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Will Paint and Eyes Create Magic Bullets?

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July 18, 2012

Will Paint and Eyes Create Magic Bullets?

By Joe Cermele

Anglers know that sometimes it's the subtlest details that produce fish. Last month I was fishing a bass pond close to home and throwing Zoom Flukes. White got hit a lot. White with a clear back and silver flakes got hit more. In the water they looked almost identical to my eye, but obviously there was something in that clear back pattern that got the bass a bit more tweaked. I was thinking of this outing while looking over the new wares from Bullet Weights at ICAST last week. This January they'll be releasing a line of painted weights with eyes (below). As simplistic as the idea may be, I've never seen it before, and I think it has some merit.

If you think about it, a bullet weight is really nothing but a means of getting a soft-plastic to the proper depth. So can using that weight as an extension of the lure be a bad idea? I'm a firm believer in clear, pronounced eyes on any lure. When I tie saltwater flies I always add bigger stick-on eyes than needed. When I buy hard plastics, eye size is important to me. Large eyes, I believe, can trigger more strikes than lures with small or no eyes, so I think there are certain situations, such as in stained water, when a bright bullet weight with an eye may turn more fish.

Of course, it's just my opinion. One could easily argue that painted bullet weights aren't necessary. What say you?

Comments (10)

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from Josh Giannino wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

more color to catch fishes attraction, could work,

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from buckhunter wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

I have always been a big fan of large eyes on both lures and flies. I believe it to be what a predator keys on while striking at prey. I guess that means I like the painted bullet weights.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Bocephus22 wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

Looks like Ill be painting my bullet weights before I head out!

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from DSMbirddog wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

If you could send me a dozen or so in various weights I would be glad to test these for you. I could then provide you with a detailed analysis of the side by sidee comparison!

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from rdorman wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

did your flukes have eyes?

action and profile are far more important...but painted jig heads are popular for a reason

it would be nice in muddy water to put on a chartuese with a dark profiling body...

it is a nice trick to add to your arsenal...but with so many others already i don't think i will be spending the extra money on them, prefer to do that on the tungsten

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from dneaster3 wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

On the one hand, lures with eyes do seem to be more effective than those without them.

On the other hand, it sounds to me like just the latest pitch to separate a fisherman from his money.

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from Nyflyangler wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

Yeah, a bunch of guys with their tackle box filled with nail polish.

That'll work wonders for the image of fishermen.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from RockySquirrel wrote 47 weeks 3 days ago

Joe; Great idea, and if you do a test, let us know how it works out.

But please never mention painting eyes on a MAGIC BULLET in this blog. Some of use still believe in magic bullets. And as well as the tooth fairy for that matter.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from bigz24bigbass wrote 47 weeks 3 days ago

Definitely painting some of my weights. Ain't gotta use nailpoish Nyflyangler... I'll be at my local hobby shop buying model car paint!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from joejv4 wrote 47 weeks 3 days ago

As a comparison to the question posed above, I've been involved in many a discussion about jigheads: painted vs. unpainted.

To settle the matter for my self, at least for crappie fishing, I did some experimenting over a couple years with jigs. I used painted/no eyes, painted with eyes, and unpainted. I would work one rod with unpainted and the other with one of the two painted variations. Not only did I see no difference in the number of crappie I caught, one vs. the other, I always catch a lot of "incidental" bass while crappie fishing, and saw no difference there either.

I think that a lot of what goes on in the tackle industry is more about catching fishermen than catching fish. Some innovations have valid impact, while some are just another way to increase profits. Until someone has done some testing to show me different, I have to think that painted weights is more about catching fishermen than fish.

0 Good Comment? | | Report

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from buckhunter wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

I have always been a big fan of large eyes on both lures and flies. I believe it to be what a predator keys on while striking at prey. I guess that means I like the painted bullet weights.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Nyflyangler wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

Yeah, a bunch of guys with their tackle box filled with nail polish.

That'll work wonders for the image of fishermen.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Josh Giannino wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

more color to catch fishes attraction, could work,

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Bocephus22 wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

Looks like Ill be painting my bullet weights before I head out!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from DSMbirddog wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

If you could send me a dozen or so in various weights I would be glad to test these for you. I could then provide you with a detailed analysis of the side by sidee comparison!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from rdorman wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

did your flukes have eyes?

action and profile are far more important...but painted jig heads are popular for a reason

it would be nice in muddy water to put on a chartuese with a dark profiling body...

it is a nice trick to add to your arsenal...but with so many others already i don't think i will be spending the extra money on them, prefer to do that on the tungsten

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from dneaster3 wrote 47 weeks 4 days ago

On the one hand, lures with eyes do seem to be more effective than those without them.

On the other hand, it sounds to me like just the latest pitch to separate a fisherman from his money.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from RockySquirrel wrote 47 weeks 3 days ago

Joe; Great idea, and if you do a test, let us know how it works out.

But please never mention painting eyes on a MAGIC BULLET in this blog. Some of use still believe in magic bullets. And as well as the tooth fairy for that matter.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from bigz24bigbass wrote 47 weeks 3 days ago

Definitely painting some of my weights. Ain't gotta use nailpoish Nyflyangler... I'll be at my local hobby shop buying model car paint!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from joejv4 wrote 47 weeks 3 days ago

As a comparison to the question posed above, I've been involved in many a discussion about jigheads: painted vs. unpainted.

To settle the matter for my self, at least for crappie fishing, I did some experimenting over a couple years with jigs. I used painted/no eyes, painted with eyes, and unpainted. I would work one rod with unpainted and the other with one of the two painted variations. Not only did I see no difference in the number of crappie I caught, one vs. the other, I always catch a lot of "incidental" bass while crappie fishing, and saw no difference there either.

I think that a lot of what goes on in the tackle industry is more about catching fishermen than catching fish. Some innovations have valid impact, while some are just another way to increase profits. Until someone has done some testing to show me different, I have to think that painted weights is more about catching fishermen than fish.

0 Good Comment? | | Report

Post a Comment

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