Punching mats with egg sinkers?

Hey guys, just wanted some quick input -- I've been unable to find heavy enough tungsten or even lead bullet weights at the local B&T shops/sporting goods stores that would be able to penetrate the thick slop and grass mats in the fisheries I frequent. I was just wondering if anybody's ever tried doing some heavy punching with standard lead egg sinkers? I have quite a few from 1/2 oz. and up for Carolina rigs (which I nearly never throw anymore anyways), and wanted to know if there are any drawbacks or issues I should be aware of. The only thing I can think of -- aside from the oblong shape obviously not being as conducive to penetrating thick mats versus bullet-shaped weights -- is that the hole where you would thread line through would be too wide to have a bobber stop/rubber peg fit snugly into. Anyone have any experience using egg sinkers in a pinch?

Thanks for any feedback!

For the longest time the only heavy weights I could find were ~1.25" long, which would end up binding up on cover and not penetrating even though they weighed 3/4oz, so I started using a smaller bullet weight in front of an egg sinker. You could peg the bullet weight, effectively pegging the egg sinker, but there was enough flexibility to it that it still had the weight to punch with but wouldn't hang as much part way down.

Onthewater...I've never punched, but your description of your excellent idea was perfect!

richg99

onthewater102 said:

For the longest time the only heavy weights I could find were ~1.25" long, which would end up binding up on cover and not penetrating even though they weighed 3/4oz, so I started using a smaller bullet weight in front of an egg sinker. You could peg the bullet weight, effectively pegging the egg sinker, but there was enough flexibility to it that it still had the weight to punch with but wouldn't hang as much part way down.

Click to expand...

That's a great idea... to that end, I was thinking of just putting a bullet sinker behind another bullet sinker, but having the one closest to the hook inverted so that their 'bases' would be touching. They would look somewhat like this:

----------<==||==>---HOOK

**(with the <==| being the bullet weights, I know it's a little hard to illustrate with symbols haha)**

That way, the total, aggregate width never exceeds the base width of the bullet weight which would still lend itself to virtually equal mat penetration I would think versus an egg sinker (where the sinker would be wider than the widest part of the bullet weight, thereby obstructing its ability to go through grass). There would be an issue of adding adequate weight though with just two identical bullet weights...

Thanks for your input!

Dave, what type and test line are you using ?

Personally, I am not a jungle fisherman but I have often seen it done.
It amazes me how a guy can drop a lure or live bait into a grass mat that is a foot thick
and pull out some massive bass. ( along with massive amounts of vegetation ).
Here in Florida, this is what they use. Just a simple bullet weight, butt to butt as you described.
with 65# braid on a 7' XH rod.
good luck !!!

Why not just buy a punching sinker? TW has loads

Johnny -- usually 30lb braid, sometimes 20lb fluoro (might be on the lighter side relative to conventional wisdom, but I don't have a specific, dedicated flipping/pitching setup. Mainly because I don't have the money haha). I've found I don't need anything other than my main four rigs to get everything done: my ultra lite spinning set up (6lb mono), ML spinning set up (8lb fluoro), and M and MH baitcasting outfits (12lb fluoro and 30lb braid, respectively). Some might say that I'm broke although personally, I prefer efficient :lol:! Plus, the bass here in Jersey aren't exactly Florida hawgs :wink:

And Ahab -- mostly laziness :lol: although if I can get it done and get it done effectively (the plausibility of which was what I was trying to determine) with gear that I already have, then why not? Plus, I don't do much punching or 'jungle fishing' (as Johnny referred to it) in general. Seems like rigging up two bullet weights base-to-base is the most practical option though (short of actually picking up some punching gear).

Thanks for the input everyone!

I just looked at the punching sinker on T/W.

are they really five bucks EACH ????? or am I missing something.
PLUS postage ? Plus, they do have the double bullet style, like the photo.


I will use a 16d nail before I pay $5 for a sinker. yes, I have a cheap side LOl.

$5 for a sinker you're going to throw into the heaviest slop imaginable is ludicrous! You're bound to lose at least one per outing - if not several.

Sourcing stuff locally is rarely an option anymore, so most of my small tackle stuff comes from sales online at this point.

Why not use 1oz.+ jigs? They work for me here in South Jersey. Heavy tackle is a must.

fish devil said:

Why not use 1oz.+ jigs? They work for me here in South Jersey. Heavy tackle is a must.

Click to expand...

Same predicament -- can't find anything over 1/2 oz. in local stores, and most of the bass jigs that heavy are football jigs. Just might have to pick a few up online, though I think I'll be staying away from punching-specific sinkers given that insane price and because it seems I'd be able to achieve the same results by pegging two bullet weights butt-to-butt. Might have to invest in some punching skirts as well as an alternative to heavy flipping jigs. Do you have any experience with these punch skirts ?

I don't know about everyone else, but I don't use EWG hooks for punching - just a regular offset worm hook to keep the profile slim. I don't like punching slop with a skirt as it tends to collect slime/muck more than the appendages on a creature bait, so I just stick to those and forego skirts.

onthewater102 said:

I don't know about everyone else, but I don't use EWG hooks for punching - just a regular offset worm hook to keep the profile slim. I don't like punching slop with a skirt as it tends to collect slime/muck more than the appendages on a creature bait, so I just stick to those and forego skirts.

Click to expand...

I always use straight shank flippin' hooks for any sort of flipping/pitching/punching applications -- the Trokar TK130 to be exact. I've been starting to incorporate these in regular T-rig applications as well. I also snell ALL hooks when fishing soft plastics, whether it's a flippin' hook or an offset worm hook (I've only ever used EWG when using worm hooks, standard round bend offset worm hooks have always felt a bit 'off' to me -- wish the hook points would angle downwards slightly back into the bait but I have yet to find any round bend offset hooks like that), I've definitely noticed an increase in hook ups this way -- just a tip for anyone reading.

Edit -- I totally agree with what you're saying regarding the silicone strands in a skirt attracting even more slop. I've also found this to be an issue with the weed guard (seems kind of counterintuitive, but I'm talking about pure muck/slime as you describe as opposed to traditional weeds/grass) and hook eye in some instances as well (I always make sure the hook eye is buried in the nose of the plastic I'm throwing, plus it's covered by the pegged sinker or a bead). There are times however that I think the flaring action of a skirt can make a big difference and get the bite going in a big way. For simplicity's sake however, I definitely prefer throwing a soft plastic straight up.

Go to any tackle shop that sells sw tackle plenty of 1 9z and up jigs