Need for weighing lure

[RSS]

Hi,

I have been looking around to find answers to some of my quries, i am into the addiction of timber lure making as hobby.  Spend 9-10 hours on job and remaining hours on lure making and love wood carving. 

1). does lure requires weight even whenit  sit horizontal on the water surface and gives a good head to tail side to side action. Does it requires to sink down the lure slowly or fast either way to reach at the depth of getting the target species of fish.

2). i have seen in majority of lure making tutorials the weight is placed one at front and other at rarer of belly eye. In some cases 2 weights at front and one or 3 at the rarer of belly eye. What function it gives to the lure apart from balancing.

3).what action of the lure is expected if i put 2 gm weight in the front and .5gm to 1 gm at the rarer of belly weight. (more weight in the front & less at the rarer of belly eye)

It has been proved that - line tying, bib shape , angle of bib, design of lure affects / give action to the lure but i would appreciate if someone share his experience or resource which will help me to clear what functionality of  weighing a lure  apart from balancing and acheiving depth.

Thanks,

Regards, Raghubir 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BobP]

If the lure runs well without ballast, no action is needed.  If it runs well but does not dive to the depth you want, that is usually because the lip is set at too great an angle,  or possibly because the lip dive action is not strong enough to make a very buoyant lure dive.  Many diving lures are weighted so the head sits lower than the tail and that helps to initiate the lure’s diving action.  It also makes the lure swim with a head down attitude.  In a practical sense, this also increases the effective lip angle.  That is why all the different elements of a lure (lip angle/shape/size, body shape,buoyancy, and ballasting) all operate together and effect each other.  Hopefully, they work in harmony to give you the desired action.  It often takes experimentation to get this.  One shortcut I recommend is to look at lures which have the action you like and copy them.  That will give you a basis on which to elaborate your own creations.

weighting is not done for a lure to achieve depth, but to steady the lure so it will swim upright.  That said, if you want a lure that will suspend in the water when stopped, you have to adjust the weight of the lure so it has near neutral buoyancy..

Edited September 30, 2018 by BobP

[Chuck Young]

Where you put the weight on your lures makes a big difference. The higher in the lure the center of gravity is, the more unstable the lure will be and the more lively the action. The closer to the lip the weight is, the less the action will be hindered. For walk the dog type of baits, weight is placed more toward the rear. There is also the concern of how the lure sits when it is at rest. Do you want the nose down, nose up, or level? The type of wood you use and the purpose you have in mind will determine how much weight you need to add. 

These are just some general principles which you can use to experiment with your lures. 

[mark poulson]

I've found that building a lure with a V cross section, so there is less buoyant material at the thinner belly than at the thicker back and shoulders, helps with keeping a bait upright with minimal ballasting, depending on the material used.

[RSS]

Thank you so much Bobp & Chuck  for your prompt information.

I got confused, all my lures are made from yellow pin, same design, bib angle (40 degree), through wiring, split rings & trebles an d weight almost same as 24/25 gms.

I need not have to worry on the sitting position on the surface of water because almost all my lures sit nicely and 90 degree to the surface after i test them once curving is finished . Few sit head down as i have placed blast in the front of belly eye and these gives good action compared to those where i have not placed a single blast.

The following 3 lures are weight in chin and are fast sinking, on reteriving they move head down with rarer side to side action. Here is link to the action of the lure :

 

In the 2nd pics i have weighted them, pink color gives more action compare to mackeral pattern lure. Here is the link of the test video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bNfQzZ6Oq0

Got balsa wood for the first time and working on the design, since itsvery  buoyant compared to other timber thaught of getting advice on weighing and its role.

 

Could you please advise on the causes and how i can acheive both head to tail side to action as most of lure makers are able to acheive.

Thank you so much,

Regards, Raghubir

 

 

Edited October 1, 2018 by RSS

[BobP]

On the first 3  lures, action is imparted by the flat sloped area on the head of the bait.  This kind of bait ususally runs in a head down attitude with a very tight wobble.  It helps the action if the edges of that flat head surface are sharp.  Commercial baits of this type usually weigh 14-15 grams or 1/2 ounce.  If yours are much heavier, the head action area may be too small to force the action to take place.

on the second baits it looks as though the one in the vid has ok action but is a little slow to get wobbling.  It may help to put a little more weight in the front of the bait.

nicesint jobs, by the way!