Spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and jigs, total weights in question

[The Rooster]

A while back I had a question on here about the rated weights of spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. I think almost everyone a the time said they believe that it includes the skirt, blades, and all in the total weight. So as an example a 3/8 oz. spinnerbait weighs 3/8 oz. when finished, blades and all.

I'm not so sure of that anymore after I did some weighing of my own.

Yesterday I got a digital cooking scale and did some measurements of my lures here at home. Here's what I found.

For reference I used Booyah spinnerbaits in 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4 sizes. I also threw in some Strikeking 1/4's and 3/8's, and one single non branded 1/4 oz spinnerbait I got from a local tackle shop that they made there at the store. What I saw was that the 1/4's ALL weighed in at 1/2 oz, even the no name lure. The 3/8's weighed at 3/4, without exception. The 1/2's came in at 7/8, and the single 3/4 oz. bait I tried actually weighed 3/4....BUT, it was the only one that had only a single blade. The rest all had 2 blades. So nearly every single one weighed in was nearly double their rated weight on the scale.

Then I tried some Booyah and Strikeking buzzbaits, and got the same results again, the 1/4's weighed 1/2 oz. The 1/4 size is the only size I have in either of those so no others to report.

So then I tried some jigs thinking that these don't have blades, just skirts and rattles. I have 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 in these. Without exception they each and every one weighed in at 1/8 oz heavier than they were rated. So 1/4 weighed 3/8, 3/8 weighed 1/2, and so on. I'm thinking it's the skirt and rattles adding the difference.

So then I got some 1/4 and 3/8 oz crankbaits and weighted each one of those.  I used Bandit baits for this, series 100, 200, and 300.  Each one weighed exactly what it was supposed to.  The only thing these would add to their weight would be any hooks and splitrings used on them.  It had no effect that I could see, they were spot on accurate each time.  They don't have silicone skirts, or a large heavy hook with a wire frame on them to add anything more though so I expected to see that.  You can also hang a 1/4 oz crankbait and a 1/4 oz spinnerbait from a finger on each hand and feel the difference in weight there, the spinnerbait feels noticably heavier.

So then looking at the heads of each one of these spinnerbaits and other skirted lures, it looks like you can visually tell "about" how much lead was used to make the lures. I got some 1/4 oz. lead bullet weight sinkers and a few egg sinkers in 1/4 and 1/2 oz. They visually looks like they might contain about the same amount of lead as what a spinnerbait, buzzbait, or jig might have in the same size. And when I weighed those, they came out exactly what they were supposed to be.

So the conclusion I draw is that spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and jigs are rated at the amount of lead weight that goes into each lure instead of overall weight. I think that with spinnerbaits and buzzbaits the skirts, blades, and wire frames add weight to the total. With jigs, it's rattles and skirts adding to the total, but minus a wire frame they only went up by 1/8 instead of nearly double. Any opinions??

Interestingly though, I tried some Worden's Roostertails as well, and even though those are lead bodied lures with added blades, each and every one of those weighed EXACTLY what they were supposed to. 1/8, 1/4, and 3/8 baits all weighed just that. The only exception was that the 1/6 lures registered as 1/4.....and I'm guessing that's cause the scale is incapable of measuring in anything but 1/8 increments. 1/6 is more than 1/8 but less than 1/4 so it must have just went to the nearest measurement possible. That minor difference though is not enough to me to say the scale isn't accurate measuring all the above lures. I measured dozens of them and they all had identical results each time. Spinnerbaits and buzzbaits were all measuring at almost double their rated weight and jigs added 1/8 oz to their's each time.

Now, let the replies..........BEGIN!!!

[ptomacbass]

I always wondered about that.  Just in case try weighing something with a 100% accurate weight (like some soft of food) on the package.

[Catt]

The size of lead molds used when building spinner baits, crank baits, or jigs designate the amount of lead weight that goes into each cavity.

With spinner baits & crank baits you will add a wire form, hook, skirt, blade/blades, split ring/rivet, roller swivel, clevice, 2 ea. hollow beads.

[Bassboss]

Wow! That's interesting!

That explains why I can throw a 1/4 oz spinner bait a mile, but can't throw a 1/4 oz crank bait very far at all!

Thanks for the info Rooster!  

[zbass]

I have always thought that it was the head weight on the bladed baits. Thanks for your research Rooster.

All the added components add the extra weight. It makes sense. i wonder if the bullet weights of different materials would way exactly the same.

[The Rooster]

As far as I know they're supposed to.  The Tru-tungsten weights my brother in law uses are a lot smaller than the lead weights that I use in the same weight class.  So I'd say they do weigh the same but one is smaller due to being more dense.  

Also I sort of forgot that there is a wire form inside a crankbait too, not as large as the spinnerbaits have but it's still there for the hooks to attach to.  Doesn't seem to add anything to the crankbaits though, they must have allowed for it's weight when they built the ones I was weighing.  They sure didn't allow for all the extras on the spinnerbaits though.  

I was only researching this cause I wanted to know why my new medium heavy Shimano rod would cast a 1/4 oz spinnerbait fairly easily but not the crankbaits I tried.  The rod was rated for 3/8 and up lure weights and I wanted to see if it would throw a 1/4 or not.  Turns out it will toss a 1/4 spinnerbait also, which is what I planned to use it for (in addition to heavier ones too), but not for crankbaits.  So it's all good and I learned something in the process.

[Munkin]

I have had several custom spinnerbait molds made and yes you are right a 1/4oz spinnerbait weighs more than 1/4oz. The weight is what the lead alone weighs without any other components. I have some dead pours from my 3/8oz hidden weight mold and thay weigh exactly 3/8oz. Now when I put all the components on it the bait is slightly over 1/2oz.

Allen

[bigfruits]

great post. ive always wondered about that but never had a scale handy.

if you get a minute and dont mind, could you weigh out some plastics? ive always wondered how much senkos, worms and jig trailers weigh.

[swimbait]

Great post, I thought that was the case but never took the time or energy to prove it. Thanks for the research Rooster.

[Raul]

Baits usually weight more than what you see stamped on the package.

For ex a jig: 1/4 oz is 1/4 oz lead + the hook + the skirt + the weedguard ( in case it has one ) + the rattle ( in case it has one )

For a spinnerbait: 1/4 oz is 1/4 oz lead + the hook + the wire + the clevis ( es )+ the beads + the swivel + the blade ( s ), so a 1/4 oz spinnerbait will weight close or over 3/8 of an ounce depending upon how many blades and the size of them.

[-HAWK-]

Good info.. Learn something new here everyday.

[BARON49_Northern NY]

Good info.. Learn something new here everyday.

Very interesting and I have to agree

[The Rooster]

great post. ive always wondered about that but never had a scale handy.

if you get a minute and dont mind, could you weigh out some plastics? ive always wondered how much senkos, worms and jig trailers weigh.

I sure will.  Probably be tomorrow.  Plastics I have handy to weigh at the moment are Zoom U-tale worms 7" long, Berkley Power worms 7" long, Netbait Baby Paca Craws, and also the Paca chunk trailers.  Then some 3 and 4 inch grubs.  Zoom 6" lizards, and probably some 4" ones too.  Also Zoom 4" finesse worms.  Might even find a few more I forgot about owning once I get to looking through my assortment.

Sadly, no senkos.  Never bought or tried any.  I always used Lunker City Slug-go's.   I've been meaning to try them though.  

[BassBandit35]

Good find Rooster.

Now I know why my spinner box feels like least a pound

[BassBandit35]

Rooster, speaking of Senko, if you want, PM me your address I can send you a couple of them in different sizes and other brand plastic baits that I don't use much anymore.

[islandbass]

Thank you for the great research.  I too have been curious about that and now the cat is out of the bag.

[The Rooster]

SOFT PLASTIC WEIGHTS!!!!

OK, my scale weighs in 1/8 increments so in order to get as close to exact weights as possible it was sometimes necessary for me to weigh multiple amounts of these plastics and then divide to get the most accurate number. So when you see 1/16 increments listed, that's how I got them. Example, 1 = 1/4 but 2 = 3/8, then 3 = 5/8 but 4 = 3/4. So by dividing I got that the example bait equalled 3/16. See??

Now the results.....

Zoom finesse worm, (5" long??) was 1/8 oz. Add a 1/8 oz. Tru-tungsten Ike Spike shakey head jig and it was precisely 1/4 each time.

Zoom U-tale worm about 7" long was 1/8 oz by itself. With a 3/0 hook in it, it still only weighed 1/8 so I'm thinking that the precise weight of this worm is slightly less than 1/8 but more than 1/16.

Berkley Power Worm 7" long was 3/16 oz. Roughly about double what the U-tale was. Add a hook and it is about 1/4 oz. A good weightless rigged bait to cast and get a little distance. I like the Zoom U-tale's sinkrate better though. A bit slower.

Zoom Lizards 6" long are exactly 1/4 oz. each (no hook).

Zoom Flukes are 1/8 oz. each (no hook).

Zoom Super Flukes are 1/4 oz. each (no hook).

Zoom Tiny Flukes (drop shot baits) are 1/16 oz each (no hook). I had to weigh as many as 6 at once and then divide to get that to make sure it was accurate. 2 = 1/8, 4 = 1/4, 6 = 3/8.....

Yum Crawbug 3.5" long is 5/16 oz (no hook).

Netbait Baby Paca Craw is 5/16 oz (no hook).

Netbait Paca Chunk is 3/16 oz (no hook).

These are the only soft plastics I had here to measure. Sorry, no senkos....YET! As I get others in the future I'll make sure to weigh them and post what I find so you will know more about it.