# Homemade Snap Weights for trolling



## jasonh1903

Here's a cool little trick I picked up and thought I'd share. I've been trying to figure out an easy way to troll the lower water column without adding cumbersome heavy trolling weights to my line. Changing them out is a pain. You can make a downrigger for a yak but who wants to deal with trying to fight a fish while lifting a huge lead ball from under the boat all by yourself. Plus, I don't want to spend a fortune on it. Some freshwater anglers use snap weights to troll deep lakes up north. They're made to snap onto your line while your trolling. If you get a fish, you just reel until your weight comes back and you snap it off for the rest of the fight. They're expensive too. So I figured out how to make some for dirt cheap. Plus they work like a charm. All you have to do is get some alligator clips, shrink wrap, safety wire, and lead bank weights. Heat shrink the alligator clips and attach the bank weight with the safety wire (you could use mono fishing line if you wanted). I put out 50 feet of line and attach the clip. Then I let out another 50 feet or so. With 3 ounces of weight I figure I'm slow trolling around 20 feet. I like this because it keeps my lure far away from my weight. To measure how much line you put out you can mark your rod with a 2 foot marker starting from the reel. Give a paddle then hand feed out your line as you keep count of your marks. I spent less than $15 and made a bunch of these with different weight sizes.


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