If you have ever casted a large jerk bait for hours, you know how physically tiring it can be. It is considered a major no-no to ever let the jerk bait reach the surface, and some jerk baits take an effort to get them down, much less keeping them down. Several bait manufactures have now instituted adjustable weight systems to their lures whereby you have the ability to screw in different weights to the bait which helps the bait to stay down with minimal effort and/or to get them to run deeper. This gives the fisherman the ability to tune the bait to the conditions he is facing. Example, a suick may run from 2 to 4 feet without a weight, by adding a weight to a strategic spot can get that same bait down to maybe 6 feet with the same effort, or have it run from 2 to 4 feet with considerablely less effort. You can literally create a bait with neutral bouyancy, which means when you finish a jerking motion the bait will literally hover rather than rise to the surface, or you can have it actually sink instead of rise by simply adjusting the weight. This technique is not limited to the new baits as I mentioned. It is fairly easy to modify your older baits to use a weighting system. Several companies offer weighing systems which consist of a brass insert that can be screwed into a hole made into a wooden lure. This insert then accepts a screw which can hold various size weights thereby making the weight you are adding adjustable. You will need to drill a hole to initially screw in the brass insert. I will not mention the drill size, as it can vary from weight system to weight system. Please notice that I said "wooden lure"! This means that you do not want to drill holes into plastic hollow bodied lures, as it will ruin the lure. I typically determine where to drill the hole (i.e. add weight), by using two sided tape. Place two sided tape on the top of the lure and then float it in some water. Then take a weight and stick it to various places on the lure to see how the lure is effected. Generally, I look for a spot on the lure where the lure maintains its balance in the water or where the noise may point slightly downward. Once the spot is detemined, drill the hole on the bottom side of the lure directly underneath where you stuck the weight on the top. It should be noted that this method also works on wooden crank baits to have them run deeper. Here is a look at what a completed reef hog looks like and weight system used to do it, both are products of the Fundally Bait Company.
Another method for gaining extra depth when using any lure is to wrap solder around the shank(s) of the hooks on the lure. While it sounds funny, this actually works quite well. The advantage is that you do not permanently change the original lure. This means that it works fine on those plastic bodied lures.
Yet another method for weighting your lures is that there is a new weighting tape on the market. The tape literally sticks to the lure to add weight, i.e. depth to your bait.
Regardless of the method you choose, it does pay to be flexible in your presentation.
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Last updated on ... October 19, 2002