Tungsten vs lead

[Oaktree1215]

Fish don't care, they eat when they are hungry. Change my mind.

[wsj_outdoorsman]

The tungsten gets down quicker but there are MANY times the fish want lead as it slows the decent down and give a more natural presentation.  I use both depending on the fishes mood.

[river_scum]

what he said. 

[esox_xtm]

I carry both, mostly because I still have a pile of lead in boxes.

I also believe that "faster drop speed" is vastly over-rated. Outdoor Boundary magazine conducted a little study comparing drop times in like physical size and shape lead and tungsten jigs. The tungsten jig weighed 4 grams and the lead 3 grams. 8# line was used on both and they were dropped simultaneously into a 4" diameter, 5' high clear poly tube. The tungsten jig reached the bottom about .25 seconds faster than the lead. That means tungsten drops one second faster than lead for every 16 feet of water, physical size and shape being equal. Is that a clear advantage? Maybe. Sometimes. Maybe not most of the time. Let's say you're in 50 FOW, you could reach the bottom 3 seconds faster than your lead dropping partner.

In the water I fish most of the time a second or less is not a big deal, "one thousand one". Even deeper, is 3 seconds really a game changer? The biggest plus for me is the ability to feel the jig without physically upsizing. Even then there's the tradeoff of the ability of the fish to inhale the additional weight.

[Gills-only]

The tungsten gets down quicker but there are MANY times the fish want lead as it slows the decent down and give a more natural presentation.  I use both depending on the fishes mood.

.      I slow the decent according to fish mood, u can do it yourself as to speed ect

[RoeBoat]

Or you could just put 8# line on like they did in the test

I fished 20-25 fow yesterday and this guy just isn't going to do that without tungsten!  Too little patience.

[esox_xtm]

Or you could just put 8# line on like they did in the test

I fished 20-25 fow yesterday and this guy just isn't going to do that without tungsten!  Too little patience.

So you become impatient in 1.25 - 1.5 seconds? I don't know... Still over-rated. Mostly marketing for a more expensive product like "invisible" fluorocarbon or red leaders/hooks. Not that tungsten, fluoro or colored tackle doesn't make a difference, just not as much as most people think and for sure not all the time.

Ultimately I agree with the OP statement and will not accept his challenge:

Fish don't care, they eat when they are hungry. Change my mind.

[wsj_outdoorsman]

Aside from the drop rate, I think a lot of plastics fit better on lead heads.  Just another wrinkle in the cream.  I do like the feel of the tungsten though, which is why I use both.

[RoeBoat]

Drop rate is much less important to me than being able to feel the bait and bite.  The xtra weight makes a difference especially if they want something small.

[RyanW]

The thing with tungsten jigs is that you can stay at the same weight as lead but in a smaller profile without loosing the feedback you get from the weight of the jig therefore not hindering the jig action or bite detection due to its smaller profile. A large profile with less weight than tungsten, go lead. Small profile with more weight than lead, go tungsten. It has everything to do with profile relative to weight. That’s it.

Added benefits of tungsten are that it registers a stronger return signal on a sonar unit meaning you don’t need to turn the gain up as high to detect your jig. It really does punch trough slushy holes well. If you don’t have a sonar, with a 3mm tungsten jig, you don’t need a lead depth finder. Just use the jig to find bottom. Regarding weight to profile, a tungsten jig creates more water movement (vibrations) while jigging to draw in nearby fish.  It’s a great alternative to steel/tin for lead-free waters. It also works very well for making small profile weighted flies. 

Tungsten jigs certainly do help your catch rate if you understand how they are intended to be used. I see a lot of guys buy a tungsten jig or two and use them once, catch nothing, then write them off for good. I have a about 60 tungsten jigs in sizes 2.5mm-5mm. The time it takes for a 2.5mm LEAD jig to drop down 30 feet is usually the difference between catching 2-3 fish out of the roaming school or catching a dozen. They leave before that small of a lead jig gets down there. Once it does get there, their isn’t enough weight to execute a proper jigging cadence. With tungsten, their is. Bait also adds water resistance and makes the whole rig sink slower which adds to the time it takes. I don’t know about you but I’m here to fish, not watch a jig fall.

As far as drop speed goes, I find ascending speed is far more significant than descending speed regardless of which metal you use. I exclusively use tungsten jigs and more often than not I end up out-fish everyone I fish with that uses lead jigs and I fish with some pretty talented dudes.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Simple small tiny jigs go tungsten...bigger go lead. Tungsten gets used when the jig gets small enough that lead isn't heavy enough to pull line off the spoon in free spool.

[MC_angler]

The time it takes for a 2.5mm LEAD jig to drop down 30 feet is usually the difference between catching 2-3 fish out of the roaming school or catching a dozen. They leave before that small of a lead jig gets down there. Once it does get there, their isn’t enough weight to execute a proper jigging cadence. With tungsten, their is.

That's the biggest positive for tungsten hands down

[Oaktree1215]

I guess I've never had to fish deep enough to see tungsten as useful.
Good arguments everyone!

[spencerville]

HA! I was fishing 5 to 7' yesterday and I put down the lead shortly after I got there.... Definitely much better feel with the heavy stuff.

[RyanW]

I guess I've never had to fish deep enough to see tungsten as useful.
Good arguments everyone!

Tungsten is beneficial in all depths of water. Remember, it’s the profile we are after. The weight properties are just a bonus.

[northrn-duck-assassin]

I try to always start out with lead, then switch to tigsten if need be.

Also depends on type of color pattern i want to run, most my lead jigs are traditional color schemes. Todays tugsten jigs are getting a good varience in paint schemes.. ive becime a huge fan of clown color patterns.

The drop rate, tugsten drops fast, extremely fast, especially if you free spool!

[DR.SPECKLER]

I use mostly tungsten jigs these days, but there are days where the fish like the slower fluttering drop of lead jigs.

[Spooled85]

I use mostly tungsten jigs these days, but there are days where the fish like the slower fluttering drop of lead jigs.

What he said

[Iceassin]

Nothing but tungstens anymore...I'm sold.

[RoeBoat]

Me too, mostly fish tungsten under a fly no matter what depth.  Caught fish on a 4mm tungsten  a foot below my transducer yesterday.

[fishinator]

If you prefer lead for a slower fall why don't you just slow down the decent of a tungsten?  You can slow a tungsten down but can't really speed a lead up.

[DR.SPECKLER]

If you prefer lead for a slower fall why don't you just slow down the decent of a tungsten?  You can slow a tungsten down but can't really speed a lead up.

its not really the slow fall of lead.it flutters down.gill pill is a good example with the flat bottom.it falls to the left or right and vibrates on the way down.tungsten falls relatively straight down.both have a place and time.i use tungsten 99% of the time but theres been days where the fish want the slow wobbly descent and jigging action of lead jigs.

[Spooled85]

I have four rods set up rite now . All over them have a tungsten jig on them, all different sizes and colors. If they don't want one I'll try another . And before each time I switch a rod I will try changing the bait .plastic ,waxy, spike, or minnow head with each one I always jig different ways . Slow , fast , jig going down or jig going up , jerking it ...ECT ..... If I do all these things and am marking fish and they are coming up to look and they don't want it .... I'm done ! No point in continuing because they are not feeding

[northrn-duck-assassin]

I have four rods set up rite now . All over them have a tungsten jig on them, all different sizes and colors. If they don't want one I'll try another . And before each time I switch a rod I will try changing the bait .plastic ,waxy, spike, or minnow head with each one I always jig different ways . Slow , fast , jig going down or jig going up , jerking it ...ECT ..... If I do all these things and am marking fish and they are coming up to look and they don't want it .... I'm done ! No point in continuing because they are not feeding

Ive had days where they chase every gill jig i have in the box darn near. (And thats alot). Put on a small spoon loaded up with spikes, and it was game on! Never give up.

[Spooled85]

I'll have to try the spoon trick !

[RoeBoat]

Buddy has been getting them on a spoon lately.   I need to put one one.  The little ones have even been hitting it.

[Jkoht]

Meh, potato potato. Seems to me like reinventing the mouse trap. Do what you like but I'm in no hurry to ditch lead. I think the outdoor industry is just finding a new way to part us from our money. Like charcoal odor eliminating hunting clothes. Watch the ads and you'd think anyone who shot a deer in the last 100 years did it by pure luck. Or I could just be a pessimistic skeptic lol.

[crill1977]

I change from lead to tungsten to lead to spoons to just a friggin hook... W/e gets them topside... I have a box full of everything and continue to add to it with anything that catches my eye at the bait shops....