So .. How much weight do you need to get your target depth?

[GorillaBass]

Hi gang - 

 

So, I fish my local resevoir, just bought a new jon boat from a good local guy and everything is just fine and dandy.. except.

 

So when I was renting jon's and going out I was nailing some solid ones, 3 - 4lb's and awesome, now I got a bad ass little boat and I can hardly catch a fish, skunked the last 4x I've been out there but the resevoir is known for good bass. Long story short, my buddy mentioned for me to go a little deeper, especially since it's summer and all. So my question to your experts, (im not expert, im new to fishing after 15 years off...when I was 15 ) .. how much weight do I need for say, a texas rigged worm or soft bait to reach... 10feet? 15ft? 20ft? 30ft? .. is 2 bullet weights sufficient? I know 1 of them clearly isn't .. I have a 1oz drop shot, is that sufficient? in terms of bullet weights, opinions? advice? 

 

anything helps - im so annoyed. thanks guys, I appreciate feedback !!! happy fishing

 

r3zrunn3n

[scaleface]

1/4 ounce is sufficient for down to 20 foot with a texas rig  .If its windy you can go heavier .

[FordsnFishin]

I fish Texas rigged plastics with 1/4 to 3/8 oz bullets 90%of the time.

[GorillaBass]

I think that's what my bullet weights are, I double looped 2 of them so they stay high on the line, was going to texas rig a worm on the end ... good idea?

[geo g]

You just don't need a lot of weight to get deep in open water.  General rule I follow is, I use the least amount necessary to get the job done.   I typically want a slow fall through the water column so suspending fish get a good chance to look at the bait as it passes them bye.  With plastics I often use no weight, 1/32, or 1/16 seldom more then that if the conditions are good.  Conditions that will cause me to increase the weight are: 1). wind, 2).thick weeds, 3).little fish attacking at the surface, 4). strong current, and 5).certain fishing techniques.

 

Regardless of the weight, it will get to the bottom, it's just how fast you want it on the bottom.  If I am in search mode, I typically want to work the whole water column, not just the surface, mid range, or bottom.  To do that with plastics, I need a light weight and a slow methodical fall.  This gives fish, at all levels, a shot at attacking the dying bait.  If I predict big fish hugging bottom structure,  I may go with a good size jig, or a jig and craw.  It will hammer the bottom fast, and hug the structure while working back to the boat.   Before doing that I have to have a good understanding of where their hiding.

 

Bass fishing is all about knowledge, strategy, and patience.  You have to have a game plan, and a willingness to adjust to what they want that day, that hour, that location!  Always remember that no two days are the same, no two locations are the same, and no two conditions the same.  Its up to you to figure them out, and be willing to adjust! 

[WRB]

During the summer where I fish the bass are usually near the thermocline during bright sunny days and move shallower during low light periods and at night. When I say move shallower it's a horizontal move from suspended over deep water to moving into structure and cover within 10' to 15' of their suspended depth.

What this means if the thermocline is 30' the bass will be around 28' to 25' deep suspended and can move up to 12' to 10' on structure to feed...shallower but not on the bank. The bass located in 12' to 8' during the bright day may up on the bank in 2' to 5' to feed or may stay at the same depth depending on where the prey source is located.

So..... How much weight is needed to target bass in 30' of water, about 1/8 oz, or more depending on wind or current and the type of line you choose to use.

My standard jig weight is 7/16 oz and fish it from 1' to 40' very effectively. My most common T-rig bullet weight is 3/16 oz for the same depth range. Drop shot weight Prefer is 1/4 oz, slip shot is 1/8 oz, all fished from 1' to 40'. Rarely do I use any worm weight over 1/2 oz, unless fishing worms over 12" long in the wind.

A general starting point for rate of fall (ROF) is about 1' per second. Fishing 10' deep your bottom contact lures will take about 10 seconds to hit bottom.

Tom

 

[jr231]

No offense but using 2 bullet weights is blasphemous. Don't do that. Ever. There is a bullet weight (that can be made of very many different materials such as lead, tungsten, brass, steel etc ) that will weigh whatever you need your weight to be. As mentioned this depends on the desired rate of fall.   

 

Do you have sonar or depth finder of some sort ? At least a contour map?

 

Try some mid to deep diving cranks , or lipless. Also jerkbaits that dive various depths. Don't stay throwing your t-rigs in the same waters at the same spots all the time. Your results will shrivel for sure. 

[riverbasser]

30 minutes ago, WRB said:

unless fishing worms over 12' long

Dang tom no wonder your catching giants if they're bitin 12' long worms

 

 

I honestly don't have anything to add from what was posted above so why not make a joke instead.

[WRB]

1 minute ago, riverbasser said:

Dang tom no wonder your catching giants if they're bitin 12' long worms

 

 

I honestly don't have anything to add from what was posted above so why not make a joke instead.

Fixed it but you caught 12' anaconda worm before corrected to 12" giant worms.

Wow, you guys are fast!

Tom

[Catt]

My weight box contains 1/32-1.5 oz

[deep]

rate of fall

Also, what changed between then and now? Other than the boat that is.

 

 

Once (and if) you get off the banks, it's going to be a long day if you don't know exactly what (where) you're fishing and even if you do it might still be a long day... depending on the fish. (Not that beating the banks is usually an attractive proposition to begin with most of the year.)

 

1/4 oz rigs and 3/8 oz jigs are "standard" for me. Down to ~30 ft, and I usually don't fish deeper than that. I will experiment with different trailers/ baits and weights if the fish are not co-operating.

[Bluebasser86]

I've caught fish in 40' of water on a 1/16oz Ned rig on Beaver Lake in Arkansas. Your patience is a big deciding factor in what weight will get a bait down some days. 

A 1/4oz is what I use 80% of the time for standard Texas rigging. 3/4oz is the heaviest I've ever needed to go around here, but that was for flipping grass. 

[GorillaBass]

First of all..

 

thank you all for taking time to respond to me.

 

second. d**n i did not know half of what yall just told me, so, im using way too much weight, be more patient on the descend, and keep trying everything.

 

yes i have a fish finder, Helix 7 DI, (i wish side imaging, i want to get one with side imaging soon actually)

 

so just a little weight and be patient, you guys know your ****.. -__-

 

 

[geo g]

Have some patience, stay on task, and good things will happen.  Don't get frustrated, fishing is a puzzle at best, but should always be fun.  A major part of the game is figuring what they want that day, that hour, that minute.  Nobody said it was easy, or we would all be KVD!  That's what make it so dam interesting!  Good luck buddy.

[Fishes in trees]

Lots of guys, even the first few YEARS of boat fishing will fish too fast and not give the bait time to drop.  Bass fishermen aren't the most patient of fishermen therefore the need to tell yourself to be patient and give the bait time to drop.  An alternative is to go heavy.  When I feel the fish are relating to the bottom, I'll throw my home made jika rig which vary from half an ounce to 3/4. Increase the drop speed on purpose just to get to the bottom quicker. . . . .At least until my buddy, fishing out of the back of my boat, sticks a few 18" or 19" fish, throwing a 10" power worm with a 3/16 oz weight and just waiting for the drop to happen.

 

Fish were on the bottom, but they wanted a lightly weighted 10" worm instead of a heavier weighted brush hog - go figure.

I did switch to what he was using - one of the advantages of having 15 rigs ready in the boat.

[J Francho]

Same weight you were using to get bit before.  If you were fishing 5' and now in 10', then just wait twice as long.

[Raul]

My man it's not how much you need to get it deep but how fast you want it to get deep, lighter takes longer.

[Jaderose]

5 hours ago, Fishes in trees said:

Lots of guys, even the first few YEARS of boat fishing will fish too fast and not give the bait time to drop.  Bass fishermen aren't the most patient of fishermen therefore the need to tell yourself to be patient and give the bait time to drop.  An alternative is to go heavy.  When I feel the fish are relating to the bottom, I'll throw my home made jika rig which vary from half an ounce to 3/4. Increase the drop speed on purpose just to get to the bottom quicker. . . . .At least until my buddy, fishing out of the back of my boat, sticks a few 18" or 19" fish, throwing a 10" power worm with a 3/16 oz weight and just waiting for the drop to happen.

 

Fish were on the bottom, but they wanted a lightly weighted 10" worm instead of a heavier weighted brush hog - go figure.

I did switch to what he was using - one of the advantages of having 15 rigs ready in the boat.

 

 

 

I am in my 4th year of boat fishing I think I am FINALLY slowing down enough.  I rarely use anything over 1/4 oz bullet weight.  My typical set up is as follows.....Bobber stop, gold or silver metal bead, glass bead, hook.  Usually a couple of inches between stop and hook to let the bullet and beads have some nice *click*.