Weigting on swimbaits

[.dsaavedra.]

how do you guys determine the positions and amounts of weights on a swimbait?

when i did my first one, i carved out holes where i thought the weights should go, but then i needed to add more holes and it wasnt very easy.

i was wondering if there was an easier way.

[KcDano]

If you keep the weight as close to joints as possible the more action you will have. The farther from the joint the weight resides the more force is required to move it.

[BobP]

I decide how much ballast to use by weighing some successful swimbaits that are similar in size/design to the one I'm building, then building mine to that target weight, using a digital scale to weigh the components. On a 7" swimbait with 3 body segments and a small lip, I put half the ballast just behind the hook hanger in the 1st segment and the rest in the middle segment in front of its hook hanger. None in the tail. It swims great.

It helps to look at some of musky bait building sites since some smaller musky baits are similar to bass swimbaits. Most of us bass bait builders can steal some great ideas from those guys! For instance, the super popular Sebile Magic Swimmer looks to me like a downsized segmented musky glider One site I checked (don't have the url but somebody on TU does) has build diagrams of some popular musky designs, including ballast placement and amounts. It's worth a look to get some general idea of how larger minnow baits should be weighted.

[carpholeo]

This is a transparent LC swimbait that shows the weight placement.

http://www.basstackledepot.com/mm5/graphics/luck/ghost%20minnow.jpg

[.dsaavedra.]

thanks for the tips guys.

but what i really wanted to know was not so much where to put the weights, but HOW to put them on so they can be easily removed and added at the bath tub, so that way i dont have to go dry the lure off, cut new holes, re-seal them, and try again.

i was thinking maybe taking the weights i will use (3/0 split shot) and just sticking them to the bottom of the lure with hotglue in the spots where they will go.

the only problem i see with this is the weights would be in the same position on the X axis of the lure, but they would be lower on the Y axis.

so how do you guys put on and take off weights when experimenting with placement while testing your lure in water?

[carpholeo]

I hang them from small screw eyes, and with the expanded pvc you can test all you want without sealing the bait.

[diemai]

@ DSV

Don't know , wether you have read over my thread "swimbait , very first attempt" entirely:huh: , but on pages 5 , 6 and 7 there are some statements about weighting to be seen !

Off course I don't claim my method to be the best one , certainly not:nono: !

Greetz , Dieter

[.dsaavedra.]

diemai,

i saw how you taped weights to the outside of the bait. what kind of weights were they? what shape were they? do you plan on putting them inside the bait?

i would think that if you temporarily attatched weights to the outside of the bait, it would affect the swimming action of the bait when its being tested, because it would cause different water currents around the bait, and the weights aren't in the exact location they will be on the finished bait.

maybe im over thinking?

[diemai]

@ DSV

I use leadshot , ball ,-or olive sinkers and even rolls of roofing lead sheet as weights .

I don't plan upon the weight locations , it's just trial and error !

Gliding jerks and now also swimbaits I don't even test for their action , I just set them to sink horizontally(most jerkbaits require TWO weights fore and aft , not just only ONE in their center) .

After I'd swage the weights to shape and set them into approbiate holes in the lures .

Afterwards I may try the lure for action .

Crankbaits I try in my bath tube with their weights still taped on , it does have an impact on the action , but it is not that much .

I guess , I wrote a little more about this in that thread( or maybe , in my "new Banana lure" thread , not that sure anymore) .

[mark poulson]

DVS,

I've found that I need weight in all my wooden swimbaits, since even the floaters are so buoyant, being made of poplar, that they lean on their sides ( they're taller than they are wide) even when the hooks are attached unless I weight them.

So I kill two birds with one stone.

I use 1/8oz egg sinkers and sst cotter pins as hook hangers. I push the pins through the holes in the sinkers, bend the tabs out at 90 degrees, and cut them off even with the outer circumference of the weight, so they fit in the 5/16" hold I've drilled for them.

I epoxy in the hook hanger/weight combo, filling the hole 1/2 way with epoxy, and then slowly pushing in the weighted hanger, so the epoxy is forced up through the center hole, as well as up around the weight.

Once the epoxy is set, and I've epoxied in the line tie and hinges, I seal the lure and put it in a bucket of water to see how it floats. At that point, I have the hooks and split rings attached.

Depending on how the lure hangs, and how I want it to float/suspend/sink, I pinch #5 split shots (again 5/16" diameter) onto the hooks as needed, being careful to alternate sides so the lure doesn't lean from too many weights on one side.

Once I've added enough weight to get the lure to act the way I want, I drill holes for the weights, push them into the lure, and put a few drops of the thicker super glue over them, to lock them in place. Then I epoxy over them to lock them in and seal them.

I've found that my painting/topcoat system adds about 2-3 grams of weight to a lure, about the weight of one #5 shot, so when I'm installing the weights, I add one less than I needed to balance the lure to allow for the finish.

I've found that, in gliders, generally the farther back in the lure the weight is, the more the lure has a tendency to be unstable, and the better it's action. It's like the heavier back section has more inertia on the pause, and keeps moving forward even though the lighter front has stopped.

I put weight just past center, and again in the tail. I like big surface gliders to rest almost horizontal, slightly tail down, with about 1/3 of the lure's back out of the water.

For jointed baits, I put the hook hangers in there rear of the first section, and in the rear of the third section if it's a four piece, or in the front of the third section if it's only three.

I install any additional weight needed in the second section, and just in front of the front hook hanger in the first section. I generally split the additional weighting between those section evenly, so the lure will still sit horizontal in the water.

Sorry to be so long winded.

Edited July 15, 2008 by mark poulson

[.dsaavedra.]

thanks for the post mark. that really helped. i think next time i am gonna use the egg sinker/hook hanger weighting system.

[ebby]

I hang them from small screw eyes, and with the expanded pvc you can test all you want without sealing the bait.

where can you get expanded pvc? will hardware stores have it or be able to order it? else anywhere online to order blocks of it?

[mark poulson]

Lowe's Home Improvement Centers sells a polyurethane decking that works for making lures.

Try going to the Lowe's website, and use their online store locator to find the store closest to you. You can actually find the polyurethane decking on their site, and check to see if a store close to you has it.

[Jeep]

Hi DSV

I'm using lead sticks wich are exactly 8 mm wide. So all I do is drill some holes where I think the lead could be placed with a 8mm drill.

Then you can stick the lead in and play around with the placement and amount of lead by clipping of pieces until it's exactly as you want it to be.

Jeep

[carpholeo]

where can those lead sticks obtained?

[jimbo]

Carp you can make your own really easy ,just take two pieces of DRY hardwood the same size,clamp or screw them together then drill holes in the seam using the size bit you need depending on the size lure your using.I screw mine together that way they lineup the next time. Mark the depth you want by putting a piece of tape on the bit, drill the hole in the wood and pour in some lead.You can do this a few times before the wood burns to the point that you get flashing on your weights.With the same bit drill the lure using the tape as a guide for the depth.With a good bit the lead should fit perfectly now epoxy.This was posted by someone else some time ago can,t remember by who but i,m pretty sure it was on TU. Might of been before the GREAT CRASH.

[jimbo]

PS make sure the woods dry water and hot lead don,t mix