Lure Weight? 2025
Heron reply :
I get conflicting information about this, so I will ask it here.
What is the importance of a rod's "lure weight?"
Is it simply a weight range that casts best?.......or does it also denote some measured limitation for structural damage?
Raul reply :
Structural damage may happen if you overweight too much, less than specified the rod doesn't load properly.
Delaware Valley Tackle reply :
Lure weight ranges are subjective and intended to suggest a range of weights that will cast well with that rod. Overloading by too much can obviously have negative consequences but a little common sense should avoid that.
WRB reply :
Absolutely no standard to apply to a rods performance verses the lure weight rating. You must touch and feel the rod with reel, line and casting weight to make any sense of lure weight ratings as they are marketing gimmicks to sell the rod.
Using a lighter lure or a heavier lure depends on too many factors to list in this thread.
Example medium heavy spinning rod rated for 1/8 to 3/4 ox lures, medium heavy casting rod rated for; worm/jig rod 1/4 to 1 oz, crankbait rod rated for 3/8 to 1 1/4 oz, medium heavy swimbait bait rod rated for 1 to 5 oz, what does medium heavy mean? Absolutely nothing! Lure ratings are simply a suggested guide line to help selecting the rods performance with a wide range of lure weights. Most bass lures weigh between 3/8 to 3/4 oz and nearly every bass rod can handle that range of lures from medium light to heavy.
Tom
bigbill reply :
The lure weight should be within the lure weight capacity of the rod. I believe the rod action rating can effect the lure action if the lure is too heavy for the rod.
Catch and Grease reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 11:08 AM, bigbill said:The lure weight should be within the lure weight capacity of the rod. I believe the rod action rating can effect the lure action if the lure is too heavy for the rod.
I'm gonna disagree with this, its okay to go out of the rods ratings within reason. I go a little over the ratings all the time...
IAY reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 11:01 AM, WRB said:Absolutely no standard to apply to a rods performance verses the lure weight rating. You must touch and feel the rod with reel, line and casting weight to make any sense of lure weight ratings as they are marketing gimmicks to sell the rod.
Using a lighter lure or a heavier lure depends on too many factors to list in this thread.
Example medium heavy spinning rod rated for 1/8 to 3/4 ox lures, medium heavy casting rod rated for; worm/jig rod 1/4 to 1 oz, crankbait rod rated for 3/8 to 1 1/4 oz, medium heavy swimbait bait rod rated for 1 to 5 oz, what does medium heavy mean? Absolutely nothing! Lure ratings are simply a suggested guide line to help selecting the rods performance with a wide range of lure weights. Most bass lures weigh between 3/8 to 3/4 oz and nearly every bass rod can handle that range of lure wright.
Tom
That has more to do with no industry standards on the power of the rod, not lure weight... At end of the day, lure weight denotes what the manufacturer feels is the appropriate wait to get the desired effectiveness of the rod. You should feel comfortable that the rod will be able to effectively handle things within that rating(ie not breaking and castability)
WRB reply :
Before marketing strategy to label rods for specific applications ( Gary Dobyn's) bass came in basically 3.power ratings; 3, 4 and 5 power or medium, medium heavy and heavy in 2 actions fast and moderate.
Spinning rods and flipping and swimbaits rods were relegated to specialty rods not used by main stream basses. Lure weight were and are for the average bass angler between 3/8 oz to 3/4 oz for 4 power or MH, the average multi-purpose bass rod. Lighter weight lures you went down to medium 1/4-5/8 oz, or up to heavy 1/2-1oz. This was way to simple to have only 3 rods, however it works today if you don't get caught up in the marketing hype.
Spinning rods for lighter weight lures and lines, flipping or swimbait rods for the heaviest lures and lines.
Fine running for lures in-between 1/16-1/8 oz increments is IMO ridiculous.
Tom
bigbill reply :
When the lure weight gets too extreme for the freshwater tackle I switch to the saltwater inshore setups. When I throw the 9" castraic trout lure.
Heron reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 11:13 AM, Catch and Grease said:I'm gonna disagree with this, its okay to go out of the rods ratings within reason. I go a little over the ratings all the time...
Agreed, and to be honest, when I actually weighed my baits on a kitchen scale, I found that I was going over the weight ratings more often than I realized. The rod still performed fine.
SirSnookalot reply :
First off I'm a spinning guy and everyone else I know is too. Where I fish it's the norm and not the exception to overload our rods. A med rod for example with a max lure of 3/4 oz., it isn't uncommon to use an ounce or 1.5 oz., I've seen others go heavier than that. In 10 years of doing this with the same rods I've yet to see any structural damage. On the flip side throwing underweight isn't out of the ordinary either, tossing a light lure about 20' is very effective when fishing the swash.
When it comes to bass fishing I don't see any need for this practice, I pretty much stay within the rods parameters as most of my lures fall into that range. When it comes to the blanks I don't think there is much difference between a freshwater rod and an inshore rod, most of my freshwater fishing is done with inshore rods. I will admit I'm cautious with a new rod, but I get over it pretty quick.
ClackerBuzz reply :
in my experience when going over the rod rating there is a far greater chance of backlashing than breaking a tip. of course once the bait monkey gets on ur back you'll have more rods than you can use 
Like Raul said, under weighting means the rod won't perform ie you'll slice ur lure hard left like a bad golf swing
K_Mac reply :
It just depends on the rod in my experience. It also depends on how you're using it. With a gentle lob cast or pitch you can get away with far more weight than really going for distance with a big two-handed overhead cast.
greentrout reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 11:45 AM, WRB said:Before marketing strategy to label rods for specific applications ( Gary Dobyn's) bass came in basically 3.power ratings; 3, 4 and 5 power or medium, medium heavy and heavy in 2 actions fast and moderate.
Spinning rods and flipping and swimbaits rods were relegated to specialty rods not used by main stream basses. Lure weight were and are for the average bass angler between 3/8 oz to 3/4 oz for 4 power or MH, the average multi-purpose bass rod. Lighter weight lures you went down to medium 1/4-5/8 oz, or up to heavy 1/2-1oz. This was way to simple to have only 3 rods, however it works today if you don't get caught up in the marketing hype.
Spinning rods for lighter weight lures and lines, flipping or swimbait rods for the heaviest lures and lines.
Fine running for lures in-between 1/16-1/8 oz increments is IMO ridiculous.
Tom
Ditto.
Old school basser...
thehooligan reply :
On 9/7/2014 at 12:02 AM, K_Mac said:It just depends on the rod in my experience. It also depends on how you're using it. With a gentle lob cast or pitch you can get away with far more weight than really going for distance with a big two-handed overhead cast.
I agree with this. Really depends on the rod manufacturer. My shimanos are always the same, if its rated 1/4 - 3/4oz, the sweet spot is 99% of time 1/2oz. Throw a 3/4oz bait and its most likely gonna be too much weight and the rod doesnt perform right. Now, grab a st croix with the same ratings, 9 outta 10 times that rod will throw over 3/4oz with no problem. Same with alot of abu rods. I use the ratings as a guide, but once i get my hand on the rod and out on the water i know what the rod can handle...
new2BC4bass reply :
I tend to use lighter lures on a spinning rod. Some rods will throw lighter than listed, but some won't. Not if you want more than the 20' SirSnookalot fishes in the swash. My Villain ML spinning rod is a perfect example of this as is my MHF Villain 7'6" casting rod. I can go over the listed limits but going under is a waste of my time. You need to fish with a variety of weights to find out a rod's capabilities. The manufacturer's listing may or may not be accurate. Sometimes errors happen when the rods are marked....such as with my Quantum 6'10" HF rods. When is a Heavy rod suitable for 1/4-5/8 oz. lures? I've been told the actual rating for these rods is 3/8-1 1/4 (or 1 1/2, I forget). That is a more reasonable rating for a Heavy rod.
FishTank reply :
I believe the weight rating are sort of a guide line but not a rule to follow. I think commonsense is in order when using lures that are over or under the limit. I just look at the weight ratings as a way for the manufacture to tell us that is where the rod performs best.
Heron reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 11:48 PM, ClackerBuzz said:in my experience when going over the rod rating there is a far greater chance of backlashing than breaking a tip. of course once the bait monkey gets on ur back you'll have more rods than you can use
Like Raul said, under weighting means the rod won't perform ie you'll slice ur lure hard left like a bad golf swing
Hmmm....never had any backlash caused by excessive lure weight.
hatrix reply :
You can go way past a rods rating and still throw a bait out there. That is fine and all but what is really important "I think" is can it handle the bait after. Does what it takes to handle the resistance of it? Even more so when it comes down to it will it have enough power to actually move the bait after a bite and be able to actually penetrate the hook? I would say a 6" hudd on a M/H is a perfect example of this. I could throw it all day on a M/H even though its not great but doable. I highly doubt I would have what it take to convert on many bites. I tried long ago and came to realize its not casting it that was the problem it was the power you need after that is really important.
OkobojiEagle reply :
Old topic... different question: comparing three rods from the SAME MANUFACTURER, all 6' 1/2' length, all labeled medium power/ fast action. Labeled lure weight on 1st. rod 1/4 - 5/8; 2nd rod 1/4 - 3/4; 3rd rod 1/4 - 7/8. Will rod #1 with the lighter top end lure weight suggestion likely be more limber when playing a caught bass?
oe
A-Jay reply :
So be between 5/8, 6/8 & 7/8 ?
Can't see where an 1/8 or even a 1/4 would make that much of a difference.
A-Jay
blckshirt98 reply :
if you took all the rods out there and erased the lure weight on the rod, I'm guessing you'd get 10 different answers from 10 different people on what the range should be. Use the printed lure weight as a guide, but ultimately tie on a lure and see how it casts/retrieves. If it works as intended, it works.
OkobojiEagle reply :
... but you can't take every rod in the store out for a test run. Does it make sense to assume that narrowing the lure weight spread to the lighter end of the suggested parameter a rod company is indicating the rod is of a SLIGHTLY lighter action than a similar rod with a lure weight spread that extends heavier?
oe
EvanT123 reply :
On 3/8/2016 at 1:52 PM, OkobojiEagle said:... but you can't take every rod in the store out for a test run. Does it make sense to assume that narrowing the lure weight spread to the lighter end of the suggested parameter a rod company is indicating the rod is of a SLIGHTLY lighter action than a similar rod with a lure weight spread that extends heavier?
oe
Maybe.....I have a gloomis imx 782 and 783 lure ratings 1/4-5/8(782) and 1/4-3/4(783) they are definetly different. I also have a medium daiwa procyon 1/4-3/4 that feels very similar to the 783(medium-heavy). So among the same brands your hypothesis probably holds true but across brands good luck!!!
blckshirt98 reply :
IMO I think Shimano and St Croix rods tend to run stiffer/heavier, in that the lure weights indicated on the rod could be higher.
Big Bait Fishing reply :
On 9/7/2014 at 7:58 AM, Heron said:Hmmm....never had any backlash caused by excessive lure weight.
i agree with you also , it's usually the other way around , trying to get distance with a lure too light for the rod , that's when it's backlash time ....
K_Mac reply :
On 3/8/2016 at 1:52 PM, OkobojiEagle said:... but you can't take every rod in the store out for a test run. Does it make sense to assume that narrowing the lure weight spread to the lighter end of the suggested parameter a rod company is indicating the rod is of a SLIGHTLY lighter action than a similar rod with a lure weight spread that extends heavier?
oe
I think you can assume a difference in power, but even that varies greatly between manufacturers. You can't assume a difference in action though. Some heavier power rods have soft tips and very fast action, others are slower with a stiffer tip. Again it varies among manufacturers.
Delaware Valley Tackle reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 11:01 AM, WRB said:Absolutely no standard to apply to a rods performance verses the lure weight rating. You must touch and feel the rod with reel, line and casting weight to make any sense of lure weight ratings as they are marketing gimmicks to sell the rod.
Using a lighter lure or a heavier lure depends on too many factors to list in this thread.
Example medium heavy spinning rod rated for 1/8 to 3/4 ox lures, medium heavy casting rod rated for; worm/jig rod 1/4 to 1 oz, crankbait rod rated for 3/8 to 1 1/4 oz, medium heavy swimbait bait rod rated for 1 to 5 oz, what does medium heavy mean? Absolutely nothing! Lure ratings are simply a suggested guide line to help selecting the rods performance with a wide range of lure weights. Most bass lures weigh between 3/8 to 3/4 oz and nearly every bass rod can handle that range of lures from medium light to heavy.
Tom
Ya, I actually look at lure weight ratings and power as relative, but separate qualities. For example, two rods might carry similar lure weights of 1/4-5/8 with one labeled med and the other having a beefier butt labeled m/h.
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