Get a Better Feel for Fishing with Tungsten Weights

Experienced fishermen know that having the right lures in your tackle box can mean the difference between a great day on the lake and a lousy one, but if you’re just getting started — or if you’re fishing in a new region or for a species you’ve never pursued before — how can you be sure you’re outfitting yourself with the right equipment?

Choosing the right fishing weights is always a complicated process. Not only do you have to consider what species you’re going after, you also need to take into account:

• Time of year
• The terrain you’ll be fishing
• Expense
• Jig design
• Materials

With so many different requirements needing to be taken into account, no wonder there are so many variations of fishing lure available!

But while experienced fishermen can get great results using just about anything, if you want to start out strong it’s a good idea to invest in some top-tier fishing weights to help you build your skills. And that means using tungsten fishing sinkers.

Tungsten’s Unique Qualities

If you’re interested in hunting and fishing equipment, you may already know a few things about tungsten. Over the past twenty years, tungsten has become an essential material for replacing lead, and you will frequently see it advertised as a selling point in everything from shotgun cartridges to fishing jigs.

The reason for this is tungsten’s unique qualities: not only is it extremely dense (in its pure form, much denser even than lead), it is, unlike lead, quite hard. Importantly, it is also non-toxic, making it a perfect choice for manufacturers who want to create products sportsmen can use in sensitive wetlands.

Because tungsten is much rarer than lead, it is usually blended with iron, copper, or another metal. Tungsten alloy strikes the perfect balance of price and performance, so if you want to find premium fishing sinkers that will help you get a better catch, tungsten should be your first choice.

How Tungsten Helps You Develop a Better Feel for Fishing

The unique properties of tungsten give it inherent advantages when it comes to the construction of fishing lures. Because of its density, lures made from tungsten can be made heavier without changing their size and shape. This means that even when using a relatively small lure, you’ll have the superior sense of feel that comes when using a heavy weight.

This is essential for most river and lakebed fishing. A heavy weight lets you feel what’s going on under the water, so you know whether or not your playing your bait in an optimally appealing way. It also makes it easier to avoid getting caught on underwater branches and other snags that can be such a frustrating part of fishing.

Fishing with tungsten will help you develop your skills more quickly for the simple reason that tungsten gives you a better sense for what is actually going on in the water. So the best way to find out why tungsten is so popular is to purchase your own tungsten fishing weights and try them yourself.

Why Tungsten Weights Offer Better Value

Tungsten is clearly a superior material, so it shouldn’t be surprising that tungsten costs a little more. But when buying tackle, it’s important not to be thrown off by the price of individual jigs or spinners: the equipment your buying, if it is good quality, will last you for years, so purchasing a more durable product is always a smarter choice in the long run.

One of the reasons why tungsten fishing lures provide good value — completely aside from their superior performance — is their toughness and hardness. Because tungsten alloys aren’t nearly as soft as traditional lead, they will also last longer under more stressful conditions.

Tungsten alloys are formed through a process known as sintering, and are usually mixed with iron, nickel, or copper to create tungsten heavy alloys (WHAs). Lures made from WHAs can last years without suffering anything more than light scratching.

The benefits of this for fishermen are obvious: not only do you get a product that will help you improve your fishing and develop your skills, it will also last much longer than conventional lures, meaning you can really get comfortable with your tungsten fishing weights.

As an angler, you’ll never really stop learning about the pros and cons of different lures. But the one firm rule you should follow — especially when starting out — is to always buy tungsten.