100', I have 20lb sharks, if I want to go really deep, or the current is heavy.

Good Luck!

John

[Sk8man]

Two real good points there ..... deep fishing and strong current are sure enough very real considerations because they are important factors in fishing Lake O especially. They are also potentially valid reasons for using heavier weight there and I certainly wouldn't argue that point either. Much of the fishing I most frequently do is on the Finger Lakes and usually within 125 ft. range (max.) with downriggers so maybe a case could be made for having  multiple weights if fishing very different bodies of water and especially when fishing deeper and in current. When fishing during the Spring in close I sometimes shift from 10 lb weights to 8 lbs when running just spoons or sticks or the very small size dipseys just for ease of handling. It is also worth mentioning that regarding the issue of "blowback" that it isn't only the depth accuracy/weight  issue but also on turns the potential for getting tangled when running a lot of stuff close together down there or in the heavy cross currents. Thanks Iceman....I was hoping that issues like this would be brought up so that folks new to this would have things to think about before rushing out to get the 20 lb weights

Edited August 15, 2015 by Sk8man

[LongLine]

I run a 14.4# homemade "missle" on my uni with a probe & haven't had any issues.  You will get some exercise when pulling it up from 120 though.

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[wishinfishin]

LongLine, any pictures of the home made missle ??? Just curious is all.

[LongLine]

 

 

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[wishinfishin]

Check you out . Pretty cool. Thanks for sharing . gotta be a bummer if you lose one.

 

I like seeing peoples ingenuity(think I spelled that right).

[wishinfishin]

I just have some manual riggers I got this year I use the 12.5 pound torpedoes from troutman , they track great,

wouldnt want to haul up from the depths more weight.

[fish whistle]

I prefer 12lb balls with a fin...shallow or deep...

I don't often troll over 2.5 mph so blowback is not a big issue..

I tried the shark weights and did not like them at all !!!

Fishing four riggers on a 24' penn yan they would cross cables steady  !!

Not good when it fouls your probe rigger, the weights  seem to "swim" way to much !!

Once the weight catches a current or is going up or down to fast they seem out of control...

For me at least

I believe weights of similar size and shape should be used at all times to keep your spread in control..