Interesting discussion and it's like what goes on in my boat.

I fish the pancake weights and think they're the best and my buddy likes the teardrop weight.

If the pancake weight has the weight and the eyelet straight up and down, it tracks in a straight line.

When we look at the two downriggers in my boat, my line with the pancake weight has less of an angle on it than my buddy's.

When considering surface area, consider the area facing the direction of the current. If round balls were superior to pancake weights then hunters would still be hunting with round balls and not pointed bullets.

I was fishing with another friend and he had the round ball. His really spun in the water. I had the pancake and mine didn't spin.
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zen leecher