In baseball, a sinker is a type of pitch in which the ball is spun so that it drops suddenly as it reaches the plate. Besides making the ball harder to hit, the downward motion also makes contact with the ball more likely to result in a ground ball.

A sinker is a weight used in fishing to force a lure to sink more rapidly. The ordinary plain sinker is made of lead, shaped round like a pipe-stem, and swelling out in the middle. There are loops of brass wire on either end to attach the line. The weight is from a quarter of an ounce for trout fishing up to a couple of pounds or more for sea bass and porgies.

The swivel winker is similar to the plain one, except that instead of loops, there are swivels on each end to attach the line. This is a decided improvement, as it prevents the line from twisting and tangling. In trolling, swivel sinkers are indispensable. The slide sinker, for bottom fishing, is a leaden tube which allows the line to slip through it, when the fish bites. This is an excellent arrangement, inasmuch as you feel the smallest bite, whereas in the other case the fish must first move the sinker before you feel him. Split shot are sometimes put on trout lines in place of a sinker. Independent swivels are useful in some kinds of fishing to prevent the entanglement of your line.

"Sinker" is also a slang term for a doughnut, usually used to suggest dunking (or "sinking") it in coffee.

External links

• Do lead fishing sinkers threaten the environment? (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfishsinkers.html) (from The Straight Dope)