Weighting a 12cm (4.72in) Glide Bait

[fishordie79]

Hello TU Community!

 I have built a nice glide bait body the I intend to do a "real Tench" paint scheme on. Thanks to you guys I have found the center of balance/gravity of the lure and want to begin drilling my holes. Using some 10 gram jig heads taped to the side of the bait I did some sink tests and determined that it needs about 35 grams of lead. My question is this: How should I distribute this weight across the lure so that I achieve that wide, gliding "S" action? I'm thinking that I need to place the majority of the weight at the center of balance, with the rest distributed at one centimeter intervals toward the head and the tail. If I do it this way, however, I will have to drill a deep, almost to the middle of the body, 10cm hole for lead right where I determined the CoB to be. I keep reading that weight on a glide bait should be placed low in the body so I don't know if this is a good idea. In order to achieve that nice gliding action is it better to put more weight toward the center of the body or distribute it across?

Thanks so much!

[fishordie79]

Okay so an update to this post.I took the bait out and tested it this afternoon and, although it does have a nice arc and glide action it is unstable and difficult to control. I am almost positive I screwed up by putting so much lead in the middle of the CoB and pouring it too deep into the body. I saw a great video on YouTube where a guy was demonstrating how to weigh glide baits and, well, I did not do as he suggested.....So I think I am going to remove the lead, fill in the holes, re-position, and try again while also considering any responses I may get from you all. 

 

[JRammit]

Weight centered in one spot creates kind of a pivot point that a lure can easily rotate around... spread the weight out and it reduces the pivot point

A great analogy for this was posted here some years back.... imagine holding a broom stick with a weight attatched to the center and spinning it back n forth... then imagine spinning the same broom stick back n forth with a weight attatched to each end

[azsouth]

pictures would probably help but remember glide bait are very touchy when it comes to weight and distribution.... pay attention and take detailed notes....heavier weight closer to the joint usually works out better.

I am guessing you are using wood because of the amount of weight you are using on it. Weight can be your enemy ….too much will kill/deaden or make it uncontrollable lure action.

Also each piece needs to be weighted accordingly, if you are using 2/3-1/3 joint for length then the weight for each piece should be pretty close to that. 

[mark poulson]

When I was building my first jointed glide bait, I had trouble with it swimming easily.  Guys here at TU like Cadman told me that cutting down on the friction in the hinged joint (screw eyes and hinge pin) was crucial.  

I wound up weighting each section independently so they fell dead level, and at the same rate of fall.  That eliminated any friction from binding in the hinges.

This turned out to be the key, at least for me.  My glide baits glide easily.  The more open the joint, the shorter the S glide.

 

[fishordie79]

Hi all and thank you so much for the responses/suggestion! 

 I should have been more clear in my original post and I apologize for that. This lure is not jointed. It is a single piece. Also, I don't know if styles of lures are always called the same thing across regions but maybe I should have said I am trying to get a swim bait action. What I am looking for in the action is a lure that makes wide sweeping arcs from left to right when reeled at a steady pace. So, imagine an ice skater just skating across the rink, pushing off with the left leg and gliding out to the right, then pushing off with the right leg and gliding out to the left. That is what I am trying to achieve. The lure below is made by Westin. It is from their Westin Swim line and is exactly what I am going for. My lure body is very similar but I have not yet been able to achieve the action that this thing has. I did watch a guy on YouTube (Solarbaits) showing how to weight glide baits (as they are mostly called here in Germany) and he put two weights, one each, at the front and back of the lure. I may remove all of the lead I have put in, fill the holes in and then re-drill similar to what he did and see what happens. I'll give you guys an update when I have done so. Once again, thank you to all of you awesome and helpful folks for helping me to get better at this awesome hobby!