Down rigger weight question

[Hard Cast]

I have never used down riggers before. I purchased a couple of the Scotty electric units and I was wondering what size/weight of lead balls I should use for kokanee fishing? Do I need several different weights for different conditions (speed, depth, etc.)? Any tips you wish to share would be greatly appreciated.

[Newcs]

I like ten lbs as they will allow you to go deep and can also be fished shallow. If I could only pick one it would be 10

-Jay

[Hard Cast]

Originally Posted by Newcs

I like ten lbs as they will allow you to go deep and can also be fished shallow. If I could only pick one it would be 10

-Jay

Thanks Jay. Is there any disadvantage to using a heavier ball? Any down side vs a lighter ball?

[Newcs]

I cant see any disadvantage. you can fish shallow or deep and the heavier weight.It will also help to keep bow back to a min. Others might disagree but Id say 10lb is the perfect weight. Unless you plan on going deeper than say 150' than id go 10

-Jay

[Jedcraft]

Newcz is spot on. 10# is probably the best all around size. I use 8# for trout size gear to 50' or if hand cranking but do have 15# pancakes for speed trolling or 200' plus depths. The bigger ones gett $$.

[Bigkntry]

My .........I use 12 lb pancakes for everything (shallow and deep).....I like them because when I do fish deep and it reduces blowback considerably. In addition when fishing shallow there is no downside to the 12 lbers and they track excellent at faster trollling speeds. Good Luck

[FallRiverGuy]

I have used 8# weights for Kokanee for years. There is some blow back when fishing deeper, but I have a pancake for when I fish 80 to 100' deep. Rarely do I fish for Kokanee below 70 feet deep.

[moknots]

and.... what Jedcraft sez (Newcz is spot on. 10# is probably the best all around size. I use 8# for trout size gear to 50' or if hand cranking but do have 15# pancakes for speed trolling or 200' plus depths. The bigger ones gett $$. ) You're going to love it

[Hard Cast]

OK so it is sounding like I really should get a 12# pancake weight. So, anyone know where I can buy a mold to make my own? They are so expensive and I can get lead for free so I'd really like to make my own.

[Klamanite]

Originally Posted by critrgitr

OK so it is sounding like I really should get a 12# pancake weight. So, anyone know where I can buy a mold to make my own? They are so expensive and I can get lead for free so I'd really like to make my own.

Let me know if you find one. I got lotsa lead and no mold, for those anyway.

[Keta]

Originally Posted by critrgitr

Thanks Jay. Is there any disadvantage to using a heavier ball? Any down side vs a lighter ball?

A 8-10lb ball work for most situations, especially kokanee. For deep and/or fast trolling (I've trolled with mine at over 9 knots) I prefer a 15lb or heavier pancake weight. Scotty electrics can handle a 20lb ball but I don't like to use anything over 15lbs for most of my fishing. I've used large Old Salty diving planners rather than balls but they aren't the best for slow trolling.

Change out your SS cable and replace it with 200lb Spectra.

[Cannon]

Originally Posted by Bigkntry

My .........I use 12 lb pancakes for everything (shallow and deep).....I like them because when I do fish deep and it reduces blowback considerably. In addition when fishing shallow there is no downside to the 12 lbers and they track excellent at faster trollling speeds. Good Luck

I switched to the 12# pancakes last season. Prior to that I used the 8# with a fin. The pancakes are far and away the better unit in my experience.

[Hard Cast]

Originally Posted by Cannon

I switched to the 12# pancakes last season. Prior to that I used the 8# with a fin. The pancakes are far and away the better unit in my experience.

OK, I am sold, now where can I buy a mold?

[Klamanite]

Originally Posted by critrgitr

OK, I am sold, now where can I buy a mold?

I've looked quite a bit and haven't been able to track one down yet. Now if you know a good machinist, that's another story

[Cannon]

I found this site which details making the mold. You would have to purchase or borrow one ready made weight. The fins on mine are made out of aluminum. But the rest would be fairly straight forward. Personally I am not into the lead fumes thing so I will continue to buy mine and just be careful not to loose them which is the real deal anyway. The main thing with DR's is to make sure you have no kinks in the cable and that the terminal end of the cable is not frayed or in bad shape.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5427217_make-lead-molds.html

[twisted lines]

Another one to ponder is how am I going to heat that much lead and the mold! OR how long will that supply last at 12-15lbs a pop TL

[Aufish101]

Here what another Ifisher (Kokonuts) did,

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthrea...rigger+weights

Aufish101

[Klamanite]

Originally Posted by twisted lines

Another one to ponder is how am I going to heat that much lead and the mold! OR how long will that supply last at 12-15lbs a pop TL

I use a 2 qt dutch oven and a turkey deep fryer burner. It holds about 30 lbs of lead and it will go from solid to operating temp in about 5 minutes.

The "endless" supply? Well, that depends on how many you wind up donating to the lakes

[cataraft fishin]

I have a 10# ball and a 12# pancake. The 12# pancake is definitely my favorite.

[Waterfish]

Although I don’t need to use 15 lb pancake weights for kokanee, since I also fish for mackinaw I use them for kokanee too since there are no disadvantages to using heavier weights (assuming you’re using electric downriggers). For mackinaw fishing, I often troll at depths to 175’ and at speeds up to 3.0 mph and these slim 15 lb pancakes produces less blowback than any other weights I’ve used.

I buy these weights at Englund Marine at their stores in Astoria and Newport. At $33.00 each, they are less money than any other 15 lb pancakes that I know of, and they also have the narrowest profile of any that I’ve seen. I coat them with the rubberized tool handle paint that you can buy at Harbor Freight.

This photo shows the Englund Marine 15 lb pancake next to a 15 lb round downrigger weight. I like using the standard Scotty stainless steel cable, and with steel cable you need to separate the downrigger weight from the cable with rope or rubber so that the cable/ball won’t produce a negative electrical charge that will repel fish. Even if you replace your steel cable with braid, I recommend using a rubber snubber between the downrigger weight and the line, so that you can drag or bounce the downrigger ball across the bottom (whether accidently or on purpose). Sometimes bouncing the weight on the bottom will trigger a mackinaw bite, and also lessens the chance of snagging the weight on the bottom. I buy these heavy black snubbers at Englund Marine too. They have swivels on each end which is also a good feature.




It’s important to bend the fin outward about 10 degrees so that the pancake weights track slightly to the outside. That way you can avoid a horrible tangle up that could happen if your downrigger weights cross paths, especially during tight turns. This is another reason I prefer the Englund Marine pancakes to the more expensive Cannon pancakes, which have thick rigid fins that can’t be easily bent.

[Newcs]

Just be careful with anything over 10lbs as your adding a lot of stress on the boom arm of the rigger. And be sure their mounted well as that's a lot of weight and force on the mount. I was also going to mention cranking up any down rigger weight from deep water is a P.I.T.A but it looks like you went elec. so thats good.

[twisted lines]

Originally Posted by Aufish101

Here what another Ifisher (Kokonuts) did,

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthrea...rigger+weights

Aufish101

Thanks again Aufish just what I needed another project; but I did get this much done tonight, I made the small red 8 LB ers long ago bought the 10s that weight 9 even longer ago, and started the 16 lber's today after hearing one must have them. Thanks Kokonuts for the easier way. If I only had one probably the 10s but I use the 8s the most. TL

[Salmonheadsoup]

is there any advantage to painting them? or is plain old lead balls ok to use?

[jzell]

pancake8

jz