🎣 Ultimate Guide to Lure Weight and Size Selection (Best Fishing Lures for Bass)

Why Lure Weight and Size are Critical?

There are many tutorials on choosing fishing lures, but they often fail to explain the concepts thoroughly or cover all scenarios. As an experienced angler, REeffun believes you need a clear strategy to guide your fishing. This guide is arguably the most detailed selection strategy for lure weight and size in wild fishing, ensuring you won't be lost by the water.

1-Wrong Weight Selection Leads to Skunking

Let's take the Jig Head as an example. If you choose a 3.5g jig head in an area with strong currents, I guarantee you won't get a bite all day. Why? Because the current is too strong, and 3.5g won't reach the bottom before being washed away. Most fish we target with jig heads, such as the common Largemouth Bass in North America or Perch in Europe, are typically bottom dwellers. If the lure can't reach the bottom, the fish can't find it, and you'll naturally be skunked.

2-Ignoring the Fall Rate Misses Opportunities

 Imagine you’re fishing on a large reservoir or lake. To cast far, you choose a 30g Metal Jig, but after a whole day you catch nothing. Meanwhile, your neighbor using a 10g jig catches fish, like Golden Perch in Australia or Giant Snakehead in Southeast Asia.  

•  The reason is simple: your 30g jig sinks too fast, so its falling distance is too short. The 10g jig, being lighter, has a longer falling path. Predatory fish like Mahseer or other mid-to-upper layer hunters often strike precisely while the lure is falling.  
•  Never underestimate the importance of the falling path! Suppose you cast the 30g jig 80 meters and make it bounce on the bottom 50 times. If each fall is just 1 second shorter than the 10g jig, you lose a total of 50 seconds of strike opportunity.  

 Therefore, choosing the right weight and size in wild fishing will greatly increase your catch rate compared to randomly selecting lures.  

How to Scientifically Choose Lure Weight and Size?

1-Don't Just Look at Weight! Material Density is Key

Every lure has a different material density (lead, iron, copper, plastic, etc.). For the same weight, the size will certainly be different. Sometimes you'll find that a 5g crankbait is actually larger than a 10g VIB. Therefore, in wild fishing, you can't just look at the weight; you must also consider the size.

2-The Trade-Off Between Appropriateness and Casting Distance

In wild fishing, it's hard to know the size of the fish in the area. Don't be fooled by appearances; large rivers don't necessarily have large fish, and inconspicuous small streams might hide monsters. This problem has no fixed answer; it requires us to think. It's very possible that when you start with a 10g Minnow, you don't get a bite, but when you switch to a 10g VIB, you do. Why? Because at the same 10g, the VIB has a much smaller profile than the Minnow, and its appropriateness (The ability of the fish to eat the bait) is much better.

 💡 Key Takeaways:  

•  Weight determines your casting distance.  
•  Size/Volume determines appropriateness and the maximum fish you can target.  
•  While big lures can catch big fish, small lures don’t necessarily miss them. The lure sets the lower limit of strikeability, not the upper limit. Fish mouths are only so big—if the lure is too large, they simply can’t bite it and won’t be interested.  

Practical Strategy: Locating Your Target Spot

1-Long-Distance Search in Large Waters

 If you’ve located fish far out on a large body of water, you should:  

•  Step 1: Start with a 20g Metal Jig or [Product Note] REeffun also offers an excellent series of lures, such as a 20g Vibrating Jig, for long-distance searching.  
•  Step 2: If there are no strikes or the fish chase but don’t fully bite, switch the 20g Metal Jig to a 20g VIB. The VIB is smaller in volume, making it more biteable. This technique is especially effective for Walleye in North America.  

2-Near-Shore Fishing in Narrow Waters

 If you’re fishing in a small river 3–4 meters wide and 2–3 meters deep, you definitely wouldn’t use a 10–20g Metal Jig.  

•  In this environment, you don’t need to cast far—just search near the shore. You can switch to a 5g or even 3.5g VIB or Jig Head for a falling presentation. This weight is perfect for fishing Pike in small rivers in Southern and Eastern Europe.  
•  You can also try REeffun’s lightweight soft plastic setups, such as a 5g jig head paired with a 2.5-inch Shad soft plastic. This light setup also works well as good fishing lures for Walleye.  

3-Special Scenario: Weight Consideration for Ice Fishing

 In cold regions like North America or Northern Europe, ice fishing in winter has specific weight requirements for lures.  

 Ice fishing lures are usually small but still need enough weight to quickly pass through the ice hole and water column to reach the target depth. Common ice fishing lures, such as Jigging Spoons or Balance Jigs, typically weigh 3g–15g, adjusted according to target species (e.g., Bass, Walleye) and water depth. Too light sinks slowly, too heavy reduces precise control.  

Lure Strategy is Paramount

The purpose of this article is not to mechanically tell you, "You should choose X grams in a large river and Y grams in a small stream." That is meaningless. Lure fishing must rely on strategy; the difference between skunking and catching fish is just a thoughtful mind. By understanding the logical relationship between weight and size, your catches will definitely improve significantly.

External Reference Link

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

If you found this article helpful, please share it with your fishing buddies so more lure enthusiasts can find joy by the water!