Tungsten vs lead

[JiggernautI87]

   Is the opinion of those who use them...are the tungsten jigs worth the extra cost? I bought a couple the other day in anticipation of first ice here in the Adirondacks...which often comes early... So are they worth it??

[Dan J]

If you fish deeper than 15 ft. They are. There are many other reasons to fish tungsten. They give your bait a different look when you pound them. You can use a smaller jig for a faster drop. They are great with plastics.

[rdhammah]

or in the case of MA, you don't have much choice. lead under 1 oz is banned in fresh water

[spikes]

Don't care for the cost but I really like tungsten.  When you are on the fish you can get down faster and more fish on ice.   Fiskas are my go to.   

[sgtski]

Imo they r worth it.....check out....... your bobbers down, for sales

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Is tungsten worth it......in small panfish lures YES. We got into the tungsten about 1.5yrs ago. Fishing a local pond in 9-12 feet of water for blue gill and they were everthing and more when it came down to it. With the normal lead lures and small panfish jigs the weight just isn't there to sink the jig very fast. Then when you get it down the feel is very minimal with the small lead. The tungsten jigs drop very nice, and give that additional weight to really help you feel whats going on while jigging and getting light bites.

tungsten in larger lures.....not really worth it.

[Stinkybaits]

I've always added a split shot up high anytime I've needed extra weight not a big deal.  Plenty of small lead baits like the Lindy toads. I'm not a huge fan of tungsten hooks. I think they have gotten better. They definitely have the bling factor on the vexilar. Show up great!

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I've always added a split shot up high anytime I've needed extra weight not a big deal.  Plenty of small lead baits like the Lindy toads. I'm not a huge fan of tungsten hooks. I think they have gotten better. They definitely have the bling factor on the vexilar. Show up great!

The split shot above works, but I always have the fish swiming up and hitting the split shot, makes it hard to tell if fish are playing with the lure or split shot.

[matzilla]

Plus a split shot changes the action of small plastics dramatically. I use tungsten for the same reasons listed above - small jigs get down faster, good jig action, smaller jig with nice feel through the rod

[Stinkybaits]

Plus a split shot changes the action of small plastics dramatically. I use tungsten for the same reasons listed above - small jigs get down faster, good jig action, smaller jig with nice feel through the rod

Good mention there  it definitely changes the action. I'll move it up higher at times different distances between the jig and the split shot can turn snooty fish into gulpers fast.

[matzilla]

Amen, I move shot around while slip bobbering open water gills and crappie

[Sidepork]

Tungsten is the way to go.  They really shine in deeper water.  But like another guy mentioned shallow water fishing with tungsten really helps your jigging motion and bite detection.

Fiskas are awesome, size 3mm and 4mm for me.  I do use the 6mm for white fish in deeper water, it drops like a rock

Clams new tungsten jigs are awesome but pricey. 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Custom-Jigs-Spins-Chekai-Tungsten-Jig/1702346.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch%2F%3FN%3D%26Ns%3DMIN_SALE_PRICE%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dtungsten%2Bjig%26Ntx%3Dmode%252Bmatchallpartial%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts%26WTz_stype%3DSN%26form_state%3DsearchForm%26search%3Dtungsten%2Bjig%26searchTypeByFilter%3DAllProducts%26x%3D0%26y%3D0&Ntt=tungsten+jig&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

I use those from cabelas, not to bad of a price

[joefishmore]

Anybody know if 3/8 or 1/4 oz tungsten jigs are available anywhere.

[fishingeorge]

Check out brantnerjigs.com he has great looking tungsten!!!!

[MrE1979]

Is a pound feathers the same as a pound of gold?  A 1/8oz weight is an 1/8oz.  I like the tungsten because the size of the actual weight is smaller.  Don't like the price tho. 

[Cotacatchers]

Fish tungsten with plastics - only way to go ...

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Is a pound feathers the same as a pound of gold?  A 1/8oz weight is an 1/8oz.  I like the tungsten because the size of the actual weight is smaller.  Don't like the price tho.

You would think so......I bought a 6lb down rigger ball from cabelas......put it on a scale it was 5lbs. Emailed them they sent me a $20 gift card. Sooooooo who knows

[NEZ]

I use lead early in the season and when the fish start getting smarter, I switch to the tungsten small jigs.  Nez

[TType86]

I think they are worth it for alot of the reasons mentioned above, but also a very big reason I like them is because the hook quality that they have when compared to most all lead jigs. I use the fiskas and bentleys and they have very sharp good quality hooks. After using fiskas for the first time several years ago, I havent been able to stand using tiny lead jigs anymore. Ya they are expensive, but easily worth it in my opionion.

[jordy1380]

I'm not a huge fan of the fiskas any more...I've had too many fish break the hooks off, both big and small. I ordered some bentleys and I can say that the hooks are sharp! I don't know how good of quality they are as far as versitility goes, but they aren't very thick and bend pretty easy with a pair of pliers. I started checking a lot of the tungsten jigs that I buy to see how easily they bend. I'd suggest you do the same if you buy some. If you're paying $3+ for one jig then they better have some good hooks on them!

[Duke M]

So far for my style of fishing they are nothing special. Long rod hole hopping in 2 to 6 feet of back water ice fishing. A fast drop would actually cost me many fish. We start jigging at the bottom of the hole and physically retard the drop.
I also would miss not being able to make my own lures as I have no ability to work with tungsten and would hate to depend on more Chinese stuff.

Duke