Looking to put on 4-6 pounds

Put a snubber (DIY or store bought) between your down rigger line (cable or braid) and your weight.  It will greatly reduce your shock loads to the line/cable and your boom.

I like that idea. That's what I'm going to do.
Question, are there any benefits of clipping the line release to the braid above the ball as opposed to behind the ball itself?
I've always clipped above the ball out of my power boat but I've seem some people clip to the ball itself.

Put a snubber (DIY or store bought) between your down rigger line (cable or braid) and your weight.  It will greatly reduce your shock loads to the line/cable and your boom.

I like that idea. That's what I'm going to do.
Question, are there any benefits of clipping the line release to the braid above the ball as opposed to behind the ball itself?
I've always clipped above the ball out of my power boat but I've seem some people clip to the ball itself.

I always clipped to the cable.  Mostly because I was stacking multiple rods/clips on each downrigger. Also in rough seas you can keep the ball under water which keeps it from swinging and banging into the side of the boat.  It also puts way less stress on your rigger if you keep the ball from swinging around (above the surface) and keeping it under water is the best way to stop if from swinging around.  Made a huge difference when using a 15lb ball/pancakes but I'm guessing the same concept would apply to yak sized applications/gear

Put a snubber (DIY or store bought) between your down rigger line (cable or braid) and your weight.  It will greatly reduce your shock loads to the line/cable and your boom.

I like that idea. That's what I'm going to do.
Question, are there any benefits of clipping the line release to the braid above the ball as opposed to behind the ball itself?
I've always clipped above the ball out of my power boat but I've seem some people clip to the ball itself.

I always clipped to the cable.  Mostly because I was stacking multiple rods/clips on each downrigger. Also in rough seas you can keep the ball under water which keeps it from swinging and banging into the side of the boat.  It also puts way less stress on your rigger if you keep the ball from swinging around (above the surface) and keeping it under water is the best way to stop if from swinging around.  Made a huge difference when using a 15lb ball/pancakes but I'm guessing the same concept would apply to yak sized applications/gear

That makes sense. Thanks Pelagic.