REVIEWED BY CAPTAIN MIKE SCHOONVELD
Would you pay $85 for a downrigger weight? Not me. That’s about twice the price DRWs cost at most retail outlets. But the $85 price point isn’t that out of line for a Fish Fighter weight when you consider the big-bucks “canon ball” does the work of two or more weights and comes with unique features not found on most other weights.
When I used manual crank downriggers on my boat, I had ‘rigger weights of various sizes to use, depending on how deep I needed to fish. No sense in hand-winching up a 12-pounder if I was only lowering it 15 to 25 feet. An eight-pound weight would work at that depth without having an excessive blow-back. Even now, with a set of electric ‘riggers at the back of my boat, I use smaller weights when I’m fishing shallower and heavyweights when I’d putting ‘em down, way down.
The Fish Fighters work on the same principle as a set of adjustable weight barbells. The “weight” part of the weight are thin, steel plates a downrigger user can add or subtract to the sides of the devise to vary the total poundage, like adding additional weight disks on a barbell. The one I sampled could bulk-up in incremental steps from one to 14 pounds.
The individual side plate weights bolt to the sides of a thin, stainless steel center plate. Each weight comes with two detachable tail fins, one is straight for the riggers on the stern to keep the weights tracking straight, the other is bent ten-degrees to become a rudder which sways the weight to the left or right adding a few feet (or several feet on deep sets) of spread to the lures positioned on the out-downs.
When changing the weight, leave the polished steel outer side plate in place if you like a flashy ‘rigger weight. Take it off if you just want a black, stealthy weight. http://www.fishfighterproducts.com.
FISHING TOYS 