Depending on lure size and action and presentation, jig weight matters!

Recently I posted how to make hybrid lures using the parts of two soft plastic lures or modifying a soft plastic lure. A big part of using any soft plastic lure is what you want it to do in the water as well as what a design is capable of. When it comes to jig heads, weight and hook size choices determine where and how the lure is fished and though there are no set-in-stone rules, each design should be matched to one or more jig weights that allow it to do that which gets the most strikes.

Today I was experimenting with some hybrid lures I had made earlier but only used a 1/16 oz jighead minus the hook so as not to hook fish that bit. The drop was fast to the bottom when the lure wasn't retrieved parallel to it. For a few designs that I wanted a bottom cloud puff when the lure hit, 1/16 oz was fine. Fish hit the lure on the bottom and when hopped. Other designs did okay on the horizontal retrieve after long casts were made, but had to be retrieved a bit faster than with a 1/32 or 1/64 jig.

Starting late last year, I've found more use for 1/24 and 1/32 oz jigs because slower presentations have resulted in more fish caught with the same amount of water covered the reason being lure tail design. Remember these two words: quiver and twitch. The lures that helped catch 55 fish recently had those lure actions in common. Here are some examples:

https://i.imgur.com/Ax0MGGr.jpg?1https://i.imgur.com/5DSqZmB.jpg?1https://i.imgur.com/t2RUqc5.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/j6LaMEC.jpg?2https://i.imgur.com/k44itze.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/KKV8vrJ.jpg?1

Each lure has a tail that quivers or twitches with the least amount of movement. Fish of all species are very sensitive to it and become irritated the longer the lure is near resulting in strikes. When other fish see a fish strike, they are incensed to strike the same lure especially school fish.

Even longer lures like the Slider or Kut Tail worms benefit from using light jigheads regardless the depth:
https://i.imgur.com/Icl594Q.jpg?1https://i.imgur.com/ezVIHVQ.jpg

The emphasis is transferred from a faster lure speed to a lure's subtle action which allows more time in the strike zone.

Lures with action tails that must be moved at a certain speed - Sassy Shads or Twister tails, are better off using a 1/16 oz jighead or heavier. Longer lures like the worms mentioned also do well with 1/16 oz when a fast vertical drop to the bottom is working. Fish take notice and are drawn to the lure on the bottom, waiting for it to move a fraction of an inch. I saw this today in my pond where five yellow perch swam over to see what the commotion was all about after the large splash, the lure careening to bottom and the mud puff on bottom. Add to that was the sparkle/flash the plastic demonstrated on the way down like a neon sign. Three bass also came over to investigate after a few perch sucked the lure in and tried to swim away with it.

In conclusion, jig weight matters when chosen as an enhancement to lure design/action/size and presentation desired. Some lures may benefit from different jig weights; others only one. If any of you start creating hybrid lures or shortening lures (IE the Slider Worm pictured), consider which weight or weights can best make that dance to the tune fish respond to best.