Half ounce lures the norm now?

[mheichelbech]

All the MLF and Elite tournaments I see on tv these days, it seems like the pros are always throwing half ounce or heavier jigs, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, etc.  Along with that, it always is just all around heavier gear, 7 foot (or longer) rods, 20 lb line, 50lb braid, etc.  Seems like the trend, as I have gotten back into bass fishing, has been towards all around heavier lures and gear.

 

When I fished a lot of tournaments 15 years ago, it seemed the trend was to the lightest stuff you could throw, 10-12 lb line, maybe 15-17 max, 1/4 oz and 3/8 oz jigs, 1/4 oz spinnerbaits, etc.

 

Just trying time figure out why the heavier stuff is better or if it’s just a way to sell more stuff.

[JediAmoeba]

You don't want to lose a fish for a few pounds test of line.  Plus, with added fishing pressure from the increased knowledge that is out there these days the big and smart fish have gone deeper into cover so it takes heavier gear to horse them out.  

[Mike L]

I gotta believe they were using what they thought they needed too based on the depth and conditions they were fishing in. 
 

If not in open water down here I use either 80# or 50# braid and 12, 14, 16 or 20# flouro. 
 

Also, my weights will range from 1 1/2oz to 3/16 oz, again depending on what and where I’m throwing. 
 

I think they’re using what they need to. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[JediAmoeba]

Also, people used to operate more under the assumption fish are line shy - they really aren't.  Most light line applications are more for lure presentation.

[Team9nine]

They’re professionals. It’s all about efficiency when they can get away with it.

[jimmyjoe]

   I can't help but think that much of it is about distance and covering water, because there is more pressure on fish now than 20-30 years ago and fish are more easily spooked. In competition, you have to get to the fish and get them to bite before the other guy does. I would think that one part of that is overcasting. You can't do that with heavy line, but light lures.      jj

  

[Teal]

I think it's just pure power fishing.  

[mheichelbech]

1 hour ago, jimmyjoe said:

   I can't help but think that much of it is about distance and covering water, because there is more pressure on fish now than 20-30 years ago and fish are more easily spooked. In competition, you have to get to the fish and get them to bite before the other guy does. I would think that one part of that is overcasting. You can't do that with heavy line, but light lures.      jj

  

I think your right about the distance part. I noticed in watching MLF they would generally stay pretty far back and make long casts.  I especially noticed this watching guys fishing docks.  I was watching Andy Montgomery and he was basically selling every cast from a distance.  His accuracy was amazing....watching skip a bait into about a 5-6 inch space between the boats and the dock was pretty cool.

[ajschn06]

17 hours ago, mheichelbech said:

I think your right about the distance part. I noticed in watching MLF they would generally stay pretty far back and make long casts.  I especially noticed this watching guys fishing docks.  I was watching Andy Montgomery and he was basically selling every cast from a distance.  His accuracy was amazing....watching skip a bait into about a 5-6 inch space between the boats and the dock was pretty cool.

I've always thought of myself as a solid, accurate caster.  Some of the skipping stuff is well beyond a lot of amateurs.  I was most intrigued seeing them in open water just flip it out there a LONG ways and keeping the lure like a foot off the water the whole time.  I'd imagine that's done so the lure makes a quieter entry in the water but I hadn't ever really thought of that...

[Luccon]

I personally use a 7 foot ML st croix avid rod with a penn battle 2000 and 8lb test so I can get good fights. I think the pros use heavier stuff because they are trying not to lose any fish but for me I love lite tackle.

[soflabasser]

I do not care much what tournament fishermen or anyone from social media that is sponsored by a lure company says to use. I rather use lures that I know works well in the places I fish and if needed I will experiment with different proven lures until I find what works best.

[Bluebasser86]

No telling if they're actually using 1/2oz baits either. If it wasn't for the fact that I use so few different sizes of weights, I'd have no idea what I'm using most of the time. Might just be easier for them to say they're using 1/2oz because they don't remember or maybe they don't feel like explaining why they're using a different size.

[Hammer 4]

3 hours ago, soflabasser said:

I do not care much what tournament fishermen or anyone from social media that is sponsored by a lure company says to use. I rather use lures that I know works well in the places I fish and if needed I will experiment with different proven lures until I find what works best.

My feelings exactly..

[mheichelbech]

6 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

My feelings exactly..

My question was not about what brand or even what lure pro fishermen use, it was about what looks to me like a trend (From the early 2000s) toward heavier weights and why...is it because they can cast or pitch further or is it because they have learned that a faster dropping jig gets more bites than a lighter slower dropping jig?  
 

I don’t usually pay attention to what brand lures the pros use but I do pay attention to the things they do that have a broader application across most all lures....heavier baits, bigger baits, smaller baits, etc.  Obviously, how they are fishing applies to the specific lake they are competing on but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn from it.

[Catt]

Rate of Fall 

 

A Texas Rig with a 1/2 oz weight or bigger & a Jig-n-Craw of a 1/2 oz or bigger will get a "reaction" strike.

 

A two pound bass can stop a 3/4 oz weight from ever hitting bottom!

[scaleface]

All that fancy casting you see the pros  doing . Its   easier with a half ounce lure than a quarter ounce . Thats the reason I'm using heavier buzzbaits and spinnerbaits .

[Hammer 4]

7 hours ago, mheichelbech said:

My question was not about what brand or even what lure pro fishermen use, it was about what looks to me like a trend (From the early 2000s) toward heavier weights and why...is it because they can cast or pitch further or is it because they have learned that a faster dropping jig gets more bites than a lighter slower dropping jig?  
 

I don’t usually pay attention to what brand lures the pros use but I do pay attention to the things they do that have a broader application across most all lures....heavier baits, bigger baits, smaller baits, etc.  Obviously, how they are fishing applies to the specific lake they are competing on but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn from it.

I was generalizing. I probably should have added that the weight they use doesn't have any bearing on what I would throw, so more about the weight and not so much about brand.

[papajoe222]

The overall focus in tournament fishing has changed. Now the trend is more toward covering water and thereby presenting your lure to as many fish as possible during the limited time you have to fish. I believe that fishing pressure has had its affect, not only on tournament fishing, but fishing in general. 

The other trend you see more now than in the past is fishing off shore structure. The advances in electronics have opened that up to anglers that 10 years ago would never consider targeting. Heavier jigs and weights for soft plastics allow a quicker way of probing that deep water. For bottom presentations, it's understandable. Although it can be very productive, 1/8oz. jigs take a while to get down to the bottom in 20ft.-30ft. of water and that's time 'wasted' for both the tournament and week-end angler. 

The other benefit is the ability to fish those presentations fast.  For decades my most productive ways of probing those depths was using a deep diving crank, or a C-Rig, neither of which I consider fast presentations.

[detroit1]

Have you watched any the last few years? Dropshots and Ned rigs dominate summer derbys after a shallow morning bite it seems. Although watching them take 5 minutes to land a 2# smallie is starting to get old for me....

[zell_pop1]

6 hours ago, detroit1 said:

Have you watched any the last few years? Dropshots and Ned rigs dominate summer derbys after a shallow morning bite it seems. Although watching them take 5 minutes to land a 2# smallie is starting to get old for me....

Exactly.  It is more about where they are fishing than anything else.In Louisiana, Texas, Florida throw big lures on H action rods and horse them out. Come up north and Finesse them.

Electronic advances have changed things too, finding off shore schools or fish on stumps and GPS marking them. Personally if the pros are so good I think they should not allow sonars with DI/SI or the baitfish mimicking sound devices, no waypoints....let us see how good they are. Probably see KVD and Skeet back on top and Wheeler/Lee as has beens.

[SC53]

Heavier baits allow you to cover water easier and more efficiently as they stay down with faster retrieves. Plus the extra weight allows for more distance and easier casting than lighter weights. 
But you knew that ?

[Luke Barnes]

All I know is i tend to run heavier line than is needed because I dont want to lose a single fish. I use the weight that casts the best for the specific setup I'm casting it on. 1/2 oz chatterbaits cast really good on my 7' MH, but to me, are too much for my 6'6 M. On tje other hand the lighter chatterbaits I dont cast as well with the 7' MH, which is what I use for them, so that's why I use that weight. Pretty much every other lure, I dont pay much attention to weight. Jigs are on my H, cranks on the M. That's about all the things I do weight depending. 

[mheichelbech]

I guess heavy is relative as well.  Most of the tournaments I have fished and a lot of the fishing I do. is in the Ohio River around Louisville, KY.  Some here may recall when they had the Bassmaster Classic here it was the lowest winning weight in the history of the tournament.  The fishing has gotten worse since then in this area.  A 2lb Bass is a good one and a 4lb Bass is usually big fish in most tournaments around here.  
The lack of big fish in any numbers as well as primarily shallow water fishing has called for the use of smaller, lighter baits. On the other hand, fishing lakes in the Spring and Fall, I am using 3/8 and 1/2 oz jigs, spinnerbaits, etc.

[ChrisD46]

On 7/30/2020 at 5:51 PM, Team9nine said:

They’re professionals. It’s all about efficiency when they can get away with it.

*I believe Pro's fish a little faster to cover more water in less time over all when power fishing -  thus more are using 1/2 oz. chatter baits , spinner baits, etc. ?

[soflabasser]

On 8/1/2020 at 11:50 PM, detroit1 said:

Have you watched any the last few years? Dropshots and Ned rigs dominate summer derbys after a shallow morning bite it seems. Although watching them take 5 minutes to land a 2# smallie is starting to get old for me....

It usually takes me less than 1 minute to land a 5 pound or better largemouth bass since I use heavy enough gear to quickly catch the fish and release it quickly. The sooner you release the bass the better it is. It is ridiculous for anyone to take more than a minute to land a small fish like a 2 pound smallmouth bass.