Long line weight ideas

K

Kevin Puls

Well-known member
I did a little searching and didn’t come up with much. I need some more long line weights. My supply of sash weights has dwindled and apparently they are now “vintage” items on marketplace. What other simple diy ideas are out there short of spending $20 a piece on 5 pound mushroom anchors?

They are used on semi sporty conditions so need to be somewhat heavy.
 
Kevin Puls said:
I did a little searching and didn’t come up with much. I need some more long line weights. My supply of sash weights has dwindled and apparently they are now “vintage” items on marketplace. What other simple diy ideas are out there short of spending $20 a piece on 5 pound mushroom anchors?

They are used on semi sporty conditions so need to be
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Cast lead mushrooms using a lead pot and screw eye or the small size claw anchors (cabelas has 2.2 pounders for less than 20) either holds better than a non anchor shape like a dumbbell or sash weight.
 
Use a plastic tub filled with concrete and a copper wire for attachment. In thr 70's we used clorox bottle painted black with junk weights is case we had to leave them because of weather. Cheap rig we shot many birds from...
 
For some reason barbell weights don’t hold. They roll. But thinking about it maybe if I could weld an eye on the end it would be more like a mushroom anchor.

I’m thinking about pouring hot lead into a soup can with an eyebolt suspended into it.
 
We have tryed the folding anchors and they hold ok, you have to set one side and hope the other catches before the line gets a bow in it. I use 2 window weights on either end of my lines and it works great no matter how many decoys i attach
 
Kevin Puls said:
I did a little searching and didn’t come up with much. I need some more long line weights. My supply of sash weights has dwindled and apparently they are now “vintage” items on marketplace. What other simple diy ideas are out there short of spending $20 a piece on 5 pound mushroom anchors?

They are used on semi sporty conditions so need to be somewhat heavy.
Click to expand...
Kevin,
This may sound really off the wall, but I use lead weights from Campbell's soup cans. I don't know what your conditions are but my weights are about half the can filled. I use a brass ring stuck in the molten lead and hold it there untill it sets up. Be sure to peel the can off the lead weight. My long lines are 120 ft long with 10 to 15 decoys. I have used this method for around 40 years on inland lakes and big water.

RVZ
 
I actually have a few set up with 5lb barbell weights on the side I drop first and a grapple anchor on the other.
On rare occasion, the 5 lb weights didn’t hold (silty bottom, 7-20’ of water, Chesapeake bay) and it gets bumped up to 10, but usually no problem.
 
Rod VanZile said:
Kevin,
This may sound really off the wall, but I use lead weights from Campbell's soup cans. I don't know what your conditions are but my weights are about half the can filled. I use a brass ring stuck in the molten lead and hold it there untill it sets up. Be sure to peel the can off the lead weight. My long lines are 120 ft long with 10 to 15 decoys. I have used this method for around 40 years on inland lakes and big water.

RVZ
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Actually this was something I was thinking about. How heavy is a “half can” of lead?
 
Kevin Puls said:
I did a little searching and didn’t come up with much. I need some more long line weights. My supply of sash weights has dwindled and apparently they are now “vintage” items on marketplace. What other simple diy ideas are out there short of spending $20 a piece on 5 pound mushroom anchors?

They are used on semi sporty conditions so need to be somewhat heavy.
Click to expand...
I too have used sash weights but found they did not hold well where I hunt with strong tides and current. I am a pipe fitter and turned to using old pipe flanges and “blind flanges “. They hold great and different sizes are different weights. I also got my hand on some stainless ones great for in the salt where I hunt. You could probably find them at a scrap yard IMG_1118.jpeg
 
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Kevin Puls said:
I did a little searching and didn’t come up with much. I need some more long line weights. My supply of sash weights has dwindled and apparently they are now “vintage” items on marketplace. What other simple diy ideas are out there short of spending $20 a piece on 5 pound mushroom anchors?

They are used on semi sporty conditions so need to be somewhat heavy.
Click to expand...
i have a bunch of spare sash weights in NH near Hanover/Dartmouth. Make me an offer if you wan some
 
I've used old sash weighs as well. They work great for long lines when there is not a lot of current. I used to hunt in the Bay of Fundy, and when the tide runs you can watch your decoys drift away as the currents drag your set. Can get really frustrating when the birds are decoying to the end go the set!

I've tied several types of anchors. I've tried those folding grapnels - work the same if you tie the on or you just throw them overboard. I'm now using a 6-8 lb pyramid weight. I had a mould welded up for a 4 sided pyramid. It has a bracket that allows me to mount a stainless eye bolt or a bronze loop. They work ok, but I think next time I'd switch to a 3-sided pyramid that is a little bit longer relative to the width of the base.

The pyramid works well because it turns on its side and digs in as you pull on it. As I mentioned, I'd change he shape of mine to make them a little longer (taller). The shape I have now is a little short and when you pull on it it can tip over onto the eye. Note sure if you can picture it, if it was longer, (taller) the centre of gravity would be further back and might keep to digging in. The ones I have now work fine, but with a better shape I mine be able to get by with less weight.

Pyramid weights are used a lot on our salmon canoes. For canoe weights they often make the mould with the top cut off. I might try this with the next mould.

IMG_0724.jpeg
 
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