Mind you , that is not a knock on the Nessie . Big fan here . More so , it illustrates the importance of proper weighting for your lures beyond selecting the right sinker from your weight box . Because while we love to pore over the shapes and colors of baits , it ’ s weighting that often represents the unseen difference in what makes one lure great and another not .
weighting winners
Look no further than the Keitech Swing Impact FAT for a shining example of the power of weighting .
Paddle-tail swimbaits have been around for decades with little extra thought about them . Then Keitech comes out with this lure , and suddenly everyone is throwing it . Why ? Because it swam better at slower speeds than any other swimbait out there , especially on an Alabama rig . And why did it swim better ? In part , shape ; but even more so , weight .
You see , Keitech uses a dual-injection process that allows it to put heavier , denser plastic ( aka plastic with more salt ) in the bait ’ s belly than what is on the top . This belly weighting creates a natural keel to allow the tail to kick more freely , which is why no matter how many lures look identical to it , the Keitech will always swim differently .
Same could be said for the Yamamoto Senko .
For years , people have been trying to replicate the shimmy and fall of a Senko , with no one really being able to get it as perfect as this bait . Why ? Well , sources have told me that Yamamoto uses something a little different than most to increase the density of its soft plastic . Thus , while other baits may perfectly replicate the shape or softness of the plastic , the weighting inside a Senko is different , which creates the special action .
These are just a couple among countless examples of how weighting
PHOTO BY BRANDON ROWAN plays a bigger role in your lures than you may realize .
Designing a crankbait means a mindboggling number of adjustments to get the weighting just right in order to get a desired action .
other weighty issues
Glide baits have come a long way , with some pretty remarkable mass-produced versions on the market today . And yet , people still shell out a lot of money for Roman Made glide baits , because when the wood and weight are balanced just right , the action is almost too beautiful to comprehend . On the flip side , we all know some glide baits that don ’ t glide hardly at all because the weighting is off .
And these are just examples when the weight is static . Sometimes the weight ’ s ability to move makes a difference , like with the Megabass Ito Vision 110 . The bait ’ s internal casting system was the first to really allow an angler to make a decent cast with a suspending jerkbait , but those moving weights also add extra shimmy and action , even while at rest .
Sticking with jerkbaits , many pros will actually keep lead golfer ’ s tape in their boats . This allows them to stick extra weight on the belly of a bait to get it to run a little deeper , dart a little harder or suspend better in different water temperatures .
Which brings me back to my fun with the Nessie . You see , one of the simplest and most effective things you can do to enhance ( or mess up ) the action on a lure is swap out the hooks . Beefing up the gauge or size of a hook – or , vice versa , downsizing – can have a dramatic effect on a lure , as you ’ re actually changing the weight of it .
For walking topwaters , upsizing the back hook can add more weight and even more side-to-side motion . On suspending jerkbaits , try swapping just the middle hook for a heavier gauge , and you might be surprised how the action gets far more erratic , or the bait sinks a little . And as for the Nessie , the bigger hook definitely enhanced the action … and killed it when it wasn ’ t in the right place .
Weight wisely .
APRIL-MAY 2024 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 27