Tungsten Or Lead??????

[eyedabassman]

I fish alot of C-rigs and T-rigs, Flippin and pitchin. I have alot of lead wts. so I don't know if the Tungsten is worth buying. There not cheap, so what are the pro's and con's other than the cost.

[Sam]

Tungston.

Better feel of the bite and bottom.

Smaller than lead, too.

Give some a try.

[Tpayneful]

Sam is 100% correct on this one!  You feel a lot more with the tungsten weight!  I have tried excaliber, some other brand from Gander Mountain and Tru-tungsten.  I only buy the Tru-tungsten weights now.  Some brands put an insert into the weight to keep the tungsten from cutting the line.  The other brands insert comes out sometimes and the line gets cut and you lose the weight.  I wish the paint on my truck was as hard and durable as the paint on the Tru-tungsten weights.  It just doesn't chip off.  I am totally on the tungsten bandwagon and specifically Tru-Tungsten.

[Gone_Phishin]

I wish the paint on my truck was as hard and durable as the paint on the Tru-tungsten weights.

Well said.

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

OMG here we go again with the tungsten vs lead war again

Personally I prefer tungsten.

[alger319]

definitely tungsten..they're smaller and fit against a flippin bait better to reach down in those thick grass mats (in florida anyways)

[burleytog]

Fish tungsten on a C-rig one time and you will never go back to lead.

[ABC123]

I fish alot of C-rigs and T-rigs, Flippin and pitchin. I have alot of lead wts. so I don't know if the Tungsten is worth buying. There not cheap, so what are the pro's and con's other than the cost.

I have seen these threads come and go, and I have not weighed in on them, but I give it a go.

I have not used lead anything in years, so I don't have much to say on it other than it's cheap, and can be found in most stores.

When I want to make a "statement", I thread on a brass bullet. They are large, and very reflective compared to the colored ones, but in the deeper murkier water that I use them, I like them.

I do have some "off brand" tungsten bullets I use in shallower water. I like them too. I don't really notice enough difference between the feel of the brass and the tungsten to really care. They both work fine for me.

[Just_Old_Fisherman]

Like fluemis, I can't see enough difference in lead and tungsten to justify the extra cost.

[Raul]

How come nobody ever mentions that tungsten has a lot better acoustic properties than lead ?  :-?

[HPBB]

I too say Yes to tungsten. I switch a few years ago and don't use lead very much anymore. on jig heads yea, but on T-rig or C-rig it is tungsten only. I like it a lot better when flippin into heavy weeds. it seem to slide through the weeds better.

Just one note. if your boat has windshields (like a walk trough windshield) watch how you set the hook. last year I was flippin with very light weights 1/4 and 1/8 oz and having a great time. well I missed a fish and when I set the hook the bait and weight came flying back at me. missed me but hit  the windshield of my boat, and it looked like someone shot at me. it went right through it and shattered did that make me switch back to lead? no. I put a Plexiglas windshield in and still use tungsten.

Posted by: Raul Posted on: Today at 11:44am

How come nobody ever mentions that tungsten has a lot better acoustic properties than lead ?

Hey did you just metion that?

[farmpond1]

I use kryptonite weights when I'm going up against superbass.

[Crestliner2008]

More & more state DNR's are restricting lead from various reservoirs; obviously due to wet land birds scrounging along the bottom and ingesting this terrible metal (which, intern, may be ingested by us!). Personally, I use steel. Paying a buck a piece for a sinker is not in my realm of reality.

[Catt]

Weights with feelings & birds that eat lead  

[The_Natural]

Weights with feelings & birds that eat lead  

I guess you don't waterfowl hunt.  This is old news.  I wouldn't be surprised in 10 years if lead is banned altogether.  Of course Tungsten may be a lot cheaper then.  Until then...I'll use every advantage I can get!  Is it more expensive?  Sure...so are good lookin' women and nice cars.  

[Catt]

You want to know what's really funny about the lead ban on migratory bird hunting.

I grow up in Southwest Louisiana which has some of the best duck hunting in America and all of us Cajuns died laughing when we heard about the proposal of banning lead. The supposed Biologist said that the ducks in the marsh feeding on the bottom would accidentally eat the lead causing lead poisoning or if you ate the duck you could get lead poisoning. Well the truth of the matter is most ducks feed in rice fields not in the marsh and these are the same rice fields we hunt doves which by the way are hunted with lead shot; the supposed Biologist have not banned lead shot in the rice fields for dove hunting. So where do you think the ducks have a better chance of eating lead in the rice field or in the marsh?

This same way of thinking is behind the ban on lead in fishing lures; this supposed Biologist believes that fish will scour the bottom accidentally eating lead. Now I ask how many fish actually feed on the bottom.

[dumb_dog11]

use brass, makes lots of noise with a little better sensitivity and its cheaper

[tfisherman]

Lead it's cheaper and tungsten is NOT that much smaller.

The cheapest and most expendable thing in my tackle is the sinkers why should I change that?? I guess those  Ol timers didn't know what they were doing after all  

[Catt]

Lead it's cheaper and tungsten is NOT that much smaller.

The cheapest and most expendable thing in my tackle is the sinkers why should I change that?? I guess those Ol timers didn't know what they were doing after all

11 double digit bass last year VS your how many  

[Cajun1977]

fish chris and 4bizz probably caught just as many double digits without lead or tungsten, so whats your point?

[Tpayneful]

I don't understand the Ol timers comment unless it was completely tongue in cheek.  Ol timers didn't have Senkos, Brush Hogs, Lucky Craft crankbaits, chatterbaits, fluorocarbon lines, graphite rods, depthfinders, baitcasters with 10 ball bearings and thousands of other things that technology and ingenuity have provided us over the last 40 years.  I will try some of these new gadgets, lures and tungsten weights and if they work I will continue to use them.  

Tungsten is expensive but I get a better feel for the bottom, the cover and the bite using it.  On highly pressured lakes and rivers this may make me a better angler.  

Of course if the whole comment was made in jest I am just being serious for nothing  ;D

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

ding! ding![ROUND 2

[Jeff C.]

OK,,,,

Just how old do you have to be, to be an Ole-Timer??????

:-/

[tfisherman]

The Ol timer comment was just making the point that Larry Nixon and Rick Clunn were winning $$ without it! I know times change but you can stay low tech and catch fish.

The "I am man hear me roar" comment about fish caught is just stupid! If you wanted to get into it you'd have to compare time on water, I DON'T live in Texas, and the size of our..."boats"  :-?

I'd love to see all your FLW/Bassmaster trophies please invite me over sometime!

[jsettnek]

I can't deny the benefits of tungsten. It's smaller, has great feeling to it and makes more noise than lead. I like it... A lot!

That said, I don't like the idea of paying $6 for 3 to 4 weights. It just isn't realistic. And I doubt the price will come down very much since Tungsten is in a very short supply and takes over 6,000 degrees to melt (which means it's hard to work with). This brings me to my next issue. For those of us that make our own tackle, tungsten is just not possible to work with. If there was a total ban on lead every small time tackle company would fold or move to steel and brass.

Oh yeah 1 disadvantage of tungsten (and it isn't a big deal) it's so hard it will smash your glass beads. I can't tell you how many beads I've broken with an 1/8 oz weight.