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What Type of Carp Weight to Choose?
A lead weight is an essential component of every carp rig, which keeps the terminal tackle along with the bait in the baited spot, and also ensures that the hook is capable of effectively penetrating the fish's mouth, causing a self-hooking action.
In the range of carp fishing manufacturers, you can find numerous weights of various shapes, weights, and colors. Primarily, they can be divided into casting weights or spod weights, which are also subdivided into inline or swivel leads.
Most leads are still made of lead, but due to environmental concerns, you can increasingly find stone or concrete weights in store offers – mainly for spodding purposes.
Casting Weights
These are weights with an elongated and slim shape that offer minimal air resistance, and their flight is very stable. They come in a classic version on a swivel, as inline, and with a special peg – dedicated for helicopter rigs. Most of them have rounded edges, but you can also find those with beveled edges which increase their grip when fishing on sloping bottoms.
Classic swivel lead:
Inline lead with beveled edges:
Helicopter lead:
Spod Weights
Characterized by a flat shape, which increases their grip on the bottom of the water body. These types of weights also come as inline or on a swivel. For hard and medium-hard bottoms, grippa type leads are especially recommended. They are characterized by a special hole in the central part, which causes the weight to settle much more firmly on the bottom, increasing its grip. Below are examples of this type of weight:
Korda:
Rockworld:
Weights with additional protrusions or spikes to increase grip will also be useful here.
On muddy bottoms, it is much better to use weights with the flattest and largest surface area – this will certainly prevent the weight from sinking into the soft mud. Below is an example of this type of weight:
When fishing in deep mud, consider using stone weights, which have a large surface area but less weight and are not so strongly sucked in by the mud:
You might think that a lead is just a lead and its proper selection does not matter much. However, it has an incredibly important impact on the effectiveness and success of carp fishing sessions. For example, when fishing on the slopes of hills or edges, if you use a casting shaped weight, it will roll down from the fished slope beyond the baited spot with the risk of tangling.
