When talking among avid bass anglers, a common question presents itself, especially with newer fishermen.
Why use tungsten?
I'm going to break down four perks to using tungsten worm weights over lead in this week's blog post.
Sensitivity.
Tungsten's hardness far surpasses that of lead. This quality creates a more sensitive feel while fishing. Just as using braid line will allow you to feel more of the bottom surface, tungsten will let you sense everything that it touches with much higher detail. From rocks and drop-offs, to brush piles and fish strikes, tungsten far out performs lead when dealing with sensitivity.
Durability.
You're going to have to break your line for a tungsten weight to not be usable after a weekend on the water. Lead on the other hand is much softer, and is therefore more malleable and can begin to change in shape after fishing around rocks and other hard structures. This can create problems such as frayed line.
Smaller Profile.
Because tungsten is so much more dense than lead it can have a sleek and small shape, while providing the same weight. This provides many benefits while trying to fish heavy vegetation. When fishing grass, reeds, or lily pads, a bass angler needs to get through the thick mat on the water's surface and reach down to where the bass are waiting for their next meal. Punching through this top level can be done with lead, but the problem then becomes dragging a chunk of unwanted grass down with it. This is where the benefit of a smaller profile really comes in handy. Giving a sinker the same amount of weight with an aqua dynamic edge is my number one favorite feature about tungsten.
Sound.
Tungsten's hardness has another advantage over lead when it comes to sound. Because lead is so malleable, when it bangs against a hard structure like a rock, it absorbs the impact just enough to muffle the sound. Tungsten, on the other hand, is harder so it completely bounces off the structure and causes a much louder 'clanking' sound. Many Carolina rigs even call for two tungsten weights pinned close enough together so that they can bang against themselves to produce a fish attracting noise.
The One Con (usually).
The common complaint about tungsten weights is the price. Start a conversation about tungsten weights with three other anglers and I can almost guarantee that at least one of them will bring up the price. And that is exactly why we have done everything that we can possibly do to bring tungsten weights to fishermen that don't want to break the bank on terminal tackle. We understand that things like hooks, lures, and weights get snagged and lost, and it can put a pit in a person's stomach if they feel that they've paid too much for that product to begin with. Having said that, there is no reason that an angler should have to choose between putting more fish in the boat and spending too much money.
Hopefully you can see from our prices that we are continuously trying to bridge the gap between the catch of a lifetime and having a little extra spending money after you do.
Chase Buie is Co-Owner of Flipside Outdoors and writes for the website’s blog.