Bullet Weights Over 1/4oz?

[Darth-Baiter]

12 hours ago, Drawdown said:

I know what you mean about “Jedi-sensing” the strike, and got quite good at it with my SLX (which I know isn’t a REALLY good rod; but a solid one)—but recently fishing in a stump-ridden area where I kept setting the hook into snags shook my confidence. Now I’m starting to leave hooksets on the table when I probably shouldn’t.

 

I just need to buy a pile of painted lead sinkers and quit caring, I guess. If I set the hook on a snag, be okay if it happens until I get better at discernment.

My favorite!   I love going into a snag. I freeze and ease line in…slow.  If it moves without my input?  Hammer time!    Sometimes just stop.  Wait.  Wait for the fish to send you a note. 
 

I learned this from a Mexican fishing guide who didn’t know a single word in English. Thank goodness Mr Gonzales my Spanish teacher taught me more than asking “where is the library”. 
 

we would cast into branches. Everything felt like a tap of a bass.  I get the tap….wait.. wait.  You’ll  feel it if it is a fish very quickly.  If not, you haven’t buried the hook into something woody, and can jiggle it thru.  

[LrgmouthShad]

Well I started using 1/2oz tungsten weights a lot because @Cbump uses em quite a bit and then @Catt tells me to pay attention to rate of fall and then Terry Oldham in a jig video says he likes to use heavy weights when the water is hot…. So basically after all these recommendations I said okay, I’ll give it a go and found out that a 1/2oz works pretty good right now. As good or better than a light weight. I’ll still keep light weights on me. Basically right now I run two Texas rig rods. Three if you include punching. One with a light weight and one with a heavy weight. I’ll use one or the other however I feel like it

[WVU-SCPA]

All tungsten up to 3/8 for T-rigs.

 

3/8 produced the winning bites the past weekend although I'm sure various other methods would have produced.  Fish were holding tight on hard structure in 6'-10' with only 2 of the 25ish fish caught biting on the drop.  Beaver bait dragged into structure and then slowed waaaaaay down once in contact produce the better bites(sure a jig would have worked as well).  The 3/8 let me sweep faster when trying to get into structure while maintaining bottom contact which seemed to be a key part of the bite.

[scaleface]

I imagine 75% of the time I am pitching . For you guys pitching less then 1/4oz. , what equipment are you using? Rod, reel, line.

[bp_fowler]

3 hours ago, scaleface said:

I imagine 75% of the time I am pitching . For you guys pitching less then 1/4oz. , what equipment are you using? Rod, reel, line.

For me if I’m pitching with weights lighter than 1/4 Oz. (sometimes even  unweighted).  It’s mostly going to be into the shady areas created by overhanging trees or bushes or sparse weeds. It’s not something I would do around lay downs or any sort of substantial vegetation.  I learned this the hard way.

 

I’m using a 6’10” M/F spinning rod with 8# fluoro or more recently 10# braid to 8# fluoro leader.

[Darth-Baiter]

I am not so much pitching.  (I pitch plenty tho)

 

for my lightweight stuff, 1/8th weights plus creature or worm;  I am casting.  I like to stay away on my kayak, which is super stealthy to begin with, and casting from a longer distance.  I (right or wrong) think the bass dont know I am there and I have better success.   in clear water, it is super rare that I catch a bass I have seen.  I think it has seen me, already.    I cast to targets.  submerged stumps, weed-lines, you name it..   I prefer to throw the bait a distance.  

 

I can underhand toss a bait under a canopy to the water's edge if needed.  

[Drawdown]

10 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

My favorite!   I love going into a snag. I freeze and ease line in…slow.  If it moves without my input?  Hammer time!    Sometimes just stop.  Wait.  Wait for the fish to send you a note. 
 

I learned this from a Mexican fishing guide who didn’t know a single word in English. Thank goodness Mr Gonzales my Spanish teacher taught me more than asking “where is the library”. 
 

we would cast into branches. Everything felt like a tap of a bass.  I get the tap….wait.. wait.  You’ll  feel it if it is a fish very quickly.  If not, you haven’t buried the hook into something woody, and can jiggle it thru.  

Thank you! This is excellent, one of the reasons I love this forum.

 

On a separate note—I wonder if there’s diminishing marginal returns on how weight impacts the action on ROF.

 

I know there’s a massive, substantive difference in how a bait works when going from 1/8 to 3/16, but is it really *that* different going from a 3/8 to a 5/16?

[Catt]

8 hours ago, scaleface said:

I imagine 75% of the time I am pitching . For you guys pitching less then 1/4oz. , what equipment are you using? Rod, reel, line.

 

I roll cast more than anything, 

 

Powell Inferno 703C

7' Medium Heavy X-Fast 

Lew's Team Lite 

Berkley Big Game 15#

[Catt]

9 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Basically right now I run two Texas rig rods. Three if you include punching.

 

Same with my Jig-n-Craws

[Bankbeater]

I use 1/16, 1/8, and 3/16 the most.  The only time I use 1/4 or heavier is on very windy days, and in the colder months to make sure the bait stays on the bottom.

[Darth-Baiter]

On 7/25/2023 at 6:06 PM, Drawdown said:

Thank you! This is excellent, one of the reasons I love this forum.

 

On a separate note—I wonder if there’s diminishing marginal returns on how weight impacts the action on ROF.

 

I know there’s a massive, substantive difference in how a bait works when going from 1/8 to 3/16, but is it really *that* different going from a 3/8 to a 5/16?

i am far from any expert.  but in my feeble mind, ,my goal is to use the lightest weight possible in any application.   what governs is what gets the bait into the strike zone.  if there is current, i up my weights to try to get my bait to what i am casting at.  no sense casting to a tree stump only have have tidal currents whisk it away before it drops in on a bass.   even punching, i target just enough weight to penetrate the canopy.  

[Bankc]

I use tungsten for anything over 1/4 oz.  We're allowed to use lead here, and I rarely lose a Texas rigged worm, so the environmental impact doesn't worry me.  

 

As for when to use what weight?  Well that just depends on a whole host of factors.  How far do I need to cast?  How much wind and/or current is there?  How deep is the water?  How active are the fish?  What's the bottom composition? 

 

Though I probably use either a 1/4 or 3/8 for most of my fishing.  It gives me enough weight for a far cast, fights the wind, and gets down to 10 feet of water pretty quickly, which is where I'm usually fishing with a T-rig.  Plus, it's usually heavy enough to not get swept away in the current.  I rarely use a 1/16, as I'll usually just go weightless at that point.  Sometimes I'll use a 1/2 if I need more distance or am fighting denser weeds.  But I typically only use a 3/4 or 1oz. for punching.  

 

And really, if I'm looking for a slower rate of fall, I'll usually just unpeg the weight.  

[fin]

On 7/23/2023 at 10:20 PM, Pat Brown said:

I actually go the opposite of most folks.  I prefer 3/8 oz and up in general, rarely going for the lighter weights.

 

Why?

 

I'm generally trying to get a reaction strike with the rate of fall in clearer water and I like to force them to make a decision fast.  I also like to impart hops and the hopping action is way more convincing with heavier weights.

 

Beyond that, I get most of my bites that aren't on the fall, on the bottom so I'm trying to get my bait down to where it needs to be to get bit.

 

Works well enough for me although I used to use lighter weights a lot more often back when I felt like it mattered.

 

If the weight needs to be less than 1/4 oz on the sinker, I'll throw a weightless senko or a small shaky head or something like that.

 

I've always fished with the lightest weights possible, but I like your logic and some of the other comments here about heavy weights. I think I may try some heavier weights in the coming days.

 

The amount of weight I use is chosen based on how the bait looks falling or hopping, based on what creature it is. I'm trying to replicate how real creatures move. That means lighter weights for small to medium worms, heavier weights for bigger worms, heavier weights for craws, sort of medium weight for baitfish/shad baits.

 

I see tungsten as snake oil. I'm probably wrong, based on how many knowledgeable people believe in it, but my belief fits my budget ?

 

On 7/25/2023 at 9:06 PM, Drawdown said:

I know there’s a massive, substantive difference in how a bait works when going from 1/8 to 3/16, but is it really *that* different going from a 3/8 to a 5/16?

 

You realize you're going two different directions, right? One example you gave is going heavier, the other is going lighter.

 

(1/8 = 2/16) to 3/16

(3/8 =6/16) to 5/16

 

Besides that, going from 1/8 to 3/16 is an increase around 33% and going from 3/8 to 5/16 is a decrease at a much smaller percentage. If I didn't suck at math, I could tell you how much of a smaller percentage ? ...around 18%, I think. So the answer to your question is yes!

 

 

[ATA]

On 7/23/2023 at 6:26 PM, Drawdown said:

I’ve fished a lot with 1/8oz and 3/16oz lead bullet weights, and have gotten a decent feel for when I want one over the other. Very recently bought some 1/4oz and like how they play with beaver style baits, though I have very limited experience with those, too.

 

Wondering what the principal advantages of getting some 3/8oz or 5/16oz weights would be…but I have two questions:

 

1. at what weight do you definitely switch from lead to tungsten?

 

2. at what weight is the purpose of the weight switch from being multi-purpose to more specialized, like for “pitching” or “deep water” applications? I’m inclined to see 1/2-5/8oz as solidly falling in this category, since I’m used to throwing skirted jigs this weight. But am open to reconsider.

For first question, I always use tungsten regardless of weight and in Summers I am going trough a lots of 3/4oz here in SoCal.

[crypt]

On 7/23/2023 at 10:35 PM, Catt said:

Flipping, Pitching, & casting Texas Rigs my weight selection is 1/16 - 1/2 oz. Probably 90% is 1/8, 3/16, & 1/4 oz. All tungsten 

 

Why?

Rate Of Fall

 

I'll throw those 3 from dirt shallow out 25'.

 

Punching is a whole set of different rules!

this in a nutshell is where it's at.