Cannonball lead moulds??

At the suggestion of various members and given the magazines will run a mile from criticising a piece of kit, here is your chance to tell us what you really think about a rod, reel, line, lure... keep it legal please!

Moderators: Seaniebo, corbyeire

Message
Author
dingaling

Cannonball lead moulds??

#1 Post by dingaling »

Was wondering if anyone knows where I can buy a cannon ball lead mould 4-6oz? and if so how much do they cost??
User avatar
jw
SAI Megalodon!
Posts: 1170
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 7:48 pm
Location: dublin
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 80 times

Re: Cannonball lead moulds??

#2 Post by jw »

hi dingaling,

i think these leads are an abomination especially for boat fishing,
they roll about on the boat turning any rig into a tangle,
also on the bottom they roll about tangling any rig
User avatar
round_ourway
SAI Megalodon!
Posts: 2539
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 1:44 pm
Favourite Rod: Zziplex HSM
Favourite Reel: Daiwa 7ht Turbo
Favourite Fish: Thornback Ray
Location: Belfast
Has thanked: 13 times
Been thanked: 14 times

Re: Cannonball lead moulds??

#3 Post by round_ourway »

brilliant for scratching flounder from the shore though
Boca Bearings .com - Orange Seal

Practice the Impossible
User avatar
Cluais
SAI Hammerhead
Posts: 267
Joined: Sat May 08, 2010 1:11 pm
Favourite Rod: 6-12lb powerstix
Favourite Reel: Abu 7000i
Favourite Fish: Cod
Location: Munster
Been thanked: 21 times

Re: Cannonball lead moulds??

#4 Post by Cluais »

Excellent weight would highly recommend them especially for drifting,don't seem to lose as much gear with them,I was looking myself at the 4,5 and 6oz Do it mould cost about 60 euro or 30 sterling from the uk
Warrior 175 (Orca)
User avatar
BigPhil
SAI Megalodon!
Posts: 2425
Joined: Sun May 29, 2005 10:16 pm
Location: North Antrim
Has thanked: 10 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: Cannonball lead moulds??

#5 Post by BigPhil »

i find them a great lead, i find the opposite to most, i find on the shore they sit and hold bottom better than some other leads!
on the boat they can be great for trotting baits downtide from an anchored boat and a lot of guys like them for gilling...
Not the BigPhil from Irish Angler mag, I'm the original, i swear!!!!
User avatar
steyrman
SAI Sea Dog!
Posts: 473
Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:36 pm
Favourite Rod: conoflex
Favourite Reel: saltist 30
Favourite Fish: megrim
Location: anywhere i can fish
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Re: Cannonball lead moulds??

#6 Post by steyrman »

jw wrote:hi dingaling,

i think these leads are an abomination especially for boat fishing,
they roll about on the boat turning any rig into a tangle,
also on the bottom they roll about tangling any rig
hi jw i use the cannon ball weights from 4 oz up to 24 oz and fish a lot more than most lads and find them one of the best to use in most boat angling conditions the trick on most boats when your moving remove them put them back in the bucket or on top of a cloth so the cant roll around on clean gound the one of the best for flowing traces but i use a boom most of the time also if you drop them quickly the can tangle take it easy with them and the work better than most other leads
User avatar
jw
SAI Megalodon!
Posts: 1170
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 7:48 pm
Location: dublin
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 80 times

Re: Cannonball lead moulds??

#7 Post by jw »

interesting points, im not yet persuaded of the advantages and i think they
tangle worse than other shapes. one thing i wonder about is do different
shapes sink quicker which would be a big plus in deeper water, must
try a few comparisons some day
User avatar
petekd
SAI Megalodon!
Posts: 4840
Joined: Fri May 06, 2005 5:46 pm
Favourite Rod: ZZiplex GB3 Lite
Favourite Reel: 7ht Mag
Favourite Fish: Big fat botties
Location: Cork
Has thanked: 29 times
Been thanked: 91 times

Re: Cannonball lead moulds??

#8 Post by petekd »

Round cannon ball leads are great for fishing snaggy ground JW as they tend to snag less than other types. As you know, most of my angling is match angling so given you are only allowed 1 trace out of the box at any stage I dont have the problem of them rolling around the boat. I wouldn't be without them.
Fluff chucking is the new black..... Rampant Wreckfish is a fly angler in denial :D
User avatar
Dave Jolly
SAI Hammerhead
Posts: 282
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 11:29 pm
Location: cork
Been thanked: 21 times

Re: Cannonball lead moulds??

#9 Post by Dave Jolly »

As anyone who has fished with me knows, I only use cannonball leads, and was probably the 1st guy to bring the moulds in to the country and start making them, now i'd say 80% of the top 20 competition anglers in the country use them... must be something in it...
also imho rolling around the bottom tangling rigs is not the fault of the lead....
World Champion Gold Medals are the new Black!!!
User avatar
jw
SAI Megalodon!
Posts: 1170
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 7:48 pm
Location: dublin
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 80 times

Re: Cannonball lead moulds??

#10 Post by jw »

you might be overstating the case there dave when you say you only
use this pattern. for example i was using a gemini lead with long tail
wires uptiding for tope recently. had i used a cannon ball this would have
rolled downtide and created the mother of all tangles, nothing to do
with the angler, caused by the tide and lead shape. it does make sense that
these might snag less than other shapes drifting over a reefy bottom though
User avatar
Dave Jolly
SAI Hammerhead
Posts: 282
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 11:29 pm
Location: cork
Been thanked: 21 times

Re: Cannonball lead moulds??

#11 Post by Dave Jolly »

I take your point Jw, but if anglers were uptiding in a strong tide and someone didn't use a grip lead than the tangles caused would be the anglers fault not the lead.....
Maybe I should have been more specific, the only plain leads I have in my boat box are cannonball leads in 3,4,5,6,8,10,12, and 16oz.
The thought that a cannonball lead will "roll" around is a common one, but is not correct.
A cannonball lead will not move about unless you want it to, and most often that would be either shore fishing or casting a plain lead uptide on a slack tide to cover more ground, in both cases unless there is wave action to actually roll the lead around randomly, the water pressure on the line will cause the lead to be dragged behind the line rather than roll, this will happen with nearly any type of plain lead.
Downtiding with the correct weight lead will cause the lead to rest in one position on the seabed, using lighter leads to trot down the tide has the effect of the lead dragging in line with the tide, not rolling around, no matter what type of plain lead used.
In my experience tangles on a boat, especially when downtiding are almost always down to an angler not thinking about what he is doing, and not paying attention to what the tide and those around them are doing.
We use cannonball leads on the turbot bank in up to 4kt tides and never tangle unless we cross lines while dropping or retrieving.
The cannonball is superior for drifting as its round rather than tapered shape lends itself to not snagging as much.
Granted a 10oz cannonball will drop down fractionally slower than a 10oz aquapeedo, but again the drag caused by rig construction, and mainline type and diameter have more effect than the shape.
Just my 2c worth.
Dave
World Champion Gold Medals are the new Black!!!
User avatar
jw
SAI Megalodon!
Posts: 1170
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 7:48 pm
Location: dublin
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 80 times

Re: Cannonball lead moulds??

#12 Post by jw »

i can see that a cannon ball shape would be useful if you wanted
your rig to move about and cover ground, however if you believe
this shape moves easily it mustn't be the best shape for
the case when you want it to sit still :-)

actually i found the 8oz grip lead to hold bottom downtiding
on the beal bar, which is known to be a better technique
than uptiding as tope runs are less likely to be dropped.

my opinion is a 14 or 16oz cone pattern would be the next option

Return to “Tackle Reviews by Sea Anglers”