weightsand lures

Question
QUESTION: I'm a novice fisherman, I'm trying to learn to use yumm lure or Booya's. My question is do I use a weight to get the distance when casting if so what size weight.I;ve been bass fishing.{marsh creek}

ANSWER: Hi there Oliver!

When you are using any lure, you may need to add weight to it for many different reasons. The first part of your question, you ask if you need the weight for distance. Sure! But, since you are just starting out, let's break things down a little bit.

Since you said you are Bass fishing, we'll stick to that for now.

Ok, distance- If you are fishing in a situation that requires you to make long casts like breaking fish on the surface, fishing in super clear or clear and shallow water or you are fishing from the shoreline and want to place a cast tight to where you are sure the fish are hanging out, there are a few ways of getting that lure to them. Adding weight to the lure is one way but you need to add the "best" weight for the job.

You mentioned Yum and Booya lures. If you are throwing plastic worms, creature baits, lizards or other soft plastics, #not swimbaits in this case#, you will likely need to use a sliding weight. These range from as small as a 1/64th ounce,#even smaller are out there#, to 2 or even 4 ounce sizes! #Those giants require special rods, reels, lines and even certain hooks to be effective.#  I typically use bullet-style weights. They come in many sizes so I will encourage you to use the lightest possible weight you need to get the job done. I keep an assortment of lead, tungsten and some brass bullet weights for various techniques and I carry them in sizes from about a 1/32ounce to about a 1-1/2 ounces. The way you rig the weight is also very important to increase the number of bass you hook and then land. Heavy weights will sink faster, penetrate thick cover and hold in stiff currents but in my experience, draw fewer detectable bites and therefore fewer fish...just remember there are exceptions to everything! Some huge tournaments have been won when anglers used VERY heavy bullet weights to get deep into grass and weeds to catch their winning fish!

If you are using Booya Spinnerbaits, I would rather go bigger and heavier on the size bait than add any weight. While you can slide extra weight up the line before you tie it on, it may cause the action of the bait to be affected in a negative way.

Some other ways of increasing your distance are to make sure your reel is well lubricated...especially if it is a baitcaster #not a spinning reel# and make sure the reel is properly filled with line. Spinning reels cast very well when they are properly filled with fresh line. #Old line becomes stiff and gets a set or curls in it...not to mention it becomes brittle and breaks easily#. Also, the heavier the line, the more difficult it is to cast further distances. Lighter line will help you cast further but be sure to find the right strength for the rod and reel you are using as well as the cover you will be fishing for those bass in! You gotta land'em after you hook'em.

Here is a great demonstration...if you are using monofilament, the farther you cast, the more stretch in the line you will have to deal with to hook the fish and that can be a really big deal...to test this, just have a buddy take the end of your line and walk out 20 yards or so and see if you can pull the line from his fingers #like you were setting the hook on a fish...DON'T USE A HOOK PLEASE!#...you will be very surprised how difficult it gets the further away from you he gets!

Remember that there are many, many ways to rig extra weight to your lures and many are tried and true. Google these rigging techniques: Texas Style worm rig, Carolina Rig, Pegged Bullet weight, split shotting technique... These will give you the basics so you can see them and then use them. I'm gonna figure out how to put a drawing or picture into my answers if it's possible on All-Experts.

So I hope that helps you!

Get out and try as many techniques as you can!

Here's to your success! Hook'em Irvin!



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: If i rig real worms the same will the results be different? Also what type of hooks should i use. I have hooks that have spinner's hook to them, And i also need to know if top and Bottom rigs  are good to use or should i just use the single line and rig it myself?

Answer
Hello again Irvin...

Are you fishing to keep and eat or fishing to catch and release?

If you are interested in catch and release, I would encourage you NOT to fish live bait. Far too often, the fish will swallow the bait very deeply, you will hook them deeply and injure the fish far beyond its ability to recover. If you are going to keep and eat your catch the only problem with live bait fishing is hooking fish that may be shorter (or longer if you have a maximum size limit) than the size limit in the state or waters you are fishing, having them be injured by the deep hooking and dieing after you let them go....bad for the fish...bad for the future of fishing. But if you are gonna hook'em and cook'em, here are some tips.

Rigging live worms is usually very different from the rigging of plastic worms. Usually the live bait is very active and would be very difficult to rig, for example, Texas style. You would not be able to keep the bait from moving and sliding itself right off the hook. For fishing night crawlers, you can use a barbed "bait holder" hook and either hook the crawler right through the nose or pass the hook through the head then turn it around and re-bury the point and barb back into the worm to hold it. That will be the best way to rig a live crawler and fish it as youwould a plastic worm. You can add a split shot weight just above the eye of the hook if you need some additional weight but if I were fishing the crawler, I would probably opt to not use the split shot. (Just go by the depth you want to fish...deep water...vary the weight). One last word on live worm fishing for the bass...you will get a large percentage of very small bass and other fish you may or may not want to catch...like bluegill, catfish and numerous other species that may be in the creek your fishing. But fishing is fun no matter WHAT we are fishing for! I would never stop you from catching a few fish for dinner!

As for the "hooks with spinners on them"...it sounds like you are talking about a rig that used to be called a "June-bug Rig"... pre-rigged spinner ahead of a two hook harness...great for rigging a night crawler or plastic worm with and slow trolling for the walleye but I think you'll be better off fishing the simple, single hook rigs... and to answer another part of your question, you never really need to use a pre-tied rig. It is far better to learn how to tie them yourself and have fun doing it.

If you decide to fish the catfish or bluegill, try a small piece of the worm and a slightly smaller, say, size six or eight baitholder hook and have a ball! A big batch of bluegill or crappie or catfish makes for some incredible eatin'! If the "bottom" rigs you are talking about are a leader with two snelled or wire spreadered hooks with a snap at the end for the weight...the rig can be usefull for catching cats and perch and bream (bluegill and their cousins)so give them a try...if they work well, then you added a good trick to your tacklebox if not...try something else...that's why we call it "FISHING"...otherwise, all we would call it is "Catching"!

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the question!

Mark