So, Exactly How Much Does that Bait Weigh?

[BackBayMan]

Trying to dial in the new gear and figure out the sweet spot for casting weight. So I took some frozen bait, cut up some different sizes and weighed them.

Here's what I found.

This was an 8oz chunk about 1.5" wide. Slicing 3/8-1/2" off the piece yielded a 6oz chunk of bait. That's a 9/0 Mustad J Hook in the rubber band bridle for reference


Slicing the 6oz chunk in half gave me a real castable 3oz bait.


Always wondered how much a Mac Head really weighed. Here's a nice head from a typical 10-11" frozen mackerel we can buy in bait stores. Weighed in at 3oz.


What about Bat Ray? This is a 2" wide, 5" long piece of wing sliced straight off a 16" bat. Weighed in at 3.5oz.


My rod is rated 6oz-12oz. I'm guessing the sweet spot is going to be 9oz-10oz. I've been throwing a 6oz weight, but Binh said I should try an 8oz weight to really load up the rod, so I'm going to have to try that. It would be awesome if I could get an effective cast using 8oz of weight and 3oz-4oz of bait.

[sasquatch]

Why not a six oz weight and six oz bait? They don't bite the weight.

I find 8 oz to be difficult to cast. Slips under my thumb. Six works for me. Bait size seems to have more influence on distance. Smaller baits fly farther, chunks farther than heads, but heads stay on better.

[Fish Jerk]

I have the same rod, except in the 4-10oz rating and have cast the same one you have. Mine easily handled a 6oz sput and 4-6 oz bait. Yours will easily cast what your looking to. My question is, can your thumb hold the spool with that much weight when you cast especially with large spool on the fathom 40. This becomes more difficult when you add in wet line and fingers. The least slip of the spool will at the least lead to high arc short cast. At the worst, a severe backlash. I combat this by taping a strip of latex to the reel seat and rod. I flip this up and pinch between my thumb and spool for traction. Once you lift your thumb, it will flop back down to hang below the reel.

[BackBayMan]

Why not a six oz weight and six oz bait? They don't bite the weight.

I find 8 oz to be difficult to cast. Slips under my thumb. Six works for me. Bait size seems to have more influence on distance. Smaller baits fly farther, chunks farther than heads, but heads stay on better.

I'll have to try the 8oz to see what it does. I didn't notice a problem with slippage throwing 6oz of weight with 6oz of bait, but distance was affected. I'm also using straight braid, don't know if that provides better grip or not. I'm thinking 6oz weight and 3oz bait is probably going to be the sweet spot. I've hooked big fish with 3oz baits, so I'm confident with that size for my purposes. If the surf demands it, it would be nice to know that I could throw an 8oz weight with a 3oz bait and still reach the strike zone, but I don't fish those conditions often.

[BackBayMan]

I have the same rod, except in the 4-10oz rating and have cast the same one you have. Mine easily handled a 6oz sput and 4-6 oz bait. Yours will easily cast what your looking to. My question is, can your thumb hold the spool with that much weight when you cast especially with large spool on the fathom 40. This becomes more difficult when you add in wet line and fingers. The least slip of the spool will at the least lead to high arc short cast. At the worst, a severe backlash. I combat this by taping a strip of latex to the reel seat and rod. I flip this up and pinch between my thumb and spool for traction. Once you lift your thumb, it will flop back down to hang below the reel.

I'm still totally learning how to cast this rig, so I'm not 100% sure of anything yet. I'm using straight braid, so I don't know if that provides better traction than a mono top shot. Ideally I want to fish straight braid for max line capacity/strength. My goal is to be able to reliably deliver a nice chunk of bait or mac head and a 6oz sputnik 40-70 yards. If they're around, that will get it done. If they're not around, I don't think casting further is going to make a difference.

I've got some 80lb 8 strand braid coming on a slow boat from China. So I'll see what effect that has when it arrives.

I've still got the coffee grinders and Ugly Stiks. If I'm targeting critters or rays, especially in the bay, I can always easily reach those with 50lb braid and 4oz of weight with squish or mac heads. We get some pretty ripping currents in the bay, so I'll give the new toy a try to see if the larger weight helps.

[sasquatch]

I have the same rod, except in the 4-10oz rating and have cast the same one you have. Mine easily handled a 6oz sput and 4-6 oz bait. Yours will easily cast what your looking to. My question is, can your thumb hold the spool with that much weight when you cast especially with large spool on the fathom 40. This becomes more difficult when you add in wet line and fingers. The least slip of the spool will at the least lead to high arc short cast. At the worst, a severe backlash. I combat this by taping a strip of latex to the reel seat and rod. I flip this up and pinch between my thumb and spool for traction. Once you lift your thumb, it will flop back down to hang below the reel.

Did this with bicycle inner tube. I began to find strange bits of black stuff on my line. Figured out it was rubber from the tube. Fearing line damage from the heat/friction, I discontinued the practice. Never had an actual problem, but didn't want to take a chance.

[Fish Jerk]

Inner tube = bad. Latex = good. Inner tube is too soft and wears off on the line. I bought some of the exercise bands and cut strips from it and no issues. Some people use latex tubing as well.

[BackBayMan]

Inner tube = bad. Latex = good. Inner tube is too soft and wears off on the line. I bought some of the exercise bands and cut strips from it and no issues. Some people use latex tubing as well.

Got pics?

[spideyjg]

Using 20 feet or so of top shot leaves some braid exposed on mine. I chuck 8 oz with big bait no issues.

Jim

[sasquatch]

Inner tube = bad. Latex = good. Inner tube is too soft and wears off on the line. I bought some of the exercise bands and cut strips from it and no issues. Some people use latex tubing as well.

Had it on hand. Might try latex if I happen upon some. Thx.

[Pinoyfisher]

Inner tube = bad. Latex = good. Inner tube is too soft and wears off on the line. I bought some of the exercise bands and cut strips from it and no issues. Some people use latex tubing as well.

Had it on hand. Might try latex if I happen upon some. Thx.

I've had old timers tell me about using a strip of leather instead of inner tube.

I kind of have the spool slippage issue now with my magged FTH40. With the knobby on the side, I can no longer palm the side plate like I usually do. Will probably drop in weight when using it to see if that helps.

[Fish Jerk]

Inner tube = bad. Latex = good. Inner tube is too soft and wears off on the line. I bought some of the exercise bands and cut strips from it and no issues. Some people use latex tubing as well.

Got pics?

[Socal Bill]

John Holden has a vid on this:

https://youtu.be/Y6rD-XMpIBY

I have some theraband gold latex that i should try . It makes great slingshot bands too , lol
Stretching the rubber so it snaps out of the way when you release thumb pressure looks like a good tip.

[JayRay]

A good golf glove works wonders. FOUR!!!!!!!

[vdisney]

Why not a six oz weight and six oz bait? They don't bite the weight

Too funny, perfect answer