Lure Weight- Exceeding it?

[Bass Junkie]

  I'm starting to throw swimbaits more and am kinda wonderin' about throwin' lures over the recommended weight on a rod. Its really a pain to try to take 3-4 rods on a trip when I don't know what I'll need to throw.... So, is it safe, and how far over...?

[I.rar]

lol , reminds me of mrlitetackle. throwing hard swimbaits on ML spinning gear or whatever he was using. apparently he didnt have a problem doing that. i think you would be able to tell if the lure is too heavy when you load it with the rod.

[Raul]

The rod can break, is not wise to exceed too much the MFR 's specifications, let 's say for example you have a rod with a max rating of 1 1/2 oz and you got this 1 3/4 -2  oz swimbait, well most likely the rod is not going to break, yeah it 's going to cast like crap that bait but you are not exceeding the rating by too much, but pushing it by tying let 's say a 2 1/2 oz then you are exceeding by too much, don 't cry if your rod breaks.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I don't recommend exceeding a rods listed rating by very much, especially if you're loading the rod for long casts. How much you can get away with depends on the rod's rating, material etc. IMO there is no substitute for using the right tool for the job.

[Grey Wolf]

I wouldn't go over 1/8 oz. more. JMHO

[Marty]

I think you can exceed the rated weight, although I'm not quantifying it. Just don't make hard snap casts. Take it easy and lob the lure and you should be OK, as long as the lure weight is reasonable.

[K_Mac]

I think you can exceed the rated weight, although I'm not quantifying it. Just don't make hard snap casts. Take it easy and lob the lure and you should be OK, as long as the lure weight is reasonable.

I agree Marty.

It really depends a lot on the rod on how much over you can go IMO. I have a MXF that I would not overload much (if any) because of the light tip. I have a MHF rated for 1 oz that will easily handle more.

Your dilemma is why many of us carry way too many rods."I never know what I'm going to need," can be very expensive. Good luck.

[Hammer 4]

I wouldn't go over 1/8 oz. more. JMHO

I better STOP then...7'6" Shimano calcutta rod, line ..10-20, lure rating 1/2 to 1oz..I have thrown Matt's hardgill with that rod, and regularly throw 2-2 1/2oz baits all day long..

I really think it depends on the rod. I find some are under rated alott, some are close, and one that I know is over rated.

Choose your weapons carefully.. ;D

[Randall]

My favorite rod for hard swimbaits is an Okuma Reflexions rated for 1/4 to 1oz. I throw 2oz baits on it all the time.

[SirSnookalot]

I use Hurricane Redbones, either 8/17, max 3/4 oz or 10/20, max 1 oz, both in 7' and & 7'6 models.  I throw my home made cuda tubes which are about 1.5 oz.........never a problem, that would be my limit

[Crestliner2008]

I'm casting two 6" Hudds (rof5 & rof12) on a pitching stick. No problems thus far, but you do need to "lob" that cast. If you try a regular snap cast, chances are pretty good you'll cause some damage.

I use my musky rod for the bigger stuff.

[Luke99]

I have a 6’6” medium heavy Abu Garcia spinning rod with a lure weight range of 1/8-5/8oz. Would it be ok if I used a 7/8 oz floating minnow lure?

[Boomstick]

11 hours ago, Luke99 said:

I have a 6’6” medium heavy Abu Garcia spinning rod with a lure weight range of 1/8-5/8oz. Would it be ok if I used a 7/8 oz floating minnow lure?

I would say that's pushing it a bit. Also the rod probably won't have the backbone to be effective with the 7/8oz floating minnow either.

My general rule of thumb is if I exceed the rod's rating, I will still need to make sure the rod has the power to land a fish as well, as chances are it won't.

 

A time I may exceed the rods rating a little bit is fishing for trout on ultra light and light gear on a rod rated for 1/16 to 3/8oz or whatever and I want to throw a 1/2 carolina rig. Because the line largely passes through the weight, the fish should be hooked up before it picks up the weight, so in this case I'll make an exception.

 

I know a lot of people who do regularly exceed ratings and most of them generally haven't had a problem. I just can't think of many scenarios why I'd want to.

[JustJames]

Lure rating is just a guideline, each rod loaded differently even form same manufacturer. So to answer your question, you have to try if your rod can handle your lure without too much overload. I have Fenwick Ateos with lure rate up to 1 oz, I use this up to 1  3/4 oz no problem but with hudd68 special 2oz is feel over load. I also have Phoenix MBX ultra lure weight 1 1/2 but this one can handle 2 oz lure just fine.

If you wanna carry only one rod, then get the one that can handle 2-8oz, 7'9 - 7'11, to cover different type of lures.

Now to over load your rod, it is not only casting that you should be concerned with, but to get a good hook set too. Too soft of a rod and yield to improper hookset, you either loose your catch of a lifetime or break your rod.

 

[Further North]

I don't do it because it's a PITA to cast baits that are too heavy for the rod...but that's me...

[MickD]

If you take it easy on the casts you will not break the rod, but if you get too aggressive with an "overloaded" rod, then it could break.  As stated before, it's a PITA compared to having the proper rod.

[Angry John]

This reminds me of story time where Matt Allen talks about throwing Hud''s on a medium casting rod.  He lost a great fish but the rod did not brake.  There is more to the story than just the weight of casting.  Are you going to have the power to set the hook and then be able to keep it pinned...  Hate to hear later that you hooked a monster and lost it because you were outgunned.  You spend a ton of time working for that bite, maximize your odds and have the right gear.  

[RPreeb]

My heaviest rod is rated to 3/4 ounce.  My heaviest lure is a 7/8 ounce Whopper Plopper 110.  I just haven't run into the need for anything much larger so far.  The bass around here just don't grow that big, so I mostly use weightless or lightly weighted plastics, or small to medium sized hard lures.

 

I can't justify buying another rod for one lure, so there it is.  I'm also not losing any sleep over it. It doesn't take a lot of effort to modify my wind up enough to handle the extra load.

[Mass_Ban]

I have a lews bait caster combo its rated for 3/4 oz do you think I could get away with a 1oz whopper plopper ?

[Hammer 4]

24 minutes ago, Mass_Ban said:

I have a lews bait caster combo its rated for 3/4 oz do you think I could get away with a 1oz whopper plopper ?

Possibly, but don't try to make any long cast's..At best an easy lob cast that won't go that far..Better to get a rod rated for 2 oz..1 oz will be the sweet spot for it.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

1/4 oz isn’t going to hurt anything. The rod might feel a little mushy on retrieve or working the lure/bait. Power for landing fish and casting weight are not directly related, but there is obviously some relativity. Just use some judgment and common sense and I doubt anything catastrophic will happen. 

[new2BC4bass]

As previously stated....it depends on the rod.  The only way to know about your rod is to carefully try the desired lure.  TT tests a lot of rods.  Lure weight range tried is often given.  Okuma Helios 7' M is rated 1/4-5/8 oz.  They felt a weighted paddle tail that probably weighed about 1 oz. felt acceptable.  I tried a 1-1/2 oz. saltwater jig picked up at DSG strictly for the test I did on my Gen1 Villain 7'6" MHF which is rated 3/8-1 1/4 oz.  I had to lob it.  Definitely too much for that rod.  Yet a 3/8 oz. spinnerbait (which we all know ways more than that) wasn't enough weight to achieve any kind of decent fishing distance.  A 1/2 oz. spinnerbait is the lowest I would ever use on this rod.

 

Also I would consider picking up a scale to check lure weights.  Here are a few I weighed recently.

 

½ oz. Strike King Thunder Cricket = .62 oz.

½ oz. War Eagle Spinnerbait = .82 oz.

5/8 oz. Storm Wildeye Swim Shad = 1 oz.

4.3” Keitech Swing Impact = .36 oz.

Siebert 3/8 oz. Grassn Swim Jig = .53 oz.

 

That is a fair difference between two half ounce spinnerbaits.  I was also surprised to see the 3/8 oz. difference between what was on the package and actual weight of the Storm Shad.

[LegendaryBassin]

13 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

As previously stated....it depends on the rod.  The only way to know about your rod is to carefully try the desired lure.  TT tests a lot of rods.  Lure weight range tried is often given.  Okuma Helios 7' M is rated 1/4-5/8 oz.  They felt a weighted paddle tail that probably weighed about 1 oz. felt acceptable.  I tried a 1-1/2 oz. saltwater jig picked up at DSG strictly for the test I did on my Gen1 Villain 7'6" MHF which is rated 3/8-1 1/4 oz.  I had to lob it.  Definitely too much for that rod.  Yet a 3/8 oz. spinnerbait (which we all know ways more than that) wasn't enough weight to achieve any kind of decent fishing distance.  A 1/2 oz. spinnerbait is the lowest I would ever use on this rod.

 

Also I would consider picking up a scale to check lure weights.  Here are a few I weighed recently.

 

½ oz. Strike King Thunder Cricket = .62 oz.

½ oz. War Eagle Spinnerbait = .82 oz.

5/8 oz. Storm Wildeye Swim Shad = 1 oz.

4.3” Keitech Swing Impact = .36 oz.

Siebert 3/8 oz. Grassn Swim Jig = .53 oz.

 

That is a fair difference between two half ounce spinnerbaits.  I was also surprised to see the 3/8 oz. difference between what was on the package and actual weight of the Storm Shad.

 

14 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

1/4 oz isn’t going to hurt anything. The rod might feel a little mushy on retrieve or working the lure/bait. Power for landing fish and casting weight are not directly related, but there is obviously some relativity. Just use some judgment and common sense and I doubt anything catastrophic will happen. 

DVT is absolutely correct. Lure rating is an arbitrary number to ball park the lure rating to prevent for overloading the blank on a cast. I have a Dobyns rods rated weigh higher than anything I would ever throw on it, whereas G Loomis is usually on the lower end of the lure rating spectrum. Just be cautious and use good judgment. Don't try a throw a 1 oz jig on a ML spinning rod lol

[Notorious10lber]

On 6/14/2010 at 3:02 PM, Raul said:

The rod can break, is not wise to exceed too much the MFR 's specifications, let 's say for example you have a rod with a max rating of 1 1/2 oz and you got this 1 3/4 -2  oz swimbait, well most likely the rod is not going to break, yeah it 's going to cast like crap that bait but you are not exceeding the rating by too much, but pushing it by tying let 's say a 2 1/2 oz then you are exceeding by too much, don 't cry if your rod breaks.

It’s not that your rod would break lol it’s most of the time a problem with setting the hook and getting a good penetration. Also some rod companies overrate/underrate their rods for some reason, for example my buddy uses a 7’6” flipping stick that’s rated for 3/4-1 1/2 oz for his hudd 68s which weigh somewhere around 2 1/2 oz and gets away with it just fine.

[new2BC4bass]

Wow!  Resurrected again.  Not sure I'd want someone to breathe life into me after I'd been dead for a few years.