Post by Gbru on Jan 17, 2019 22:48:32 GMT -5
Anglers go to the sinker bins and get overwhelmed! There are almost as many different kinds of sinkers as hooks. “What kind and weight should we buy?”
First decide where you are going fishing. In the bay, where there is muddy bottom, you do not want a sinker that will get hung up. The bank, bass cast, or egg sinker all work well in the bay. All these sinkers are either round, or smooth shaped and will bounce along as you drift or cast.
Bank Sinkers
If you are casting from the shore into a little bit of current you do want a little “staying” power, so the bank sinker is the preferable sinker. It has enough shape to hold without “digging” in. How many ounces you want to use depends on the current and depth of the water. Generally, around the Route 50 Bridge anglers use a two, three, or four-ounce bank type sinker. If the angler is casting into the Inlets where the water is very swift, he may need to use a three, four, five or six ounce bank type sinker.
If you are offshore in the ocean in a boat, the bank type sinker is generally preferable. When you are dealing with depths up to 60 feet or more, you need to carry plenty of lead weights. Four, five, six, eight, and in some instances even more are needed! Currents can run strong offshore. The deeper the water you are fishing in, the more weight you will need. Drifting with the wind increases your need for more weight. When anchoring you can get away with less. (Party boats usually use 6 and 8-ounce bank sinkers.)
Thin diameter Spectra lines such as Power Pro also give you a “sinker” advantage. The thinner your diameter of line, the less resistance there is against the water and the less sinker you have to use. A man on a party boat with 30-pound Power Pro with an 8 pound test diameter may be going straight down with a 6-ounce weight while the guy next to him with 30 pound monofilament has a hard time holding with an 8-ounce sinker! Getting to the bottom and staying there is crucial when bottom fishing.
Bass Cast sinkers
Anglers drifting in the bay often choose the bell shaped sinkers called bass cast sinkers. These are especially popular because they have a barrel swivel molded into them so they “swivel” at the end of your line. This helps eliminate line twist and the smooth bell shape of the sinker glides smoothly along the bottom as you drift. When drifting for flounder in the bay, anglers carry an array of different sizes from one, one and half, two, three, and four-ounce bass cast sinkers. Use one, one and a half, and two-ounce sinkers when drifting around the Rt. 90 Bridge, Thorofare, Convention Hall Channel, or the bay behind Assateague. When fishing in water that doesn’t get much over 10 feet anglers pretty much stick to the one to two-ounce size range. When the angler gets close to the main east channel near the draw of the Route 50 Bridge, the tide can run strong. Here the angler may have to slip on the three and four angler sinkers. I’ve even seen anglers go to fives when drifting this strong water. The same is true when fishing the inlet, or the strong water off the Homer Gudelsky Park where the Old Railroad Bridge used to be. Flounder are on the bottom, so you need to have your sinker on the bottom to catch the fluke!
Egg Sinkers
Anglers use egg sinkers, when they are making certain kinds of rigs. Bank and bass cast type sinkers are attached at the bottom of a top and bottom type rig or to the snap or loop of a single leader pre-made rig. Egg sinkers are just that. An egg shaped weight with a hole running through it. The angler makes a rig with a length of 30 or 40 pound leader about 6 to 12 inches long and lets the egg sinker slide up and down on the leader between two barrel swivels. Then the angler ties on a long leadered hook to the barrel swivel and has a rig to “live bait” spot, finger mullet, or eels for flounder or stripers. The advantage of this rig is that there is no line twist because the sinker is free on the leader. The disadvantage of course, is if you need to change the sinker size, you have to cut the leader and re-tie it. These rigs are very popular in the inlet where there are a lot of rocks to get snagged on. They are also very popular when you need to cast a live bait towards the rocks or the white water at the very tip of the South Jetty.
Flat Sinker
Flat sinkers that look like a coin with a brass eye on them are good for fishing in snaggy areas such as the Inlets or along the bulkhead between 2nd and 4th Streets. They are also called “River” sinkers. They are especially popular among tautog fisherman when they fish for these fish close in along the rocks at the jetties. They use one, one and a half, two, and three-ounce “River” sinkers when fishing in the rocks. However, when the tide slacks, and the anglers what to cast further out into the channel, they generally switch to bank type sinkers.
Inline Sinkers
These are “trolling” or “inline” sinkers. These are good for adding extra weight to lures such as bucktails or spoons. They are also good to attach to the loop of a spec rig if you need to send a spec rig to the bottom for flounder or trout. To make a bucktail rig tie a one, one and a half, or two-ounce inline sinker to a 12 to 18-inch piece of leader material in the 30 to 40 pound test range. Tie the bucktail or spoon to the other end of the leader. Attach a snap swivel to the end of your line, and attach the inline sinker to the snap swivel to avoid line twist when casting.
Pyramid Sinkers
When you cast into the ocean, you are dealing with pure sand and rolling waves. Round or bank sinkers will roll right back in to shore. For typical surf fishing anglers use pyramid or hurricane type sinkers. Generally anglers use three, four, and five-ounce sinkers on a typical day in the surf. If your rod is light and it’s a nice calm day, you can try a 2-ounce sinker.
Hurricane Sinker
Hurricane (also called Storm or Hatteras) sinkers hold better per ounce than the pyramid sinkers, but there is a little more bulk to them when dealing with wind resistance. Another words, you can cast a pyramid further, but the hurricane will hold better.
Sputnik/Spider Sinkers
Sputnik sinkers have "arms" which dig into the sand. On retrieve, these arms snap out of their detents and allow the sinker to be reeled in. These hold better, ounce for ounce, than pyramid or hurricane sinkers, but the plastic detents can break which keeps the arms from catching in the sand.
First decide where you are going fishing. In the bay, where there is muddy bottom, you do not want a sinker that will get hung up. The bank, bass cast, or egg sinker all work well in the bay. All these sinkers are either round, or smooth shaped and will bounce along as you drift or cast.
Bank Sinkers
If you are casting from the shore into a little bit of current you do want a little “staying” power, so the bank sinker is the preferable sinker. It has enough shape to hold without “digging” in. How many ounces you want to use depends on the current and depth of the water. Generally, around the Route 50 Bridge anglers use a two, three, or four-ounce bank type sinker. If the angler is casting into the Inlets where the water is very swift, he may need to use a three, four, five or six ounce bank type sinker.
If you are offshore in the ocean in a boat, the bank type sinker is generally preferable. When you are dealing with depths up to 60 feet or more, you need to carry plenty of lead weights. Four, five, six, eight, and in some instances even more are needed! Currents can run strong offshore. The deeper the water you are fishing in, the more weight you will need. Drifting with the wind increases your need for more weight. When anchoring you can get away with less. (Party boats usually use 6 and 8-ounce bank sinkers.)
Thin diameter Spectra lines such as Power Pro also give you a “sinker” advantage. The thinner your diameter of line, the less resistance there is against the water and the less sinker you have to use. A man on a party boat with 30-pound Power Pro with an 8 pound test diameter may be going straight down with a 6-ounce weight while the guy next to him with 30 pound monofilament has a hard time holding with an 8-ounce sinker! Getting to the bottom and staying there is crucial when bottom fishing.
Bass Cast sinkers
Anglers drifting in the bay often choose the bell shaped sinkers called bass cast sinkers. These are especially popular because they have a barrel swivel molded into them so they “swivel” at the end of your line. This helps eliminate line twist and the smooth bell shape of the sinker glides smoothly along the bottom as you drift. When drifting for flounder in the bay, anglers carry an array of different sizes from one, one and half, two, three, and four-ounce bass cast sinkers. Use one, one and a half, and two-ounce sinkers when drifting around the Rt. 90 Bridge, Thorofare, Convention Hall Channel, or the bay behind Assateague. When fishing in water that doesn’t get much over 10 feet anglers pretty much stick to the one to two-ounce size range. When the angler gets close to the main east channel near the draw of the Route 50 Bridge, the tide can run strong. Here the angler may have to slip on the three and four angler sinkers. I’ve even seen anglers go to fives when drifting this strong water. The same is true when fishing the inlet, or the strong water off the Homer Gudelsky Park where the Old Railroad Bridge used to be. Flounder are on the bottom, so you need to have your sinker on the bottom to catch the fluke!
Egg Sinkers
Anglers use egg sinkers, when they are making certain kinds of rigs. Bank and bass cast type sinkers are attached at the bottom of a top and bottom type rig or to the snap or loop of a single leader pre-made rig. Egg sinkers are just that. An egg shaped weight with a hole running through it. The angler makes a rig with a length of 30 or 40 pound leader about 6 to 12 inches long and lets the egg sinker slide up and down on the leader between two barrel swivels. Then the angler ties on a long leadered hook to the barrel swivel and has a rig to “live bait” spot, finger mullet, or eels for flounder or stripers. The advantage of this rig is that there is no line twist because the sinker is free on the leader. The disadvantage of course, is if you need to change the sinker size, you have to cut the leader and re-tie it. These rigs are very popular in the inlet where there are a lot of rocks to get snagged on. They are also very popular when you need to cast a live bait towards the rocks or the white water at the very tip of the South Jetty.
Flat Sinker
Flat sinkers that look like a coin with a brass eye on them are good for fishing in snaggy areas such as the Inlets or along the bulkhead between 2nd and 4th Streets. They are also called “River” sinkers. They are especially popular among tautog fisherman when they fish for these fish close in along the rocks at the jetties. They use one, one and a half, two, and three-ounce “River” sinkers when fishing in the rocks. However, when the tide slacks, and the anglers what to cast further out into the channel, they generally switch to bank type sinkers.
Inline Sinkers
These are “trolling” or “inline” sinkers. These are good for adding extra weight to lures such as bucktails or spoons. They are also good to attach to the loop of a spec rig if you need to send a spec rig to the bottom for flounder or trout. To make a bucktail rig tie a one, one and a half, or two-ounce inline sinker to a 12 to 18-inch piece of leader material in the 30 to 40 pound test range. Tie the bucktail or spoon to the other end of the leader. Attach a snap swivel to the end of your line, and attach the inline sinker to the snap swivel to avoid line twist when casting.
Pyramid Sinkers
When you cast into the ocean, you are dealing with pure sand and rolling waves. Round or bank sinkers will roll right back in to shore. For typical surf fishing anglers use pyramid or hurricane type sinkers. Generally anglers use three, four, and five-ounce sinkers on a typical day in the surf. If your rod is light and it’s a nice calm day, you can try a 2-ounce sinker.
Hurricane Sinker
Hurricane (also called Storm or Hatteras) sinkers hold better per ounce than the pyramid sinkers, but there is a little more bulk to them when dealing with wind resistance. Another words, you can cast a pyramid further, but the hurricane will hold better.
Sputnik/Spider Sinkers
Sputnik sinkers have "arms" which dig into the sand. On retrieve, these arms snap out of their detents and allow the sinker to be reeled in. These hold better, ounce for ounce, than pyramid or hurricane sinkers, but the plastic detents can break which keeps the arms from catching in the sand.