Tangled up in the turns.....

[Reeltime]

The best part of the turns is you end up getting a fish strike sometimes ...

 

[wildthing]

The best part of the turns is you end up getting a fish strike sometimes ...

if its the inside then slow down if the outside its time to speed the gear up ....
but a good tip

 

[FisherTim]

Two rods fishing solo adds to the chaos and adrenaline rush (fun) when playing a good Spring. Especially with manual downriggers. ;-)

Fishing 4 rods solo does that 2, well that's amateur hour

 

[FisherTim]

The problem with fishing a single rod is your boat becomes unbalanced dragging something only on the one side, at least in my experiences.

That does happen, If for some reason I only fish 1 (Really good bite, heavy currents, etc, I reccomend dropping the other rigger down 5-10', no rod required, it keeps the boat on track, and is easy to pull up.

 

[Fisherman Rob]

Turn to your deeper rod if possible.

Hmmm... I'd offer the opposite advise as the deeper wire bows more and drags further back, and your shallower flasher will cross into it when turning toward the deep line. But much depends on your own set-up here.

 

[fishin solo]

Hmmm... I'd offer the opposite advise as the deeper wire bows more and drags further back, and your shallower flasher will cross into it when turning toward the deep line. But much depends on your own set-up here.

I would go with dmurph on this one... same reason when your stacking.... your bottom rod is farther out from the clip then your top rod imo...I fish this way with no problems same as most of the guys I fish with ...

 

[advTHXance]

Bunch of Derek Zoolanders here, only turning one way!

I make turns towards the deep and shallow side, depending on the tack (with a little extra gas, and a watchful eye on the downrigger lines). As long as its a well-executed turn, it shouldnt matter which side is which. If I could only turn one way for the rest of eternity, Id have my deep line on the inside of the turn, with enough speed that the deep line still has some angle to it.

You could also do a wider turn in the shape of a thermometer bulb.

 

[profisher]

The only time I ever get the two lines behind the clips tangled on each other is when a shaker drags one line into the other. This can happen when both are down fishing or when lowing one down. If the shaker has the line dragging over to the wrong side as you lower gear you will drop it right oj top of it. That is the most common reason for a tangle for me...no sooner get the line down and the rod in the holder and you see the tell tale vibration on the tip of the rod. Bring them up and sure enough the one that was already down has a shaker on it. A tip to reduce the mess is to only release one line off the rigger and then bring both rods up together and keep both lines as tight as possible on the way up.

 

[dmurph]

Bunch of Derek Zoolanders here, only turning one way!

I make turns towards the deep and shallow side, depending on the tack (with a little extra gas, and a watchful eye on the downrigger lines). As long as its a well-executed turn, it shouldnt matter which side is which. If I could only turn one way for the rest of eternity, Id have my deep line on the inside of the turn, with enough speed that the deep line still has some angle to it.

You could also do a wider turn in the shape of a thermometer bulb.

Ha good one.

Bunch of Derek Zoolanders here, only turning one way!

I make turns towards the deep and shallow side, depending on the tack (with a little extra gas, and a watchful eye on the downrigger lines). As long as its a well-executed turn, it shouldnt matter which side is which. If I could only turn one way for the rest of eternity, Id have my deep line on the inside of the turn, with enough speed that the deep line still has some angle to it.

You could also do a wider turn in the shape of a thermometer bulb.

Ha ha good one, " what is this a salmon for ants, it's going to have to be at least 3 times bigger. " lol

 

[Bret]

Use fined weights bend the fins so that they pull away from the boat

 

[Stoisy]

Make sure your lines are tight to the clip, so there isn't a huge bow in the line that would allow the flashers on the lines above, to swing into them and cause them to tangle.

 

[Reeltime]

Best thing i did was practicing turns in the heavy current and watch your down rigger lines see what happens when you speed up or slow down
turning against /with the current , i played out in the harbour till i got it down , some pretty heavy currents in the van harbour and they can make your lines
do the weirdest things and couldn't figure it out till i played with speed ... in a 16' tinny some turns in the heavy current were stressful ..

 

[Bret]

If in current more speed on the turn and you have to still keep power on when running with the current its pretty basic

 

[J-GLOBAL]

Currents, especially in turns, can make finned balls move in directions that aren't helpful, regardless of how the fin is bent.
If you are using finned balls, in areas with current, and getting tangles, maybe something as simple as going to round balls.

 

[TheBigGuy]

Currents, especially in turns, can make finned balls move in directions that aren't helpful, regardless of how the fin is bent.
If you are using finned balls, in areas with current, and getting tangles, maybe something as simple as going to round balls.

I know a lot of guys use pancake weights with bendable stainless fins and love them. You can spread your lines further apart and when they work right they are great. Until you get into a bunch of large jellyfish. If you pick up a large jelly on your weight it can change the fin direction and send it right into your other rigger line. I had that happen several times on my old boat that had a wide beam with a stern drive. It was a horror show trying to get the rigger cables untangled. After a couple of those nightmares I quit using directional pancake weights. If you have a smaller narrow beam boat with outboards and your riggers are right at the stern you may be able to get them untangled using a long docking pole. Take my word for it, it's not fun when that happens. Just a warning for the guys using them, pancakes can cause big problems.

 

[Aces]

Just look at what the charter boats use when you're in the docks.

I use round 15's with small fins because I have the old down riggers and the guys with hp's use 20 rounds.

Simple is best

 

[profisher]

I've been using pancake weigts with stainless fins for summer fishing ever since they hit the shelves. Never had a tangle issue with them. The only thing I watch out for is coming to close to oncoming boats who are likely using the same weights. Both weights on the inside of each boats are pulling towards each other so you need to allow a bit more room to prevent getting into each others cables.

 

[TheBigGuy]

I've been using pancake weigts with stainless fins for summer fishing ever since they hit the shelves. Never had a tangle issue with them. The only thing I watch out for is coming to close to oncoming boats who are likely using the same weights. Both weights on the inside of each boats are pulling towards each other so you need to allow a bit more room to prevent getting into each others cables.

I had it happen twice in a short period of time Profisher, and that was enough for me. I'm sure the high currents/cross currents had a lot to do with it as well. If your generally fishing in an area without strong currents, perhaps that's why you haven't had any issues with them. Or perhaps the fishing Gods smile down on you because your always holding your mouth right. You are obviously leading a charmed life, count your blessings.

 

[advTHXance]

For me the choice is pretty much cut-and-dried, but what works well for some might not be ideal for others. Interesting to see somebody as experienced as profisher say they use pancakes, though he did say only for summer fishing. Presumably that means hes not fishing as deep as in the winter. In cases like that I could see pancakes having some merit.

In terms of physics, a round object will always have a better surface to mass ratio than any other shape. That means it should be able to get deeper than its equally-weighted pancake counterpart, or if being fished at the same depths, the round ball will have less blowback. A round ball will also have less side-to-side sway imparted on it by a cross-current than a pancake which seems very important when fishing deep. Id say if youre fishing deep its a no-brainer!

 

[Sr SQ]

In terms of physics, a round object will always have a better surface to mass ratio than any other shape. That means it should be able to get deeper than its equally-weighted pancake counterpart, or if being fished at the same depths, the round ball will have less blowback. A round ball will also have less side-to-side sway imparted on it by a cross-current than a pancake which seems very important when fishing deep. Id say if youre fishing deep its a no-brainer!

While the physics of surface to mass ratio is correct, the round ball does not have less blow back then other shapes due to drag coefficient.
A sphere has a drag coefficient of .5 where as say, a symmetrical airfoil (dolphin fin) is .045.
The turbulent water coming off the back of a sphere causes significant drag when moving thru the water.
I personally have had bad experiences while running pancakes deep and don't use them but, they can run with less blowback.
I personally don't have any issues with 15-20lb round balls, just put the hammer down and fish.........