I noticed some shops are selling downrigger weights that are flat, like pancakes. Has anyone used one of these before? Are they better than ball downrigger weights?

My opinion is that they are trouble. With a capital "T".

They will "swim" sideways and you will get to experience the nightmare of having your 2 downriggers tangled together.

And while they look like they provide less drag, they do not. The shape that gives you the most weight with the least surface area is the sphere.

Thanks Slabquest. Good info. I've been using balls while my friend has the pancakes. Got his all tangled up at least once that I remember, but never put the reason together.

Hey Easy,

Riggin balls are a personal preference for everyone.

Pancakes can be modified to swim away from the boat by slighty bending the fin- opposite for the other side rigger. However, keep in mind, it is the weight of the ball, wire diameter, and speed through the water that causing blow back. The shape, however slight, causes minimal effect- especially with 15#'s of weight. The pancake shape might work good for shallow fishing, i.e., Summer Kings, but once you start fishing deeper you'll run into problems with the weights swimming closer and possible tangling. This would especially true fishing across the current.

My personal choice would be the Scotty tear drop. (1) it is cast iron and (2) it is hollow- I like "ringing the dinner bell." Again blow back is minimal with this larger ball. I have had a hard time procuring these lately.

Second choice is the Cannon platic coated ball with fin. They appear smaller in diameter and slightly reduce blow back. These are an excellent choice for trolling a littler fast than normal.

Just my 3 1/2 cents!

Downriggin'

Easy,

I fished in Canada a few years ago with Seacat on one of his friends boat, and he used the pancake style downriggin weight. We had no problems whatsoever and I think Seacat mentioned to me that a lot of the folks up there used those weights.
I was at Sportco Saturday and noticed they were starting to sell them, but only had 8#'s and 10#ers.
I use the regular ole 12-15# lead balls from Sportco.
After reading my black box book, they recommend using the coated weights with a plastic snap. I use the Green foot and a half long rubber snubber to isolated the lead from the steel cable.

Thanks for the info guys! Since I have a smaller boat that is not very wide I think I am going to stick with the ball shaped weights. I would hate to have two 'rigger cables get tangled in my boat.

I've used 13# pancakes a lot in the Hanford reach and they seem to track well in the heavy current and becouse of design they have less blow back than a round ball of same weight......
.....just my 2 cents.

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.

I have also seen guys that swear by the Z-Wing. It is an aerofoil shaped weight that glides through the water. Supposedly "flies" so that the blow back is very minimal. I don't have the guts to try one, they cost about $40 or so. Anyone tried one or seen one work?

One thing I forgot to mention...

The pancake is the most prone to hang up on the bottom or wedge between the rocks. Keep in mind, if you are bouncing bottom every once like you should be for BM, the pancake shape is going to lay flat (perpendicular to the wire) increasing surface area for hang ups. In areas where you are fishing up drop offs (meaning deeper to shallower i.e., Race Track, Duwamish Head, Green Pt) or rocky areas, it is important to have a shape that bounces or has more surface area and less to cling to. This is a very important factor for me when the fish are keying on Candlefish. (I) You want to present you offering in the bottom 5 feet.

As a old rule of thumb: "If you ain't hitting bottom often, you ain't fishing deep enough!"

Again, the Scotty tear drop is cast iron and hollow- it bounces right off. Gotta love that "ping!"

Blow back shouldn't be too much of an issue as most folks fish in water less 130'. Very few venture out deeper.

Blow back is not a straight line of angle from top to bottom as it would appear. It is more
of an elongated curve with the top portion of wire angled and the bottom portion almost vertical. So the ball is actually closer than it appears.


Fishing Summer Kings suspended early in the morning/late evening the pancake will do fine.

Downriggin'

good point. Lead won't resonate like hollow iron will.

Might have to give one a try.

All very good points to consider.

For blackmouth, I think I am going to stick with ball shaped weights.

And.....since my speedo is inop the angle of the 'rigger cable can be used to determine speed of troll.

The Z-foil works great if your not fishing close to the bottom. You want to keep in mind that the faster you go the more down force you are putting on it (and the mount) I have seen the mount partialy pulled out of the hull.

I like the pancakes cause they don't roll around on deck and I can set them on the side.

If I'm bouncin bottom the cannon ball is the way I go.

herm

I use 15 lb round balls, and depending upon current usually have no more than 15 feet of deflection at 2.5 mph on GPS - in other words I hit bottom in 150 feet of water with 165 feet of wire out. I troll by wire angle - 45 degrees is just right - but DR is right on as usual - the wire describes more of a arc than an angle in the water. If it didn't then I would have 300 feet out to hit bottom at a 45 degree angle The other thing that affects deflection is the line/lure combination you have clipped to the ball. I use 50 lb Power Pro that is 12 pounds in diameter, which cuts down resistance and lessens my deflection substantially.

I have solved rotation problems by using a Penn Tru-Trac clip with a ball bearing swivel, so a fin is no advantage there. What I have the most problems with is wind pushing my boat sideways over the wire, which then gets into the prop (although this only happens once every 3 years or so and is usually my fault). I'm convinced having a fin down there would make things worse by putting more pressure on the wire from the side in these conditions - bad news for sure The other problem I have is hanging up, and a round ball is going to come off easier, not to mention being half the price if lost (I donate 2-3 per year to the bedrock gods). Once again DR is right on - just like in steelhead fishing, if you are not hitting the bottom you are not catching fish.

Now I'm not so sure about the weight "ringing" - most of the time I'm fishing mud or sand bottom anyway, and I think it's more disturbance of the bottom - like a pig of a blackmouth rooting in the sand for candlefish - that attracts 'em. Hey, can't agree with you all the time DR :p

Spawn,

I agree with you. Most of our time we are "dragging" the sand... Can I used a coffee buzz as an excuse? Dang sure it's not hops and barley right now!


Downriggin'

I think I''ll sticlk with the round lead 15# ball