[Tellico00]

I would like to purchase a lead sinker mold, 2 to 4 ounces for river fishing. Any recommendations as to the type of mold I should purchase? Would a pyramid style work better than a hexagon, a spoon, a no roll or a flat bank sinker to help eliminate snags in river fishing?

Which brings me to the real question, 'What type of sinker is best and what sinker do you prefer?'

Mike

 

[BKS72]

I bought a flat bank mold, figuring they were flat like a no-roll and would be quicker to mold since there was no line-hole to mold. I like the flat banks, but a lot of guys use no-rolls. I've been thinking about buying a no-roll mold as well. For what the molds cost, they're worth it in the gas they save driving to the store to buy new sinkers

As far as snags, I've snagged every kind of sinker I've tried. Some are probably better than others, the flat banks don't seem to snag as much on me as regular bank sinkers. I fish a river with a lot of current and once the current pulls my rig into the rocks, I don't think it matters much what sinker is on it, it takes plain luck not to snag 'em. That's just my opinion, we'll probably both learn something about which sinkers are better when some other posts come in!

 

[TOPS]

I use no-roll sinkers, these seem to work well for me.

 

[sal_jr]

I think the more applicable question is:

What type of break-away connection is the best for the sinkers you know youre going to lose?

LOL- Seriously. I use bank, pyramids, flats, random pouring messy unknown thingies, spark plugs, and wheel weights with holes in em.... everything gets stuck. It all does. The folks who sell you anything that is said to be snag-free say it to make a profit. Sales drive the sale.... anything less than a loss on every throw denotes snag-free success and thus gives these salesman the chance to claim their flat design or pointy or whatever design is better than X.... but it is all the same.

Save the rest of the rig- make break away connectors for your sinkers and you ought to write off the loss of every sinker you make. Eventually you'll come to the same conclusion.

Sal

 

[fwmud]

Or ya could use the "breakaway idea" a member had using a cotter pin with full strength drop line. The hung sinek gets left on snagg and you save everything else.

 

[BKS72]

That was a cool idea and I did used to run 3 way rigs, but got tired of seeing them come back out of the current a tangled mess. I switched to a carolina rig now. I lose more hooks, but I feel like I know my bait isn't tangled around my sinker when it's in the water.

 

[Burwell40]

I've had that same tangle problem with 3-ways...especially with braided line. It's like trying to untangle wet thread.

 

[Desperado]

If I was going to pick one it would be the flat bank sinkers. I have that mold in 2,3,4,5 oz. sinkers. Also have the no roll mold in 1,1 1/2, 2, 3 oz. sinkers. Your going to get hung up from time to time. Just have to go with it.

 

[JERMSQUIRM]

i have never used a break away rig. guess i figure that terminal tackle is expendable.

i pour my own sinkers and have found that no rolls work well. i also hahe a bank mold and plan to get an egg mold. they all have thier place. the flat for current, the egg for placing a bait and waiting 5 min and popping it up and let it roll to the next rock and so on.

thats probably the only 3 styles ill mold. they pretty well cover my needs.

me nad a buddie have discussed getting a jig mold togather but thats a different deal.

the no rolls work well for current and regular lake fishing. i use them alot. even on a carolina rig drifting. i have fornd they dony snag as much cause of there low profile. they will snag though. and they do take a little more time to mold with the pull pins. my mold does 1 ,1-1/2, 2, 3oz sinkers. the banks pour really fast cause ya pop and drop and are ready to pour again.

for someone wanting to get a mold your doing the right thing. research.

i figure ill get 4-5 molds and a pot and never buy another sinker. i have a big tub now of banks and several containers full of no rolls. i can pass the art and molds to my son. i fig the only sinkers ill buy now is split shot. they are small and require good soft lead to bend.

i use tire weights. for a non moving sinker they can be cleaned and work quite well. just spent 6 hrs yesterday cleaning out about a hundred and fifty pounds or more of them i got from a buddie that bought a wheel balancing maching. i got me 76 little ingots made up about 1 1/2#each.

there are several fellas on here that make thier own sinkers. don't be afraid to ask Q's.

 

[Tellico00]

Thank you all for the advice, I really appreciate the experience! Until June of this year I have not fished for catfish since I left farm many years ago <grin> I have a ton of Bass, Crappie and Spec's (Sea Trout) gear but little that works for Catfish in a river.

Seems I spent most of last weekend either hung up or retying on new gear. I had to make a late night trip to Wal-Mart for more sinkers so I could fish on Sunday. It's not they were that expensive but to have to pay $1.82 for 4 two ounce sinkers seems a little much. So the result was this thread, a little research as to what types most prefer and use.

So now the next step is see what catfish connection has to offer in the way of molds. One thing I noticed was the different sizes than the mold pours when I really only want to pour a 2 or 3 ounce sinker on some style weights. At $27-$28 per mold with free lead that makes the first 100 sinkers expensive but then they get cheap real fast <grin>

Thanks again for all of the experience and advice.

Mike

 

[crazy]

I just use reg. bank sinkers. I just fish with a normal carolina rig have not broke my line in over a month the river.

 

[JERMSQUIRM]

catfish connection has about every type of mold ya can ask for. the whole page in the 2005 catalog is nothing but molds. just think like i did. a couple hundred bucks for me and ill have all the 3-4 types of sinkers i can ever use. and ive sold some too. so they can pay for themselves in no time.

 

[centralcalcat]

For every species of fish I have fished for in any situation, a good old egg sinkeer on a Carolina rig just seems to work best for me. i bought my moulds from Cabelas.

-Brian

 

[BassMassey]

ive been using primarily a bank sinker on a carolina rig.........never tried a 3 way rig yet, seems it would keep the bait suspended but seems it would get tangled also.............im surely gonna try a flat bank sinker soon for fishing in current.............do they make a great difference???

 

[WylieCat]

I fill shoelaces with buckshot and burn the ends shut. I then run the clip from a snap-swivel through the lace at the very end. These are great for drifting because they flex like a snap and roll across stuff fairly easy.

With all that said, they too get snagged!!

 

[kscathunter]

I got some no rolls last year and really like them they seem to come to the top quicker when retreving imo makeing it less likely to snag I got a 4,5, 5oz mold (do-it)

 

[the_nis]

I started using no-rolls a few years ago and I have the best luck using them in regards to no snags. I do get a snag here and there but not like I was when I was using egg sinkers.

 

[flathunter]

I prefer no rolls..I use them in 3-8 ozs..

 

[dinkbuster1]

i have a variety of different sinker styles for various conditions. egg (1/4 to 3oz), bank sinkers (1 and 2oz), no roll (1/2 to 3oz), snagless(1 to 3oz), and a flat bankless style(3 to 5oz). i converted from egg to no-roll a few years back but i still carry eggs with me, if you dont have much current you can blast them farther than the no-roll's. dont let the name "snagless" fool you! they will get hung up just as bad, but when retrieving they tend to flutter up to the surface away from snags.

 

[H2O Mellon]

I use just about anything, but my favorite is a no roll on a Mellon Rig. Yes I am n ow calling it a Mellon Rig