Belly weight for 2 1/4 flat side balsa bait

[gary armstrong]

What gram belly weight do you use on a 2 1/4 flat balsa bait ? I can buy 3,4,5 grams and these come with the hook hanger?

[mark poulson]

Gary,

Every wooden bait is different, so I don't know any hard and fast formulas for how much weight to use.

When I make a balsa crank, I seal it with runny super glue, to make it waterproof temporarily,  Then I use .072 sst screw eyes both as the line tie and rear hook hanger, and as a temporary belly hanger, so I can add my trebles and split rings to get a true reading of how the bait sits in the water. 

Once I've got it ready, I float it in a bucket of water, to see how it sits.  

I typically have a similar crank that I'm trying to match, so I'll put it in the water next to the one I'm making.

I add lead weights to the belly treble hook points, until I get the two baits to sit the same in the water.

Then I take the temp. screw eye and weights off, weigh them, including the weight of the temp.  screw eye, and, if I have a belly hanger that's close, I take out the temp. screw eye, and, using the screw eye hole as a pilot, I drill a larger hole for the weighted belly hanger.

Once I've got the hole drilled and have test fit the hanger, I coat the inside of the new hole with runny super glue, and let it soak in to strengthen the balsa around the hole.

Finally, I coat the inside of the hole with gap filling super glue, and push in the belly hanger, turning it crossways, so the treble will straddle the bait and not cause too much hook rash.

Once I've got the belly weight right for that particular bait, I write it down onto the pattern I'm using, so I'll know for next time.

I hope this helps.

[goolies]

I'm working on a 2-1/2" flat side shad bait made from PVC that is just over 3/8" wide.  I'm using #6 hooks and the best belly weight for mine ended up being 2 gram.  Your bait is 1/4" shorter than mine, but Balsa is more buoyant than PVC.  My guess would be that anything over 3 grams would be too heavy.  Just a guess tho.

[Anglinarcher]

If you are really good at math, understand Archimedes dunk test, understand center of gravity and center of .........

Better do the trial and error method from above.  

[benton B]

I would start with a 1/8oz and test.   I build baits that size and that's the ballast weight I use.   I use xps finesse weights from bass pro, cut to the size I want and then add a 1/16 brass cotter pin for the hanger.

[BobP]

If those are the weights available, I’d use the 3 gram and might cut it down to 2 1/2 grams.  Weighing a variety of popular commercial custom 2 1/4” (not 2 1/2”) balsa flat shallow runners, .29 oz seems to be very common for the total bait weight including trebles, and the ballast most often works out to be 2 grams (.07 oz).   Your bait is slightly larger.

To get there when copying one of them, I use a small digital scale and subtract the weight of all the component pieces including split rings and trebles from the target weight to derive the required ballast weight.  I estimate the weight of the finish at 1/50 oz.  Using this method you can match the finished bait weight to within 1 or 2 hundredths of an ounce.  You aren’t copying a bait but the same principle appliies.