Ballesting And Pvc Board

[apaseman 0]

Ok, so I've finished two swimbaits, both with PVC Board, and it seems that I have to add a TON of weight to get them to sink at all...which makes them very cumbersome. I'm assuming that PVC is more buoyant than wood and there presents the problem. Any tips or tricks on how to over come this?

[jrhopkins 147]

by " cumbersome", do you mean heavy or that it doesn't swim well? to get it to sink you have to have enough ballast to overcome the bouyancy. my 6" baits generally weigh approx. 2 oz. remember to keep the ballast as low in the bait as you can. this will keep the side roll to a minimum.

[apaseman 0]

Thanks for the reply

So far I have made two swimbaits, one that floats and it's weight is not a problem, swims great. The other, larger, I'd say 6" X 2X .75" needed a lot of weight to get it to sink, and it is extremely heavy and when I say cumberson, I'm just saying hard to handle due to it's weight, it actually swims great. In my brain I know the logical answer to my question, no way around how to get it to sink other than add more weight but I'm just hoping I'm overlooking things, and maybe for larger swimbaits it would be better to use a less buoyant material.

[Fish With Teeth 10]

by " cumbersome", do you mean heavy or that it doesn't swim well? to get it to sink you have to have enough ballast to overcome the bouyancy. my 6" baits generally weigh approx. 2 oz. remember to keep the ballast as low in the bait as you can. this will keep the side roll to a minimum.

One thing I can tell you about adding weight to PVC baits is drilling the holes in the body for the lead weakens the strength of the body severely. If you cast the bait into a rock or something hard the bait will break in two.

[Vodkaman 884]

apaseman

maybe for larger swimbaits it would be better to use a less buoyant material

Changing the density of the body material will not reduce the weight, it just means you will have to add more ballast. The volume of the body determines the weight of the lure. You will have to reduce the dimensions.

Dave

Edited March 12, 2010 by Vodkaman