Do your balls hang low??

[Andrew P]

So, I've been dragging the down rigger balls on the bottom this winter deeper than I've tried in the past, with great results I might add. The only issue that I have had is when both sides have 250' of braid out in 170-190' of water they would no doubt be tangled before too long. One rod alone was certainly out performing 2 because of the tangling. Gear tangling not balls.

Right now I have a 12 on one side and a 15 on the other....and would suspect that this would be part.

Any tips? How do you guys in Campbell River deal with your deep waters and fast currents without tangling?

 

[scott craven]

Right now I have a 12 on one side and a 15 on the other....and would suspect that this would be part.

Yes, you should run 15lb balls on both sides.
try and get out of the strong current and fish back eddies where you're not strung out so far.

 

[Birdsnest]

Dont fish both sides at the same depth. Keep them apart at least 20'
Fish your gear tight(close) to the ball. 10 or 15 feet.
Turn make your turns nice and wide. I like to add a bit of speed sometimes just to get it over with.

Your probably doing most of these things already but every detail adds up to less tangles.

 

[Dave S]

Probably happens turning or trolling across currents. Longer booms will help too. Metal supermarkets will sell the tubing. Pretty easy DIY.

 

[drmadcow]

We generally run ours a little shallower down to 180' of braid with 12lb finned weights. To minimize tangling we bend the fins (each a different way) so in the water they naturally are pushed out from the boat. But when you hit the strong currents you can get tangled regardless.

 

[rockdog]

Probably happens turning or trolling across currents. Longer booms will help too. Metal supermarkets will sell the tubing. Pretty easy DIY.

Yup, that's what I did to mine.

 

[7Deuce]

I had lots of tangles with different sized or styles of weights. I always run both sides as close to the same a possible so they track more the same

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[Slickwater]

So, I've been dragging the down rigger balls on the bottom this winter deeper than I've tried in the past, with great results I might add. The only issue that I have had is when both sides have 250' of braid out in 170-190' of water they would no doubt be tangled before too long. One rod alone was certainly out performing 2 because of the tangling. Gear tangling not balls.

Right now I have a 12 on one side and a 15 on the other....and would suspect that this would be part.

Any tips? How do you guys in Campbell River deal with your deep waters and fast currents without tangling?

Running same size balls when deap does make a differance. Alway make sure you straighten boat with lines before dropping ball .If you are turning at all when going deep they cross very easy.
15 lb balls go down almost too fast some days so I will use my brake on those days to slow ball a little and avoid extra tangles. Let the strong current side that pulling away out first when possible .
Cheers Slick

 

[Bugs]

I had lots of tangles with different sized or styles of weights. I always run both sides as close to the same a possible so they track more the same

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X2 on 15 lbs on both sides and on keeping a short lead to your gear. Also accelerate when turning and dropping gear, and if really deep avoid turning with both sides down, turn on a gear check instead. Also if your gear is being blown one way or the other on your tack, always drop the side that is being blown away from the boat first, and drop it deeper. The side that is being blown under the boat should be dropped second and not quite as deep. This keeps it from being pulled too close to the prop.

There is nothing quite like the lighthouse at cape mudge on a huge ebb... trying to get close to bottom and if you let your bow drift more than 30 degrees west of the ideal course you can never get it back (without propping your port cable) and you get blown into the O Zone and have to pull all your gear and start again (or hope your guests don't notice that you are parting company from the fleet at about 4 knots and the sounder is reading 360).

 

[Bugs]

Oh... and at the lighthouse I have tangled my balls together twice... with 15s.... that's a fun one to sort out. I have also had 15s blow out so badly behind me that the cable ended up looped over the transom.

 

[capt hook]

So, I've been dragging the down rigger balls on the bottom this winter deeper than I've tried in the past, with great results I might add. The only issue that I have had is when both sides have 250' of braid out in 170-190' of water they would no doubt be tangled before too long. One rod alone was certainly out performing 2 because of the tangling. Gear tangling not balls.

Right now I have a 12 on one side and a 15 on the other....and would suspect that this would be part.

Any tips? How do you guys in Campbell River deal with your deep waters and fast currents without tangling?

dont ever buy or use balls with FINS on them , on a long line in any kinda tide/current they will start to shear with a slight turn or movement and thus your tangles.
in our commie trolling days we experimented with fin balls , and ALWAYS DISASTER . a perfect sphere ball is always the best and sometimes hard to find in gear stores.
if it has a lead fin , its easy to cut off and hammer smooth.

 

[Fish Assassin]

Wrong....... How is it 75-80% of sports fishermen on the west coat use finned cannon balls and love them. Sure some of the guys have problems with some of the big metal fins but once you learn how to use your gear effectively it's all good. The lead finned balls on the other hand are very user friendly.

I've been using various finned balls sports fishing for over 20years now.

I won't be changing back to a round ball anytime soon...

 

[fishinforever]

X2 Lead fins have been great, never could get the big metal fins dialed in. Lead finned also attached to scotty DR weight holder as the pancakes don't....

 

[Gear'n'beer!]

I tried finned pancakes 'cause they looked cool and bent the fins out like I was supposed to..... Down deep I found them to be a nuisance, especially where the tide rips (banks). I switched back to round balls and problems disappeared. Currently my go to is 15# unfinned spherical balls. Just my $.02

Thinking of trying 20# for winter fishing! any thoughts? Are they worth it for the 120-130' I run in the winter?

 

[Fish Assassin]

I tried finned pancakes 'cause they looked cool and bent the fins out like I was supposed to..... Down deep I found them to be a nuisance, especially where the tide rips (banks). I switched back to round balls and problems disappeared. Currently my go to is 15# unfinned spherical balls. Just my $.02

Thinking of trying 20# for winter fishing! any thoughts? Are they worth it for the 120-130' I run in the winter?

Twenties are over kill in most situations and for the depths your talking.....Stick with fifteens.... Those pancake weights were a pain till you figured them out. I'd go back to using them before I went back to round weights though. I used them to my advantage when fishing.

 

[capt hook]

Wrong....... How is it 75-80% of sports fishermen on the west coat use finned cannon balls and love them. Sure some of the guys have problems with some of the big metal fins but once you learn how to use your gear effectively it's all good. The lead finned balls on the other hand are very user friendly.

I've been using various finned balls sports fishing for over 20years now.

I won't be changing back to a round ball anytime soon...

well u just go ahead and use round square or triangle , just telling you what science says about a sphere thru water ..... and what every commercial troller uses , and for good reason. but i dont think anyone can really tell you anything anyways. so , knoock yourself out dude !!!
when nikka was only supplying commercial boats , they brought in a bunch of fin cannonballs and a whole bunch of guys , including myself bought a full set.
we used to buy 4-5 k worth of supplys every spring , it caused a near rebellion between trollers and nikka and nikka took back and compensated for some of the loss of gear. every boat and i,m talking hundreds ALL tangled and had massive loss of gear........ so do as you like , i,m just passing on some history and fact !!!

 

[Fish Assassin]

Wow you have a poor attitude and a temper. I have better things to do the fight with a stubborn commercial fishermen about balls. Good Luck,

 

[Bent-Tip]

Hey Hook. Maybe the amount of gurneys and lines from your stabi poles had something to do with them tangling with fins??? Apples and oranges comparison IMO. Myself and my buddy both run 12 lb finned pancakes with no issues. Even my wife couldn't tangle them and she tried pretty hard last time we were out..... My bud even runs a third round ball on the middle rigger that we don't bounce but as for the port and starboard riggers they're be bounced constantly.

Having said that, jackpots are a part of fishing and and everything round, square or triangular will hang up or tangle in the right (wrong) circumstances.

 

[KV1]

Whats a cannonball?

 

[Birdsnest]

Wrong....... How is it 75-80% of sports fishermen on the west coat use finned cannon balls and love them. Sure some of the guys have problems with some of the big metal fins but once you learn how to use your gear effectively it's all good. The lead finned balls on the other hand are very user friendly.

I've been using various finned balls sports fishing for over 20years now.

I won't be changing back to a round ball anytime soon...

I don't use fins and rarely see anyone using them out of tofino, locals that is. hmm.