[Rick Baerg]

I have to purchase some downrigger balls for my scotty downriggers, what is the best weight to have, heavy, light?

 

[scoopy]

I use 12 and 15 lb for the local chuck.


Matt

 

[abbyfireguy]

I use 10 lb and 12 lb. but I also run powerpro downrigger line which has less drag...Depending what the currents are like..12 lb is probably the ticket ...
Have a few extras as you always loose a few when learning the area...
You may want to look into braided downrigger cable,,no electrical issues or line hum,plus no rust or stray frays that cut your hands..
Powerpro line in 200 lb test is getting extremely popular on the WCVI.Its only $44 for a 450 ft spool from Powerpro.
I'll never run stainless wire again.. :thumbup:

 

[teucer]

Like the others are saying, 12 or 15 lbs is the way to go, depending when and where, if you are fishing with a rising or lowering tide, 12 will likely not be enough, 15 would be better, less angle....

 

[IronNoggin]

All the guides, including me, working out of Ukee run 15 pounders attached to braid. Might be something to that... ;D

Cheers,
Nog

 

[rpt]

All the guides, including me, working out of Ukee run 15 pounders attached to braid. Might be something to that... ;D

Cheers,
Nog

Does the braid stretch? Are there any maintenace issues such as mold and mildew? Does it tend to twist or knot if given slack?

 

[Thrasher]

Myself and my other cohorts in crime, all use 12#

 

[Canso]

my vote is 12, auto shut off seems violent on my boat.
I thinking of try those rubber snubber things.

and remember if your ball is finned you need to clip to the fin.

 

[Thrasher]

I use rubber snubbers and rudders. Wouldn't troll without them.

 

[rln]

pancakes with the metal fin work well also. Slight bend in the fin to keep them tracking away from the boat. Have used mostly 11lbers in the past. Have had good luck fishing finned 12lb cannonballs are also.

 

[J-GLOBAL]

15# finned, on the blue Scotty snubbers.
Set your "0" to the ball still being down in the water.
Let out 6" or so and fix your stoppers (black green autostop things) just before stopper.
Hit the Auto, and let it stop. Ball should still be in the water.
Clip on release clips where its comfortable to reach them.
Decide your distance between lines if stacking.
Add 6" again and your next set of autostops.
HIt the Auto, and let it stop.
Clip on your next release clips where its comfortable to reach them.

Makes it relatively easy to use 4 rods even when fishing solo with that set-up.

 

[Canso]

hey J
do you clip a dummy flasher to the fin?

for some reason, my finned cannon balls need something clipped onto the fin, or they will flail around under the boat hooking onto each other. once i clicked on a dummy it solved my problem.

my cylinder weights never had a problem.

I too, always have the ball under water.

 

[J-GLOBAL]

I've never done that for that purpose. I used to run a kone zone flasher (stays straight back) on one, to see if it made a difference on the hook-up rate. Didn't that I could tell, so I gave that up. I still have them though and might try it again.

I've never had a finned ball cross over, but my boat has an 8' beam, plus say another 2 feet + for the arm, so they start out about 12 feet apart. I think this might happen if you had 2 different weights, at different depths in a strong current. But with equal weight, and relatively similar depth, I can't see the weights crossing.

I also use 15# balls on steel cable. The more weight, the straighter the line.

 

[Canso]

before the boat was re-rigged last year, i had the old blue scotty's that have a reach of maybe 18".(you needed a doctors note for electrics back in the day)
we used 10lb cylinder shaped lead, since he was able to make them at work. never a problem, dad fished like that for 20years.


since I've re-rigged the boat and put it back in action, with new 30" scotty electrics and pill shaped finned lead I started having cables and lines tangling. last year in Bamfield i even hooked a ball around the other cable. :wallbash:

so i went back to my 20year old cylinders (after getting to much heat from the old man) never a problem again. but only had 3 left.

Now I've made new ones with a lead fin, and it started to happen again.
so i tried a dummy flasher on the fin and its been good. ???

 

[swiftwater]

Go with the 15lbers
you will get better results when stacking rods or fishing in heavy currents, you will also have a better time with it if you are fishing deep and doing lots of corners.

We never fish the finned ones. its just one more thing you need to think about and then you are wasting time.

P.S always swing to the shallow side!! :2cents: