Summer 2026
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“Where I live, I’ll use lead most of the time since it is so snaggy, with rock, and all the pike that can bite you off,” he said. “But when I’m in a tournament at home or in the U.S., I’ll use tungsten.”
THE ADVANTAGES OF TUNGSTEN
The benefits of using a tungsten jig or weight are that tungsten is denser than lead, so you can use the same weight jig or flipping weight, and its profile/size will be smaller than a lead jig, or weight.
This is beneficial as your bait presentation can be more compact, which can be important in certain circumstances, like when flipping/punching heavy cover. A smaller profile will allow the lure to slide down through the cover easier and avoid getting hung up on the way down.
Having a smaller profile jig, or tungsten weight can also come into play if the bass are tight-lipped and want a smaller profile jig to eat. Tungsten allows the jig you need to get to the desired depth but give your bait offering a smaller profile.
Another benefit to using a tungsten weight or jig, is that tungsten is harder than lead, so you’ll be able to feel what your bait is doing in the water and what type of cover it is encountering. This is a benefit for bass fisherman as knowing exactly what your lure or jig is coming into contact when under the water is many times the difference between getting bit, and not.
With tungsten weights being harder, you also don’t need to worry about the weight getting damaged when it is getting banged up along rocks or boat docks, which after time will damage a lead weight, and thus making your fishing line prone to damage from the rough edges of the lead weight.
THE DOWNSIDES OF TUNGSTEN
Tungsten weights and jigs have an obvious downside, and that is their cost. Tungsten jigs and weights can easily become one of the biggest expenses for a bass fisherman. A benefit of the softness of a lead weight, is you can easily see the tooth marks from a bass on a lead weight.
This can be helpful when pre-fishing, when you are not wanting to set the hook when a bass bites your lure. You can let a bass hold your lure and it will drop your bait, by looking at the teeth marks on your lead weight, you can decipher the size of the bass.
FORWARD-FACING SONAR AND TUNGSTEN
With the prominence of forward-facing sonar in today’s fishing world, some manufactures and anglers promote and feel that tungsten jigs show up better or are more distinct on FFS than a corresponding lead jig. While other anglers feel that this idea is more based on an angler’s FFS set up, knowledge and skill when it comes to casting, and fishing their jig or bait when relying on FFS.
GUSSY’S APPROACH TO LEAD VS. TUNGSTEN
Gussy’s thought process of when to use a lead jig, or a tungsten jig revolves 100 percent around the bait profile and presentation. “For a lot of finesse presentations, like a Ned rig or minnow, it’s about matching your jig to the soft plastic bait so that it looks natural,” he explained. “The majority of the time, I’ll use a Tungsten Nedster or Tungsten Smeltinator, but sometimes the soft plastic bait I want to use, will butt up and fit better with the bigger lead jig.”
With ChatterBaits, the Jackhammer is a proven fish catcher across the country, and anglers have a hard time putting it down. But the Tungsten ChatterBait Elite EVO is gaining popularity with anglers as well.
Since the head is tungsten, the noise and vibration that is being emitted in the water is different.
“The Tungsten Elite EVO is louder and that different noise and vibration for sure catches bass at times, when other vibrating jigs get overlooked,” said Gussy. “It is something that I am continuing to play with and have at the ready for when I’m at an event.”
CONFIDENCE AND PERSONAL PREFERENCE
Like many things in the fishing tackle industry, it comes down to an angler’s preference and confidence. Some anglers will go all the way to one side of the spectrum and use only tungsten jigs, while others may just use lead, but for many of us bass fisherman, we fall in the middle.
This middle ground has us filling our tackle box with both tungsten and lead jigs, as certain styles of a jig only come in one material, while others may have a different hook, or profile in the water column. So, find what works for you, and go that route, but now you know the benefits and rationality for anglers using a lead or tungsten jig. •
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