Fishing sinker weight acting as barbs. Claw sinkers are used in surf fishing on sandy bottoms with strong currents, mainly to prevent the sinker from getting carried off with the current. Upon casting a claw sinker, the line is briefly tugged so that the claws will dig themselves into the sand, allowing the rig to stay in place. An ideal material for a fishing sinker is environmentally acceptable, cheap and dense. Density is desirable as weights must be as small as possible, in order to minimize visual cues which could drive fish away from a fishing operation. In ancient times as well
Sinker (baseball) regarded either ability as a "gift from heaven." Bill James cites Curt Simmons as the first pitcher to be able to throw both sinkers and rising fastballs, apparently indicating that it was not known how to make a pitch sink and how to make one hop. Zach Britton, Marcus Stroman, Charlie Morton, Dallas Keuchel, Jake Arrieta, Jim Johnson, Rick Porcello, Kendall Graveman, Sonny Gray, Jeurys Familia, Tanner Roark, and Mike Leake are current major league players who rely heavily on the sinker. One method of throwing the sinker is to simply grip the baseball along the two seams and throw