Tungsten or lead?

[Jrob78]

I was curious as to how many of you guys use tungsten weights while fishing soft plastics. For those that do, do you think it's worth the cost?

I do have a few different sizes of Tru-Tungsten bullet weights, I like them because they are painted and they are much smaller than lead. As far as being more sensitive, I'm not really sure I can tell that much difference. I don't break off often where I fish so losing them isn't a huge issue. They are so expensive though, I don't know if I will keep buying them.

[rrw4258]

I have gone over to all tungsten with the exception of jigs and drop-shot weights. When fishing one Erie you lose way to many dropshot weights so tungsten would cost way to much in lost weights. I fish tungsten over lead for bullet weights because of the increased sensitivity when dragging and hopping over and around rocks, timber, etc. The smaller size is also another benefit of tungsten.

Ryan

[BassinNC]

I'm sure tungsten is better I just can't make my self pay that much more for a weight.

[WaffleJaw]

Originally Posted by BassinNC

I'm sure tungsten is better I just can't make my self pay that much more for a weight.

Bullseye!! I like and prefer Tungsten,and I agree with Ryan on the smaller profile.But they're too costly for my tiny pockets.
I keep one on me for when I want a slighty brighter clack on a glass bead...Other than that ,everything is lead.

And to be perfectly honest,when I did have more tungsten weights....I wasnt catching anymore fish....The ratio was the same.
(Which isnt saying much,lol)

[Jrob78]

And to be perfectly honest,when I did have more tungsten weights....I wasnt catching anymore fish....The ratio was the same.

That's exactly what I've been thinking, I doubt I've caught one more fish using tungsten than I would have caught using lead.

[BigBassin144]

I use all tungsten for c-rigs, and pitching/flipping plastics.

I use them occasionally for worm fishing, and would eventually like to convert to all tungsten.

IMO, Tru Tungsten is the best brand on the market, although they are the most expensive. I love their Denny Brauer Flippin' weight for pitching/flipping plastics. and use the normal worm weights (mostly in black) for other things. For c-rigs I love to use two 1/4oz worm weights and a TT force bead.

BB

[cassidyta]

I use tungsten for flipping/pitching and some dropshot.
I really like the smaller profile when tossing a weight 1 oz or larger.
I have some places where there is very little underwater structure at all. The tungsten helps me identify the 1 or 2 rocks in a particular area.

[MallenManson]

Aren't there some areas where lead is outlawed now? I keep thinking it's more on state land though

[Jrob78]

Aren't there some areas where lead is outlawed now? I keep thinking it's more on state land though

I've heard talk of this. I know that lead shot has been outlawed for waterfowl hunting. I've heard that California is pushing to ban all lead hunting ammunition so it wouldn't surprise me if they were trying to ban lead fishing weights too.

[BigBassin144]

I do not know which states, but I believe there are a couple that have banned the use of lead for fishing. Good luck finding a tungsten spinnerbait though.

BB

[reddragon]

Tungsten but I usually go lead because its cheaper.

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by BigBassin144

I do not know which states, but I believe there are a couple that have banned the use of lead for fishing. Good luck finding a tungsten spinnerbait though.

BB

Haha! You've seen pics of the water I fish. DNR pulls up next to my boat, I can snag a log in about 2 seconds flat

[cassidyta]

Originally Posted by Jrob78

I've heard talk of this. I know that lead shot has been outlawed for waterfowl hunting. I've heard that California is pushing to ban all lead hunting ammunition so it wouldn't surprise me if they were trying to ban lead fishing weights too.

http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandrepor...condor_ca.html
In state controlled areas, No lead for waterfowl since 1990. No lead in rifles since December.

For fishing, it looks to be a National Park rule rather than state only.

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by cassidyta

http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandrepor...condor_ca.html
In state controlled areas, No lead for waterfowl since 1990. No lead in rifles since December.

For fishing, it looks to be a National Park rule rather than state only.

Good work!

[Jrob78]

http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandrepor...condor_ca.html
In state controlled areas, No lead for waterfowl since 1990. No lead in rifles since December.

For fishing, it looks to be a National Park rule rather than state only.
__________________
The grass looks good that tall. Besides, those fish aren't going to catch themselves.

Thank you sir!

[nofearengineer]

Your friendly conspiracy theorist here...

I would not waste money on Tungsten. I think the tackle companies love Tungsten, and will do anything to promote it for one reason: it makes them more money.

Why does it make them more money? Well, there are a lot of do-it-yourselfers out there who like to make their own weights. It's easy to do with lead...it can actually be smelted at home in an old microwave oven, if you have the right supplies. (Word of caution here...lead smelting can be very dangerous, and might be a violation of your locality's ordinances...smelt at your own risk!)

Melting Point of Lead: 621 F
Melting Point of Tungsten: 6192 F

There is ZERO homemade Tungsten weight possibility here.

You be the judge.

[TN_Bassin]

Well it seems you guys have just about everything covered about tungsten. It's much more dense than lead so it can be smaller than lead. You always run the risk with lead that it either was used and discarded from a nuclear facility or that it naturally contains mercury. I buy tungsten weights because I like having a lower profile weight and the fact that tungsten will last for a long time if you don't snag it somewhere. Tugsten won't get damaged as easily as lead. Yes they are expensive, but in my opinion they are worth the extra cost as long as you don't tend to lose 3-4 of them when you go fishing.

But I do agree with nofear about the more sinister reasons tungsten is being marketed with such zeal.

And for someone who is planning to start making your own lead weights, jigs, etc; make sure that you do it in a very well ventilated area. Lead can cause some serious complications if it is inhaled. Also be sure to buy your lead ingnots from somewhere that has gotten rid of all the impurities because non purified lead can contain many things that can harm the human body.

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

Your friendly conspiracy theorist here...

I would not waste money on Tungsten. I think the tackle companies love Tungsten, and will do anything to promote it for one reason: it makes them more money.

Why does it make them more money? Well, there are a lot of do-it-yourselfers out there who like to make their own weights. It's easy to do with lead...it can actually be smelted at home in an old microwave oven, if you have the right supplies. (Word of caution here...lead smelting can be very dangerous, and might be a violation of your locality's ordinances...smelt at your own risk!)

Melting Point of Lead: 621 F
Melting Point of Tungsten: 6192 F

There is ZERO homemade Tungsten weight possibility here.

You be the judge.

Sometimes I wish I had the ambition to make my own weights or spinnerbait heads. We throw used lead away at work all the time. On old hot tar roofs, they wrapped stink pipes with lead before applying the tar.
One of the old timers who used to work with me saved all of it and made his own sinkers. Seem like too much work, too much stink and too much possibilty of 3rd degree burns for me to mess with

[Jrob78]

Your friendly conspiracy theorist here...

I would not waste money on Tungsten. I think the tackle companies love Tungsten, and will do anything to promote it for one reason: it makes them more money.

Why does it make them more money? Well, there are a lot of do-it-yourselfers out there who like to make their own weights. It's easy to do with lead...it can actually be smelted at home in an old microwave oven, if you have the right supplies. (Word of caution here...lead smelting can be very dangerous, and might be a violation of your locality's ordinances...smelt at your own risk!)

Melting Point of Lead: 621 F
Melting Point of Tungsten: 6192 F

There is ZERO homemade Tungsten weight possibility here.

You be the judge.

Not really sure if people making their own weights really warrants a whole industry change to other materials. I'm sure the equipment used to process tungsten is far more expensive for the manufacturers than the equipment used for lead. I do however think that the higher price of tungsten means more of a mark up which in turn means higher profit margins for the manufacturers.

[bassinbob]

Jrob I agree about the markup. I only use tungsten because a couple of years ago Dick's had them marked down to .75 a pak. Besides I already had a ton of lead. I still have a coffee can of bank sinkers my dad and I poured back in the sixties.

[RichZ]

Califonria's got a "lead law", but it's really not a lead ban. Their "Proposition 65" has a list of hundreds of chemicals that aren't actually banned, but a store or mfg can be sued (by anyone in the state, basically) for using them, unless they carry a warning label that a product known by the state of California is contained in it, blah, blah, blah. If you've got the sticker, you're OK to sell lead or any of the other nearly one thousand 'prop 65' chemicals there. And if a manufacturer or store has fewer than 10 employees, they are exempt from the law. Prop 65 resulted in a cottage industry of sorts, of plaintiffs and law firms whose existence was based on suing and defending firms for prop 65 'violations'. Most such suits are settled out of court for 15 grand or so. Half to the plaintiff and half to the law firm.

http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65/background/p65plain.html



As far as actual lead bans in fishing, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and New York have them. I believe that Oregon is working on one. Most outlaw sinkers (not lures) smaller than a certain size (1/2 or 1 oz, depending on which state it is, and lead head jigs smaller than a specific measurement (eg, one inch long). The rationale is that loons eat sinkers they find on the bottom and die of lead poisoning.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fish...e_lead_out.htm

As to the original question, I tend to fish by braille, and try as a might, I find no discernable tactile advantage to using Tungsten. I fish Champlain a lot, and it shares the laws of both New York and Vermont, so when I'm flipping there, I do use Tungsten, but only up to 1 oz. Over an ounce I go right back to lead, having found no advantage to the use of Tungsten that comes even half-way close to being worth extreme price difference, so where it's legal, I go lead. When I'm casting a lighter weedless rigged soft plastic, I use a TitleSHOT jighead rather than a separate slip sinker, so I'm outside the scope of the lead bans in the northeastern states.

[Jrob78]

Good info Rich, thanks!

[bassnman30]

Tru-tungsten ain't that high in price. Never mind ever losing more than 3-4 in one day.

[AMC23]

I heard George Cochran the other day comparing lead and tungsten. He prefers tungsten because lead is so soft that sometimes when you set the hook, especially on a pegged t-rig, the teeth of the bass will penetrate the lead slightly and actually slow the hook set; tungsten is so hard the bass' teeth cannot do that, resulting in more hookups. I guess with high money and every fish counting that makes sense...

[basstastic]

It's taken me two years of bargain hunting but I almost exclusively use tungsten now. I agree that for the casual fisherman it's pricey but has that ever stopped a casual fisherman from purchasing a $300 rod or reel? I like the feel of tungsten and i fish around alot of rocks so sometimes the lead would get knicked or warped and cut or pinch my line.