12 lb or 15 lb cannonballs?

[Ron-BC]

I have been fishing the Nanaimo area with 15 lb balls.
What are most people using in this area?
I wonder if 12 lb balls are adequate or am I better to stick with 15's?
I want to start making my own CB's and would appreciate input.
Round balls or balls with moulded fins? Any benefit to either way?
What does that fin really do?
Thanks in advance...

 

[adrianna3]

I fish 15 all the time now, and always with fins. Most of the guys I sell to want finned balls. Most guys fish 12's, a few fish 15's, not many fish 10's any more.

 

[adrianna3]

I fish 15 all the time now, and always with fins. Most of the guys I sell to want finned balls. Most guys fish 12's, a few fish 15's, not many fish 10's any more.

 

[Last Chance]

I run 15's all year round. THey can be a little harder on the downrigger cable, but lookup Wolf's suggestions on using sampo swivels to proling the life of your cable. I went all season without a random cable break by using Sampo swivels between the ball and teh line, the normal barrel swivels don't actually swivel that well when they have a big slug hanging off of it. The snap ring saved my line a few times as well when bottom bouncing.

Here is something to read;

http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9519&whichpage=2&SearchTerms=sampo



Last Chance Fishing Adventures

www.lastchancefishingadventures.com
www.swiftsurebank.com

 

[Last Chance]

I run 15's all year round. THey can be a little harder on the downrigger cable, but lookup Wolf's suggestions on using sampo swivels to proling the life of your cable. I went all season without a random cable break by using Sampo swivels between the ball and teh line, the normal barrel swivels don't actually swivel that well when they have a big slug hanging off of it. The snap ring saved my line a few times as well when bottom bouncing.

Here is something to read;

http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9519&whichpage=2&SearchTerms=sampo



Last Chance Fishing Adventures

www.lastchancefishingadventures.com
www.swiftsurebank.com

 

[mason.jar]

Truly it depends on the depths that you are angling. Many Nanaimo area anglers fish fairly deep, thereby requiring heavier lead. The shallower you target the less lead you can use as you will have minimal drag on your line at 40ft over 180ft. More local Nanaimo and north Island info can be found here www.killfish.com

[www.savebcsalmon.ca]

 

[mason.jar]

Truly it depends on the depths that you are angling. Many Nanaimo area anglers fish fairly deep, thereby requiring heavier lead. The shallower you target the less lead you can use as you will have minimal drag on your line at 40ft over 180ft. More local Nanaimo and north Island info can be found here www.killfish.com

[www.savebcsalmon.ca]

 

[Ron-BC]

Thank you for your input! Have a safe and Happy New Year.

 

[happy hooker]

the fins stop the balls from rotating/spinning.

22' Hewescraft Searunner

 

[fishhawk8]

Further to this, I am new to fishing with downriggers this year and I'm wondering how much wire do you guys put on your downriggers? I took my riggers into Scotty for a tune-up and new wire before I even used them and they spooled each with 250 ft.(their suggestion) I thought that this would be more than I needed until I went out for winter spings in early Dec. off the Vic waterfront. I currently run 10 lb balls and had no issues with fishing in the 140 ft range, but once I moved out to about 160ft, and wanted to be in touch with the bottom, I was down to just a few wraps of wire. This was too close for comfort in my mind and was considering trading these in for heavier weight, either 12 or 15 lbs. I also noticed that tides make a big differance to the "angle of the dangle" and thus required more line to get down again and at times it was quite a challenge to find the bottom on a consistant basis.

I generally fish Sooke so summer time fishing shouldn't be much of an issue, but I do intend on getting out for some more winters and I'm wondering which avenue would best benefit me, more wire(350ft per), more lead to 12 or 15 lbs, or both. I too, like to fish north of Nanaimo (when I'm on holiday or a long weekend) so deeper up there is even more critical.

thanks,
'Hawk

Seafood, eat it, then catch more.

 

[chris73]

Hey fishhawk; yup, that's what happens with strong tides and deep water. Switch to 12 lbs, pick slack tides or fish with the current and maybe reduce your speed a bit. All helps to keep close to bottom. 15 lbs, I would not recommend until you have thoroughly checked if your rig can take the stress (mounts, gunnel or railing etc.). Even switching from 10 to 12 lbs you will notice a lot more stress on the system. Hope this helps.

 

[adrianna3]

Hey Fishhawk; I bought a 300yd roll of PowerPro for my 3 downriggers and split it evenly. That's 100yds (300ft) per rigger. I've got feeders at 200' but won't be going much deeper than that. 15 pound balls are nice when fishing feeders 'cause you can go right to the bottom, then up a few feet. You can fish them faster without the drag lifting them up and back. I run my clips right off the ball so I'm always within the bottom 3 to 10 feet.

 

[The Fish Assassin]

I use 13# flat ones with large s/s fins.

tip: bend the fins a little bit so the the fins take the balls away from your boat. Just dont mix up what side each ball is for. It will eleiminate the possibility of having the downrigger wires tangle below your boat.

Take only what you need.

 

[Islandgirl]

Fishhawk8 I alway buy the largest amount I can to put on my downrigger spools. Several times a year I end up cutting off the first 15-20 ft. due to kinks etc with double stacking rods, etc. I use supermax 185lb wire and 400ft.. we end up fishing deep on the east coast of the island. I put the wire on the DR winter of 2004 and I am still using the same stuff. Never tried the braided stuff yet.

 

[constantsguy]

I also like the 15# balls. I find that they get me into the zone alot more accurately. I do like to fish with the current, I find it gives me more control over the angle of the cable. I run 400' of 150# test on my rigger, I figure that with 400' of wire I can do some Hali fishin when the current is too much to drift.

 

[Big Bad Bill]

I also fish in Nanaimo . Use 15 lb ,no fin and Braided line . since switching to braided line I have not lost 1 cannon ball and I regularly fish right on the bottom .

 

[Gunsmith]

This braided line is it synthetic or steel?

 

[Highliner]

It's spectra fiber.

http://www.powerpro.com/advantage/index.asp

Highliner

 

[Gunsmith]

Thanks.