# Did anyone try to add wings/fins to sinker ?



## Sar315 (Jun 21, 2009)

This should give sinker some gliding ability and thus increase flying distance.

I was going to do it, but first decided to ask because probably someone already tried it.

I believe sure adding wings will help.
They used "gliding" javelins in Olympic Javelin Throw until 80s, and throw distances were longer then now, when gliding is removed from javelins.

Any comments ?


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## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

If I remember correctly breakaway has a set of wings that attach right behind the weight, or at least did at one time. But, they may have been designed to get the weight to plane up quicker when retrieving rather then the cast.

Robert


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## ReelinRod (May 29, 2003)

I make these; 200g (7oz):










They fly nice but I really don't think the "wings" help in the air. Like the plastic Breakaway lead lifts Robert talked about above, they make the sinker plane up in the water column to avoid drop-offs or weedlines (assuming you are casting over the obstruction). That's why I bought the mold, the Breakaway lifts do work but they are expensive. 

A spot I fish on the Delaware River has a drop-off and you hang up in the edge if you can't get your rig up and up quick. Even then you don't always make it depending on how swift the current is, usually 2 or 3 times and now you are talking $6 or more just in lead lifts .

As good as that one is, it wasn't good enough, it just didn't jump to the surface so I bought *this* mold and this one is the bomb, both in the water *and in the air*. On the cast it seems to glide, where a normal sinker reaches an apex and immediately begins its decent, this one just seems to get to the apex and stay there and then come down nearly vertical.

The other thing is it fishes _really_ nice. It doesn't "feel" like a 7oz sinker, it glides on the bottom if you are just creeping it and like a froggy, it doesn't offer a big profile to the current, in fact it lies flush with the sand so it seems to "slide" rather than roll in a sweep . . . It took some getting used to, it doesn't feel "locked in" like a sputnik or even a pyramid but it's there and unless the sweep is crankin, it's stays.


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

Dang...I think I saw some of those sputniks dropped out of B-52's in Vietnam! Hmmmmmmm...a little explosive charge inserted in the tip might up the catch rate! Looks interesting, to say the least, as long as it's down by the bait at the furthest (farthest?) point! What mold do you have for the other one? Do-It?


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## blaminack (Apr 10, 2009)

It seems to me, not being an expert on this topic at all that most of the aerodynamics of the weight would be controlled by dragging the line through the air. Seems to me that it would act like a tail on a kite and keep things relatively straight for the most part.


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## RW_20 (Oct 16, 2007)

The biggest problem with using a wing is it would have to have the correct shape to create lift and then it would be almost impossible to orient the weight on launch for the weight to rise or glide.


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## Sar315 (Jun 21, 2009)

racewire20 said:


> The biggest problem with using a wing is it would have to have the correct shape to create lift and then it would be almost impossible to orient the weight on launch for the weight to rise or glide.


Center of mass might be below, wings above, this way it will orient itself the right way.


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## curtisb (Jul 21, 2004)

Yes they would have to be the correct size and shape. They would also have to be attached to the sinker and not a molded part of the sinker because now you have more weight to compensate for. So they would have to be made out of another material that didn't add much additional weight and that would make them only good for one use because the impact would more than likely shred them or nock them off and that wouldn't be very practical. Now yes airplanes wings are made of the same material as the fuselage and yes they are heavy filled with fuel, but they also have the aelirons on them that when engaged help provide lift. It could be done, but who the hell would pay for so expensive a sinker, especially if you consider loosing them to breakoffs.


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## curtisb (Jul 21, 2004)

It's like this, with all the different shaped sinkers out there we still use one in longcasting tourney's. Reason for this is that it is the most aerodynamic and the best found for distance.


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## kingfisherman23 (Dec 14, 2003)

On one of the days where it was too rainy to cast, I sat around coming up with crazy ideas to increase distance through sinker technology. 

My favorite idea was a sort of spring-loaded umbrella around the sinker (think shock leader = umbrella stick) to catch tailwinds. When the sinker was moving much faster than the wind, the umbrella would stay compressed around the weight because of air moving from from to back. But as soon as the force of the sinker moving through the air began to decrease to a certain level (so the outer reaches of the cast, adjustable by changing the spring tension) the umbrella would extend and catch the wind, thus speeding up the sinker's forward movement and slowing the downward movement.

I had too much time on my hands and a whole unused pad of physics charting paper. 

Evan


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

If you think about the way an actual glider is shaped, the wings would have to be significantly large (and very light) to overcome the gravitational pull on the sinker and allow it to glide. 

THey might help slow the descent-- but would be a huge hindrance to getting the sinker up in the first place--- perhaps remote controlled fold out wings-- deploy them after the sinker has reached it's apex.   


If your going to go to that much trouble-- you might as well spring for a remote controlled airplane to carry your sinker out over the water -- use a release clip to pull the sinker/bait free when it is in postion. Much easier on the arms than casting, I might add.


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## curtisb (Jul 21, 2004)

kingfisherman23 said:


> On one of the days where it was too rainy to cast, I sat around coming up with crazy ideas to increase distance through sinker technology.
> 
> My favorite idea was a sort of spring-loaded umbrella around the sinker (think shock leader = umbrella stick) to catch tailwinds. When the sinker was moving much faster than the wind, the umbrella would stay compressed around the weight because of air moving from from to back. But as soon as the force of the sinker moving through the air began to decrease to a certain level (so the outer reaches of the cast, adjustable by changing the spring tension) the umbrella would extend and catch the wind, thus speeding up the sinker's forward movement and slowing the downward movement.
> 
> ...


Yep, you did. It's funny there was one time Nick Meyer was trying to figure out how to make a tourney reel take off full mags off than have a button to hit to apply the mags when needed. Well wouldn't you know it someone(Daiwa I think) incoporated that type of technology into one of their new reels. Don't think it would work for tourneys thou cause it was one of the smaller reels.


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## skunk king (Mar 25, 2008)

seems like we could easily make a frog-like mold that is also a lifting body.


Lifting Body


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## kingfisherman23 (Dec 14, 2003)

The problem with the Lifting Body is that the design requires constant manipulation through flaps and rudders in order for the proper effect to take place.


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## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

Evan, did you actually say umbrella? Mark, remote control? i definitely have not had enough:beer: to follow this thread.

Robert


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## kingfisherman23 (Dec 14, 2003)

That's what happens, Robert. You leave the boards to do some work around the house, the whole Distance board goes to the birds. 

And yes, my design was an umbrella.

Evan


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## Sar315 (Jun 21, 2009)

First attempt failed:
just tried sinker with added wings (steel plate) - doesn't fly further at all.


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## billr87 (Jan 13, 2008)

it has been tried. several years ago fletchs were added to the weight.didn't work. all you are doing would be done fishing and not casting. all of the suggestions put forth here are not used in tournament casting. ability, common sense, and knowing the local areas catch fish. not, fancy, or good looking additions to a sinker catch fish. a fisherman catches fish. dreamers go to the local fish store.


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## Torpedo (Oct 2, 2007)

curtisb said:


> It's like this, with all the different shaped sinkers out there we still use one in longcasting tourney's. Reason for this is that it is the most aerodynamic and the best found for distance.


That is the whole point of the matter. Casting weight design has been around for over a hundred years. I too have Gripaway moulds and the "wings" are good for lifting the weight on the retrieve. Questionable if it helps much on the cast but they do perform well.

Check out this site on old casting weights....
http://www.antiquefishinglures.com/weights.htm

As you can see the designs have been known and remained similar since men could fly.

It is possible to make a weight fly farther but I'll let you all figure that out.

I'll even give you a clue...

Download XFLR5, figure out how to use it, play with it a bit and you may learn something.

Its on the following link, please make sure you check for viruses before downloading any file.

http://xflr5.sourceforge.net/xflr5.htm


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