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New drift sinkers #14694065 04/18/23 04:40 PM
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Rowdy Offline OP
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Guys I have been messing around with a new way to make a more sleek and thinner profile of drift sinker that I hope would pull through cover better and not make such a disturbance on the bottom and yet be able to get the weight we need in some circumstances.

Some of the weights I have used Offshore in the Gulf while fishing for certain species of fish, during the attempt at trying to land them, we used break away sinkers that would fall off. The fish thrashing around as some do, would actually use the size of the sinker to throw the hook and loose the fish.

So a sacrificial sinker has always been something I keep in mind. With the drifting through the flooded timber and rocks, I have always rigged my stuff with like a 10lb or so sinker line that allowed the sinker to pull off easy enough to hope save the rest of my rigging.

Now I have been messing around with a new slimmer profile and one that bends easy enough to come through the cover. Slim enough I can drift through old flooded timber it has proven really good so far. I make these longer than I did in the beginning to help stop the sinker from tree limb wrapping as it pulls over and through some and then just swinging all around the next limb.

These also dry much quicker than the one's I have made with shot and braided nylon mesh. I have yet find myself in a cover they don't come right through. That ain't saying I have not lost some, but these things are really working well enough I wanted to show you guys.

The one I have shot a few pix of here is a 3oz sinker. It's 16" long and 3/16" in diameter to get this weight. With how I make these I can do these in any diameter and length, just this size right now with the depth of water I fish and the size of bait I am using has proven so far really well. With the 3oz size being more than enough for me so far, and 2oz has been the more used size here lately. I have yet to get any really good sized bait.

So I had to build a jig to make these and I bought a lot of these small brass eyes that I use to terminate them to the sinker line. Jury still out on the brass eyes at this point, I may go to a galvanized or stainless steel on the next ones, not sure yet.

Anyway, want to get any and all feed back from you guys here. My thought when I started these was like a sinking line would make a great sinker. Sinking line being like those for fly rods. With nothing but a sinking line, that thing would drift and tow or pull through pretty much anything. It's the length of those sink lines to get our bait to and keep in contact with the bottom that was the issue. So I thought why not use some lead that was smaller than most sinkers, something like really small worm weights, just a long solid bendable weight. Here is what I have so far...

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Last edited by Rowdy; 04/18/23 04:41 PM.
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Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14694117 04/18/23 05:24 PM
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What is the outer cover made from? Are they flexible or ridged?


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Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14694160 04/18/23 06:03 PM
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They are made from all lead. So they are soft and flexible.

Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14694190 04/18/23 06:41 PM
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Those look good Rowdy. I would recommend cutting down on the eye size to help minimize hang ups a little more.


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Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14694577 04/19/23 01:41 AM
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These eyes are the smallest I could find when I started this little project. I was looking for brass at the time and after messing around with these, I don't think brass is the best choice, at least at this point. Thanks for pointing out the size of them being a possible snagging point. I want to hear what anyone can point out or even thinks about these.

One other thing I have noticed is with these 3oz sinkers, the length puts them to long to fit in any storage box I have, like the Plano 3700's. So, I have been thinking along the lines of like a storage tube with a removable cap, it would be easy to make something and would be weather proof enough, it would be really nice to find a good storage box though I didn't have to build lol...

I made these rather small in diameter in hopes of following the line through things better, but in doing so they get longer as the weight comes up. I can make these a fraction bigger in diameter and they would fit in the clear Plano boxes, least up to 3oz. Then another way that I have stored them has been to fold them and/or roll them up. But then you have to straighten them, which bending, rolling or the straightening them is not hard to do, I just don't won't to do it.

Heck I can even toss these in the boat loose or just a cardboard box, my OCD or whatever disease I have won't have that. So far a tube storage container is what I have come up with. You guys throw all your thoughts at me on this as well please... Oh, and thanks in advance for reading all this mess, along with all the other posts a tack up, I can be a pita about things.

Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14698166 04/23/23 11:21 AM
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Rowdy, the ones you sent me work really good. You can tell from the rod tip that they are very light on the bottom and I'm thinking that means they are not kicking up a lot of mud. The only issue I've seen, as we discussed is the eyes pulling out. Now, in some ways that might be a feature and not a problem I guess as there needs to be a weak point to release when they do get hung. The lead is soft so there isn't a lot you can do but I would recommend an eye screw with a longer bite maybe. Otherwise, I really like using them and I think with a little more refinement, you will have a really good solution for drifting...


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Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14698366 04/23/23 03:11 PM
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Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14700260 04/25/23 01:43 PM
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If you’ll downsize to 2 oz you’ll lose about half as many rigs. I ran 3 oz for a long time and when I finally downsized around 10 yrs ago my amount of hang-ups decreased considerably. I also ran the breakaway type sinkers from Santee Drifters(no longer in business) and didn’t like losing weights. I have come to realize that most slinky style drift weights are getting hung up at the rigid nose of the front of the weight or on the clip. The reason I know this is because I switched to Carolina Lake Weights a year ago and rarely ever get hung up, even though I now drag in stumpy areas I would have never dragged before. The 1 major difference in a Carolina Lake Weight is the soft nose that compresses and allows the weight to come through an obstruction much better than a weight that has the rigid nose. I went from losing 1-8 rigs per trip(probably averaged 3) to now only losing 8 the entire year fishing every week. They have allowed me to drift areas I would have never drifted before. When you consider the cost of my drift rigs, having a weight that rarely gets hung up has saved me close to $1500 in lost tackle, not to mention the lost time and fish from dealing with break offs and not having hooks in the water. That is mind blowing to me. No weight is completely snag proof but if you’ll figure out away to get the rigid nose to come through obstructions like a Carolina Lake Weight, you’ll lose a fraction of weights.


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Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14700363 04/25/23 02:56 PM
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Thats similar to what I made. When I made mine I flatted about 1/4 inch of the end with a hammer, put a small hole in the flat end and then used a snap swivel to tie your line to. I my need to make the next batch longer. Mine are about 1/2 as long as yours.

Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14700684 04/25/23 07:47 PM
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I have not seen any of the Carolina lake weights, least that I know of lol. Will check those out for sure. I have not pulled the eye out of one, that's news I need to hear for sure. I can get eyes that screw into the end more, that will be a done deal. I won't even need to rework the jig for that sort of a change.

I don't remember you telling me that Tim, heck you probably told me that and when I read your text my pointed head just processed it wrong lol, I do that sometimes. I know I have sometimers disease lol. I do remember talking about you thought the eye could be smaller size, and I mentioned how I was really uncertain about them made from brass, which I will source next ones from either stainless or galvanized and now they are going to be longer too lol. Dang all this info is awesome...

TGalon, you know the very first ones I made I mashed the end as you mentioned and then put a hole in it and just tied the sinker line right there, but it just seemed to me it screamed out it needed an eye in it. I think the eye would make for a better profile to push off thinks better and the line has no sharp edges when tied to the eye.

I really don't won't a swivel at the sinker, my thinking is the swivel at the other end of the sinker line, that way when they snag up, I just loose the sinker and/or sinker line. Swivel stays with the rest of the rig... Thanks for all the replies fellows.

Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14731319 05/25/23 07:40 PM
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I just thought I would report on these drift sinkers I am making. So far I like them a lot. Just figured something else they are good at, it's like at the end of the day and your winding the hook leader all up so as to not have giant cluster.

With the hook leader and the float it does just fine, you got a separate leader to the sinker. With all the other sinkers I have no really good way to wind them up and hook it to the rod. Well with these new style sinkers the lead is so small of diameter and soft enough, I just bend them into, around to the reel or one of the eyes and it's good to go. It's working great, I got to shoot a pic of this and get it on here.

However, at the recommendations of several guys here, about a month ago now I did score me a MadKats stick, yes of coarse it's their green Goblin too lol. I do have art of this that I will tack up here. What a freaking awesome stick though. My Shimano Calcutta 400 looks like a Calcutta 50 on this stick. I will be replacing the 400 with a much better reel, but for now it's home is on the green goblin...

Attached Files 20230524_140701.jpg
Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14731513 05/25/23 11:17 PM
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Here is a few pix of how you can bend these and then just straighten them back out. Other than to just remove the sinker and it's leader, I have never come up with a way to keep them from tangling up the other Stix to the point of hours of untangling or the knife lol...

You guys have a look and as always with me, speak straight to the point. Heck you don't like them, tell me, your not going to hurt my feelings lol. My wife would tell y'all, I would have to have feelings to be hurt lol, that is a quote from her on many arguments she and I have had...

After all, I am Rowdy, I do have an image to keep up lol. You guys just have a look/see and if you want to say something please do.

Edit: I was at the lake yesterday messing around with these when I was making everything ready to go back in the rod locker. Another idea I had was I actually pushed the sinker down the inside of the line guides or eyes of the Green Goblin. That sinker could not be more tucked away than that. The only issue I didn't like with it inside the eyes was the line is in there too, I didn't like the idea of the sinker beating on the line itself. Later I saw how I can wrap it around the reel.

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Last edited by Rowdy; 05/25/23 11:26 PM.
Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14731783 05/26/23 04:27 AM
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Good thread! thumb


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Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14731909 05/26/23 01:08 PM
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I lived in Lubbock until I was 40. Mind if I ask where this photo was taken?

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Re: New drift sinkers [Re: Rowdy] #14732005 05/26/23 02:24 PM
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Looking good! That Goblin color scheme was my idea. Matt should have named it the El Gato Signature Series. I told him when we were discussing the colors that it would be his #1 seller and turns out I was right!! My name choice was🍀The Lucky Clover🍀at least I got the exact rod colors I was wanting! I know you’re loving that Mad Katz!🤘😎🤘


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