Free rig, what weights do you love and who has the best price?

[Bandersnatch]

I’ve been fishing a big worm for the past two years on mainly an unpegged 1/2 ounce tungsten flipping weight with good success. Does the free rig provide much difference with the eyelet ?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Huge difference, you can't be using a Free Rig, without a Free Rig specific weight with a fully opened eyelet, and a swivel attached to the weight.

 

The way in which it falls on initial cast and on the bounces during retrieve is where it's doing its magic.  

 

Your bait is falling straight down for the most part with a T Rig as it dragged that way from the "attached" in line bullet weight, not the case with using a Free Rig as the line has far more freedom of travel.     

 

Very nuanced to us as humans, but whatever it is, it flat out kills them.   

[Bandersnatch]

I see many videos of people just putting the line through the weight and not using a swivel. The swivel is the deal? The juice?

[Glenn]

I don't use a swivel, however the eye of the free rig weight swivels

[FishTank]

The free rig and a standard bullet weight set up, to me, are two different techniques.

 

The free rig is sort of a Carolina rig. I like to use up to a 1/4oz open, swivel head drop shot weight. I let it fall to the bottom, pop it kind of hard (this allows the weight to travel up the line), and then I fish it with smaller pops or I drag it. It works great for back gliding baits like the Geecrack Bellows Shad or Gill, the Deps Cover Scat, the Fat Ika and the OSP Dolive Beaver.

 

Line can also be a factor. I have tried it on all three (FC, mono, and braid). It tends to work best on FC. 

[Bankbeater]

The free rig has been around for a while, but it never had a name.  Years ago I heard of guys fishing free rigs with crankbaits, to get the bait down near the bottom, and keep it down there. 

[Bandersnatch]

What weights do you guys love and who has the best price? Do you throw up to 3/4 and if so for what depth?

[ElGuapo928]

“Bass Casting” sinkers - about a buck at Wally World. Heaviest I throw are 3/8-ish.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Bullet Tactical Tungsten Casting Tear Drop Weights | Tackle Warehouse

 

Flat Out Tungsten Tear Drop Drop Shot Weights | Tackle Warehouse

 

I free rig big baits, 1/4oz works for everything from 1ft to 15ft.   

[Glenn]

I use Reins Slim Round Eye Sinkers: https://bit.ly/3qdC6CP 

[MN Fisher]

Nako skinny free-rig weight - https://www.amazon.com/nako-Density-Tungsten-Weights-Sinkers/dp/B09Z67XMG9?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

 

Weight depends on the depth I'm fishing.

[WRB]

The old Water Gremlin Dipsey sinker has worked for decades before the “free rig” was created. 

Tom

[MN Fisher]

31 minutes ago, WRB said:

The old Water Gremlin Dipsey sinker

That's what I used for various techniques...before I got rid of all my WG weights. Look up how many times the WG plant has been cited for pollution, OSHA violations and other things...and they never really fix anything. Now I avoid WG like the plague.

[WRB]

So you think tungsten weights made in China are cleaner mfr’s?

Tom

 

[Mbirdsley]

i use the pencils drop shot weights from a do-it mold.  the mold has 2 differnt ways to put the eye loop into the mold.  either loop down into the led and you can attach the line like a traditional drop shot or you put the loop up.  loop up is how i run the free wieght rig with the line running through the loop. 

 

 i found 1/4 oz is about right wieght for most of the free wieght applications that i fish which, is usually in sparse grass 

[FishTank]

I have found I like these two the best. The pencil weight is from Decoy and the other is from Reins. Both have a barrel swivel. I like the pencil around weeds and bell shaped one for everything else.  Also, both are cheap and can be found at Digitaka.

 

 

 

[softwateronly]

What I've learned over the last year is that;

 

it catches fish.  initial fall, hops of all kinds, and dragging

if the eyelet is too big, it'll catch a bit on the backside of the knot, limiting the free part

if the eyelet doesn't swivel, your line lasts only a few hours

1/16-3/8oz has covered me up to 20' and windy, but 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4 are probably my most useful

digitaka has the best prices I've seen for them 

 

scott

[Fishin Dad]

Does anyone put a bead between the weight and the knot to prevent hanging up?    I am going to play with this rig next year.   Seems logical.  

[MN Fisher]

Bobber stop at the knot, bead above that...to mitigate the bead/weight knocking against the knot weakening it.

[Bandersnatch]

1 hour ago, softwateronly said:

What I've learned over the last year is that;

 

it catches fish.  initial fall, hops of all kinds, and dragging

if the eyelet is too big, it'll catch a bit on the backside of the knot, limiting the free part

if the eyelet doesn't swivel, your line lasts only a few hours

1/16-3/8oz has covered me up to 20' and windy, but 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4 are probably my most useful

digitaka has the best prices I've seen for them 

 

scott

I haven’t seen swiveling ringed weights, that’s a thing? 

[Glenn]

This video answers a lot of questions:

 

 

[Columbia Craw]

Sieberts open eye slim weight.👍👍

[softwateronly]

On 12/3/2023 at 7:55 AM, Bandersnatch said:

I haven’t seen swiveling ringed weights, that’s a thing? 

It is a thing and the thing that currently makes the weights harder to find and pricey.   Reins, decoy, and spro are the companies I use currently. 
 

https://www.digitaka.com/item/149/55/79/4989540821596

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/SPRO_Tungsten_Drop_Shot_Sinker_Long/descpage-STDSS.html

 

scott

[FryDog62]

I use 1/4 oz down to 15 fow… 3/8 deeper than that. Am only using pencil style weights. Casting style, bell sinkers etc seem to “grab” any grass on the bottom.  They may or may not snag, but they throw the feel off for me. 

[Bandersnatch]

Well here’s kind of my barrier to entry with at least tungsten weights. If I’m gonna buy tungsten, which I am, it should be ideally no chip, must have the weight printed/engraved and in this case apparently have a swiveling open eye head. There’s a ton of weights but only a handful meet this criterial from what I saw. The Nako weights seem to also fit the bill. 
 

https://nakoshop.com/products/tungsten-free-rig-skinny-drop-shot-weights

 

it’s he cool if they went higher in weight