el cheapo DIY sinkers

I was Bass Pro the other day and the cheapest 10 oz sinker they had was $8, which was too rich for me.

Later, I was in Home Depot, and saw a heavy steel post, 3' long and about 5/8" diameter, with a bunch of tiny holes predrilled through. It only cost $5.

The light bulb in my head lit up, and this is now my new favorite sinker material. It weighs about 2 oz per inch, so a 5 inch length serves as a reasonable facsimile of a 10 oz torpedo sinker. The predrilled holes are awesome, as I simply cut it to the desired length with a hacksaw, and then tie on a piece of heavy mono.

I tried them out on Monday, trolling with a bounce-ball-like technique, and they worked fine. I think they'll work well in other applications too.

Not sure why that last picture got stretched out, but the holes are round, not oval...

Abrasion concern w the mono? 

If you have an angle grinder, you can use a thin metal cut-off blade that should make quick work of sizing your sinkers.

You could also run bailing wire through the holes to form a loop and then a snap swivel to your line if worried about abrasion and losing your prized weight.

Or you could go to Bodega Tackle. The guy that runs the shop there makes the best torpedo sinkers around IMHO. They only have connectors on one side of the weight - which I think prevents snags in some instances. However, I like your approach here because I don't think construction stakes are made out of lead. They probably rust when left in Davey's Locker - which is a great outcome for unexpectedly liberated fishing gear.

Or you could go to Bodega Tackle. The guy that runs the shop there makes the best torpedo sinkers around IMHO. They only have connectors on one side of the weight - which I think prevents snags in some instances. However, I like your approach here because I don't think construction stakes are made out of lead. They probably rust when left in Davey's Locker - which is a great outcome for unexpectedly liberated fishing gear.

Yeah, I dig the forming stake as lead approach. Fish don't care about rust either.

Concrete form stakes!  Great idea.  They are steel and will rust.  Steel is about 70% as dense as lead, which is better than the rock sinkers I've been making.  I've been attaching a loop of stainless wire to those with epoxy, you could epoxy the wire into the hole if you wanted and epoxy it down to the sides with a little bead to reduce loose wire and snag potential.

I may need to get out the grinder and cut up some old stakes myself.  or just cut up some 1/2" rebar and epoxy wire loops to it, that material is even cheaper than form stakes.  Thanks for the inspiration!

Abrasion concern w the mono?

No issue so far in a couple of outings. I'll post again if it turns out to be a problem, but as others have pointed out, you could always use wire instead.

dang just hit it w a belt sander and shine it up and throw some hooks underneath for lings lol. this is a super smart DIY thanks for sharing

dang just hit it w a belt sander and shine it up and throw some hooks underneath for lings lol.

Ha ha, I was thinking the same thing. I have some reflective tape that I use to on my DIY dodgers (WTP decorator tape, to be precise). That would make it super simple, as you don't even need to polish it...

So now I have a use for that abrasive wheel chop I saw I bought years ago.

You can do the same with re-bar also. Tightly wrap wire, SS, if you have it, around the top groove so it forms a loop for attachment. Same for bottom if you want a hook. Use any reflective covering for ling jigs. Inside coating of a potato chip bag rolled twice around and secured with mono or edge glued works fine.

You can do the same with re-bar also.

Yes, this is similar in diameter/weight to #5 rebar. But, I like the thru-holes about ever 1.25", as it makes attaching things super-simple.

You can do the same with re-bar also. Tightly wrap wire, SS, if you have it, around the top groove so it forms a loop for attachment. Same for bottom if you want a hook. Use any reflective covering for ling jigs. Inside coating of a potato chip bag rolled twice around and secured with mono or edge glued works fine.

that's awesome

Lately I've been buying my sinker from this guy off CL.....10oz $1.60 for example.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/spo/d/fishing-weight-sinkers-5oz-to-48-ounce/7309558953.html