Here's a better pic of what I mean:

 

Sure, you can use homemade weights out of copper tubing and wire. You can also use old spark plugs, nuts and bolts, or just about anything heavy that can be tied to your line,and the fish will never know the differance, but why. For the price of a case of beer you can buy a mold and make them the right way. http://www.bottomdwellerstackle.com/claw_sinker_mold.htm

 

Thanks John, but not taking cost into consideration whats the key to the egg style one working better than that copper tube anchor one? The egg has more weight down low? One casts better?
Cost savings is not my goal here I want the best option, even if it means me tinkering around in the shop (which is never a bad time!).

 

As sharkchum says i think we are overthinking the fishing. Is just surf fishing anchor and bait. fish wont notice, anything that gets a good hold on the sand to put tension on the rod will work.


I like your design, maybe make the legs a little longer so they can dig better on the sand?

 

The egg style/teardrop sinkers like I use cast farther than the copper tubing sinkers. This is simple to prove because I've already done it. On the exact same rod, make 5 casts with every style of sinker you have of the same weight and measure the distance each one goes, average the distances of the 5 casts of each sinker and see which one wins.
The problem with the copper wire legs is they are to soft and will bend and come loose with heavy surf, strong current or oversize baits. Not only that, but repeatedly bending the wires back into shape after each cast and retrieve will cause the wires to break off, usually after one day of use, leaving you with a useless sinker.
I've been surf fishing since I was born and have tried every sinker made. I've even made several on my own molds out of everything from wood, sand, steel, even machining them out of aluminum stock, trying to build the better mouse trap, and nothing has come close to the do-it molds with stainless steel legs.
If your trying to come up with a better sinker, keep in mind what the important features are. It needs to cast far, hold good in any water condition, be easy to retrieve, and be durable enough to last for several trips.

 

I use the sinker mold you posted but I prefer the copper legs over others. Since I make my own weights, when the legs break off, I just throw the lead back in my lead pile for them to be remade. I usually get a few weekends before the legs break off.

The problem I have with that specific sinker mold is that the wire holes are very small. They can accept #12 wire or coat hanger wire. The coat hanger wire is much too strong and the #12 is not strong enough. I like using #10 copper wire. It is sturdy enough to last and hold my bait in place. When the current is really bad I have different weights that use with stronger legs.

I plan on drilling out the wire holes on the sinker mold this weekend so that they can accept #10 wire. Hopefully I do not destroy the mold. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

I use 1/16th" 316 series series stainless steel heliarc rod, they can be picked up at any welding supply store. I've found these to be the perfect diameter and stiffness for sinker legs. Rather than bending back during the retrieve like copper wire, causing weakening of the wire and breakage, the heliarc rod simply springs back, then returns to almost the same position after the retrieve.

 

i bought this wire off amazon on chum's advice, and they work great. Big improvement over copper, and cheaper. I use a tube mold that is just bored out oak. it sinks every time...

 

Hard to argue with the amount of time chum has in the surf. Not to say yours won't work just as well, but sounds like he has vetted this out pretty thoroughly. I learned that manipulating the wire in different configurations has a big impact on holding ability. For softer surf I use a shorter bend with less length on the bottom portion for easier retrieve. If the conditions change just increase the amount of wire digging into the sand and keep same amount of weight. Didn't realize this mold was so cheap, will be picking one up.

 

There's really no right or wrong way to do it, as long as your catching fish, that's all that really matters. When I give my "opinion" on something, it is exactly that, "my opinion". In no way, shape ,or form, am I trying to imply that my way is the "only" way or the "best" way, it's just the way that I have adapted after a lifetime of success and failure, like evolution. I always keep a open mind and am never afraid to try something, and I would suggest that everyone else does the same. I've always listened to any advice I could get, good or bad, than I would put it to the test and find what worked best for me.
It would be great if a bunch of us could get together one day and put all our opinions to a true unbiased test, and find out what, hooks, leaders, sinkers, rods, reels, lines, baits, and techniques actually work the best.

 

Sounds like an excuse to go fishing!!! I'm in!!

 

I dont make my sinkers but I use a "sputnick" off a guy on e-bay they have a folding leg design that works great If I were to make some that is the design I.d use for sure

 

I used to fish with this ones.. and i plan to try the out here...

 

Sharkchum - How bout a Meet-N-Greet? I've never met you but I know that you and I have fished next to each other for years. I've been fishing your beach since 2003 and a few of your fishing buddies have mistaken my camp for yours on more than one occasion. At the time, I did not realize it was you. I mostly fish the left side and you are mostly on the right.

I try to hit the beach every other weekend but if there is an excuse to put my feet in the sand, i'll take it. I don't know if you've done a Meet-N-Greet with the 2Cool folks yet but if not, maybe it's about time. It's a great time to get together and share techniques, stories and meet each other in person. Thoughts?

 

Sharkchum - How bout a Meet-N-Greet? I've never met you but I know that you and I have fished next to each other for years. I've been fishing your beach since 2003 and a few of your fishing buddies have mistaken my camp for yours on more than one occasion. At the time, I did not realize it was you. I mostly fish the left side and you are mostly on the right.

I try to hit the beach every other weekend but if there is an excuse to put my feet in the sand, i'll take it. I don't know if you've done a Meet-N-Greet with the 2Cool folks yet but if not, maybe it's about time. It's a great time to get together and share techniques, stories and meet each other in person. Thoughts?

Sounds like a great idea. I have put on a couple how-to seminars/ surf fishing classes in the past, but the last couple of years I haven't had the chance. My only problem is finding a date I could stick to. I never know when I'm going fishing until the last minuet and usually can't scheduled anything more than a day in advance because of work. Maybe be can set something up in late October or early November before the weather starts getting bad.

 

Thank you guys for chiming in, this was exactly what I was looking for! The reasons why one works better than another instead of just opinion without anything to support.
My Do-it mold is on order, thanks for the info and insight!

 

If you ordered the do-it mold, then I'm gonna make everything else real easy for you.
For the legs: Cut 3 pieces of wire 5" long and 1 piece of wire 7" long. On the 5" pieces, take a pair of needle nose pliers and bend a hook 1/2" from the end. On the 7" piece bend the wire back 1" from the end forming your eye. Now line up the ends and wrap them with tape to keep them together. Make all your legs up ahead of time, because they take forever.

 

Perfect, thank you Sir! See you on the beach!

 

Here's the style surf weight I use an make. Buddy made me molds for
4 oz
6 oz
7 oz
8 oz
10 oz
12 oz
16 oz
He makes an sells the molds.

 

AguaMala, can you post a pic of the mold, and info on where your buddy sells them?
thanks!

 

Here's mine. Its a 5oz to 10oz bank sinker mold that I modified to accept stainless legs. Works for me and holds very well. I can only make 5oz and 8oz weights though... The way the mold is made, its not feasible to make the 6oz and 10oz ones.

 

Here's a picture of one of the molds. Anyone interested can pm me an ill pass y'all his number after I ask him if it's ok. Don't like giving out someone's number before asking if it's ok. He is in Houston area so he's closer to y'all.

 

By any chance, does your friend still make the spider weight molds? I know this post was a long time ago but still wanted to give it a try. Please let me know.

 

A few more tips

Making the legs is the most time consuming part. If you have your legs made ahead of time and your lead is already in easy to use ingots the rest of the process goes fast.
When using a multiple cavity surf sinker mold only pour 1 weight at a time. Trying to hold 2 or more sets of legs in place while trying to close a 300 degree mold is almost impossible and will cause you to burn yourself.
When you remove the sinker from the mold they will have a nipple sticking out where the lead was poured. Grip the nipple with some pliers and twist and it will come off smooth.
By having everything ready, I was able to pour a years supply of weights last night in about a hour.

 

So these turned out way better than I expected for my 1st crack at it. I couldn't find 1/16" Heliarc rods in anything less than 10lb packs, so I ended up using 3/32" 316 SS stick rods for the legs, and then 1/16" SS safety wire for the loop. Even though the components look a little cheesy on their own (especially the 1/16" wire "dinks" for the loops), altogether these made for some hella stout little weights!
Can't wait to use these up and make up another batch! Thanks again for all the tips and tricks, see you on the beach!

 

Nice