Neutral Buoyancy for Barra lures

[Barraboy7]

Hi All
Does anyone here use some weight or stick on lead to make Barra lures more neutral in buoyancy when retrieving. Eg Classics. I use a lot of stop start in my retrieves and its frustrating that a lot of floating lures at that point are heading upwards rather than just hanging there tempting the fish.
I have heard and read of some guys using stuff called Sticky Weight? Anyone heard of it or used it?
I know that upgrading to heavier hooks has adjusted some of my lures somewhat, but it would be great to tune lures back with weight.
Many people must have dealt with this, Any help out there?
Barraboy7 8-)

[Peter4]

G'day Barra boy7,

A mate of mine just came back from Monduran and had success with Cultiva Rippin Minnow lures. He used a 112mm sp (suspending version). They are an Owner product and are already fitted with Owner trebbles. Not much of a colour range and hard to source.

He used a slow roll/pause retrieve. Lure suspends approx 1 metre below the surface. I'm about to go out and get a few as I'm heading up there next month!!

Pete

[NAGG]

:bulb2: Try crimping some split shot on the treble shank:) ...... Try it, as it is a simple but effective way of changing the bouyancy without doing anything drastic !8-) .... Nagg

[Owen]

I wrap some 1.6mm solder around the treble shank.
I'm thinking of drilling the body and inserting some tungsten rod (TIG welding electrodes). These come in 175mm lengths and in 1.6mm, 2.4mm, 3.2mm diameters (there are bigger but I doubt you'd need it).

[vet]

sticky weight is called tungsten sticky weight, it comes in a small round plastic container, a lot of the norther tackle stores stock it. it is pliable and you just mould it to the lure. I usually mould it in the centre line just behind the bib as you can suspend the lure with the nose down if you do this. Expensive to use on highly buoyant lures like classics and scorpions. You can also get stick on lead patches, it takes quite a few of these to adjust it so mainly used for fine tuning of lures that are nearly neutral buoyant. good luck scott.

[Mak579]

Hey Barraboy7,

I have a few lures that suspend quite well with upgraded hooks (ie the owner trebles are normally a lot heavier than standard)!!! This negates the need for sticky weights and.... for suspending lures you need not worry about the impact heavy trebles have on the lure action.

Floating lures can be quite effective... especially if they float backwards (ie Halco Scorpions). By ripping the hardbody down and allowing it to float backwards, you can effectively continue to twitch the lure in one spot just using your rodtip (not reeling in any line)... this technique is lethal, especially around structure.

Once again, upgrading to heavier Owner style hooks slows the floatation.

Tight Lines
Matt C

[McCod]

Yeah mate I use the Sticky weight a bit and it’s great stuff…. Bit expensive though! There are a few ways to change the buoyancy of the lures…. Things like drilling a small hole under and or on top of em’ then ejecting a small amount of resin or araldite mix into the body then waiting for it to set can work well’ with or without heavier trebles. Flatten some sinkers then glue it to the body or the bib of the lure is also an option With a lure like A Gaden Classic you can turf the 3 standard trebles and then run a #1 Owner 4X on the front and rear with 2 split rings per hook then run a split ring in the middle with a pea sized sinker attached with some wire or braid line….. Then you may only need bit more to get it to suspend or slow the ascent enough. A lot of my timber lures have a hole drilled in front of the front treble with a small barrel sinker stuck into the body to make them suspend nose down. Just remember that most good lures are tuned weighted appropriately to catch fish and mucking with them the wrong way will see them catch bugger all. It’s not that to say ya can’t do it with most…. but you just need to get it right! Some lures will loose too much action say for instance if you put 4 grams of weight under the chin of lure and then it may not perform well……. But if you split it up and put 2 grams under the lure and put 2 grams on top of the lure it may go OK. Too much weight on the bottom of the lure can kill em’ That’s why things like double jinking “2 split rings per treble “ can help with increasing the lure weight as well as allowing the lure to move better due to the heavier hooks.

Cheers Les

[TinarooTriumph]

As Matt said if you plan to fit Owner hardware on your lures then there is no need to add anything to the Lure as most shoud be close to neutral buoyancy. I find the Owners work really well on Classics and Bombers... Bombers straight from the pack float around something chronic... if you add Owners to they are good Lures to use.

Theo.

[NormC]

Many golf supply specialists sell self adhesive lead in strips about 8 to 10mm wide. You buy it by the metre. Golfers use it to adjust the weight of drivers I believe, but not being a golfer I'm not sure.

I bought a metre about 12 months ago and that is a few years supply I suspect. You just cut it up (not much required) and stick it on the lure where ever you like.

I've only tried it on a few lures so far and it works very well.

I find it handy when casting into tight structure. I try to cast into the money spot, pause, give a rip to get the lure down then pause again. Getting the lure towards nutral bouyancy lets you pause for longer in the zone.

Downside is that with a floating lure if you hit a snag, a slight pause will often float the lure up over the snag. A neutral lure tends to just hang around the snag.

Norm C

[Barraboy7]

Lots of great advice there guys.
Yep I slowed some lures flotation up upgrading hooks and rings but as some guys mention different types float a lot more, ie Bombers.
Point taken on the lures needing some upfloat when in the sticks. I want get a few setup for casting at weedbed edges that will just hold. I experimented a bit this afternoon and glued some flat lead on to the middle u/neath of a classic. I had already taken off the center hooks when I upgraded them. Added a small split shot on there and it just sits wherever you want.
Next thing is to see how it affects the swim, and as mentioned I dont want to wreck them overdoing it.
Barraboy

[tunaticer]

I use these to get my lures the correct weight.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&partNumber=202&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults

Jack.

[Jeremy87]

I also like to make my classic barras closer to neutral, i do this by drilling a small whole in the underside and then putting extra weight in by using bird shot or small 000 sinkers and then sealing the hole with an epoxy. it also gives the lure more rattle.

[Barraboy7]

Hi Jeremy
Does this affect the lures performance, swim wise and not too much rattle? Some guys are wary of rattle. What success have you had on your modifications? Does the shot just sit around loose in the lure body?
Barraboy

[waggy]

Hi There,
I have been doctoring up barra lures for a few years now for neutral bouyancy. I have found that aralditing a folded bit of lead solder on the back of the bib works well. Remember, the bib is the fulcrum around which the lure moves. Water pressure acting on the bib throws the lures bum around as the pressure builds and vents. Therefore any weight should be right on or behind the bib so as not to interfere with the lure's action too much. Change hooks for the sake of strength but not to achieve more weight as any extra weight along the lure's body reduces action. The method I have outlined allows adjustment to get the outcome you want. Drop the modified lure (with the leader & snap on) in the water that you are about to fish and simply snip off bits of lead solder with sidecutters until the lure is neutrally bouyant. Remember, each body of water is different having differing properties such as salinity, PH, viscosity etc so results may vary slightly depending on where you are fishing. Good Luck.
Ray

[Barraboy7]

Thanks heaps! I guess this is all good reading for a quite a few people. Lots of variation, seems like a lot of thinking fishos are tackling this problem. I note to there are more neutral buoyant lures coming on the market as well, Eco Gear, XRaps etc. Anyone know any others?
Be good to see more lures hitting the market that can be used straight out of the pack, especially with hooks and rings issue .
Barraboy7

[Dunco]

Townsville had a distributor put on a demo at a local pool. They had some neutral float lures there. I've goto get one. Japanese made and unreal in the water

[Mak579]

Townsville had a distributor put on a demo at a local pool. They had some neutral float lures there. I've goto get one. Japanese made and unreal in the water

By the time you upgrade the hardware to be 'barra proof', I'd doubt they'd be neutrally bouyant! (They did look pretty good though! Snags and beer were alright as well!)

There are some hardbody lures out there designed for our barra (like stiffy's) to save all the hassle of tuning things yourself!

Matt C

[Jeremy87]

Hi Jeremy
Does this affect the lures performance, swim wise and not too much rattle? Some guys are wary of rattle. What success have you had on your modifications? Does the shot just sit around loose in the lure body?
Barraboy

Lures swim the same as it doesn't chage the hydrodynamics of the lure like adding weight to the outside can and maybe cast a little better. These modified classics have scored me and my friends a few barra when noone else has been getting then. The weight shifts around freely like the rest of the rattles in the lure. As for blokes saying rattles scare the fish. . . the idea is that the rattle is meant to attact the fish, does it make a difference, good question.