Freshwater fishing weights: bullets, drop-shot, slip sinkers and split shot

A weight does three jobs: it gets the bait down, it keeps it where you want it, and its shape decides what it does when it meets weeds, rock or mud. Pick the shape for the bottom and the rig, then pick the size for the depth and the wind. This guide groups freshwater weights by the rig they belong to. It is general technique in our own words; the shapes in the sinker and weight guide have the sourced background, including the lead question.

A bullet weight (left) next to a round weight on a swivel.

Weights for soft plastics

Bullet weight: a cone with a hole down the middle, riding on the line in front of a soft plastic. The point slips through weeds, brush and wood instead of hanging up. Pegged with a rubber stopper or toothpick it stays against the bait to push through thick cover; left to slide it gives a looser fall. Often used for largemouth bass on a Texas rig. In-Fisherman lists ways to peg it (a toothpick, a rubber peg or a pegging kit), and says reversing the bullet so its blunt end faces the bait digs into the bottom and adds disturbance.
Neko or nail weight: a small pin pushed into the head of a worm. It makes the worm stand on its head on the bottom and wiggle. Often used on clear, pressured water with a light line.
Tokyo rig weight: a short wire arm with a weight on the end, so the bait floats a little above a weight that rests on the bottom. Often used to work thick grass and shell beds.
Pencil or cylinder weight: a narrow lead or tungsten tube that threads through rock gaps and timber where a round weight would wedge. Pegged in place on the line it works as a finesse weight for a light Carolina rig. In-Fisherman also lists a bullet-shaped floater pegged ahead of a Carolina rig so the bait rides above the weight, and glass beads with a brass clacker between the weight and swivel to add noise.

Drop-shot weights

A drop-shot hangs the weight below the hook, so the bait sits up off the bottom while the weight stays down. The weight clips to the line a set distance under the hook.

Cylinder or pencil drop-shot weight: slim, with a clip. Slides between rocks, riprap and limestone ledges. Often used for smallmouth, spotted and pressured largemouth bass.
Round or ball drop-shot weight: a sphere with a line clip. Rests flat on sand, clay and soft mud, where you can shake the bait without the weight digging in. Often used on open flats and over a soft bottom.

Slip sinkers

A slip sinker has a hole through it and slides on the main line above a swivel. A fish that picks up the bait pulls line through the weight without feeling it. That is why it is the usual weight for a Carolina rig and for catfish baits.

Egg sinker: oval, smooth on every side. It is the common slip weight for Carolina rigs and live bait. In-Fisherman calls it the best choice for balancing a slip-float rig and for pitching rigs behind an anchored boat, but says it rolls and snags more than bell, bank or flat sinkers when cast across current. For crappie spider rigs it lists egg slip sinkers from 1/4 to 3/4 ounce, and says a free-sliding egg lets a big crappie pull the weight up without feeling resistance.
Barrel sinker: like an egg but longer, often brass, which clicks against a bead on the line. Often used on deeper Carolina rigs dragged along humps and shell.
Bell or bass-casting sinker: a teardrop with a wire eye that casts far and sinks fast. In-Fisherman calls it a good multipurpose sinker for catfish, anchoring better than an egg but not as well as a flat design, and lists 1 to 8 ounces for channel to flathead and blue catfish and 3 to 8 ounces on a three-way rig drifted around wing-dam tips. For crappie it lists a 1/4 to 1/2 ounce bell on a winter drop-shot rig at 35 to 40 feet.
Walking sinker: curved so it glides over rock and wood without tipping over. Often used for drifting or slowly trolling live bait or a harness over uneven bottom. In-Fisherman says Lindy No-Snagg and Slinky-style sinkers beat other shapes in heavy cover, at slower drift speeds and in lighter current.

Weights for current and cut bait

Bank or no-roll sinker: a heavy taper with flat sides that resist rolling in current. In-Fisherman says a flat No-Roll holds in place better than egg or bass-casting shapes and suits river bottoms, though its large surface area lets current carry it and it sinks more slowly. Often used to hold cut bait in a river channel or below a dam for blue and flathead catfish.
Split shot: a small ball with a slit that you pinch on the line. Easy to add or remove. Often used to balance a float, sink a live worm slightly, or weight a bait for bluegill, sunfish and crappie. In-Fisherman says to put it about 6 to 12 inches above the hook in rivers, and prefers soft, round shot to eared shot, which snags more easily and twists line. For crappie slip-bobbers it lists a 1/16 ounce bullet-shaped shot, going to 1/8 ounce on windy days.

Tuning hard baits

Adhesive weight strips, sold as lead or tungsten tape, stick to the belly or sides of a jerkbait or glidebait. Adding a little at a time lets you make a suspending bait hang at the depth you want in the water you are fishing. Add small pieces and test the bait beside the boat or bank before you cast it.

Picking a weight

Start from the bottom: weeds and brush call for a bullet or pencil shape; rock calls for slim or smooth shapes; soft mud calls for a flat or round weight that does not dig in.
Use the lightest weight that keeps contact with the bait. Heavier weights fall faster but feel less and spook more fish.
Match the weight to wind and depth. If you cannot feel the bottom, go heavier; if you are snagging constantly, go lighter or change shape.
Check the rules where you fish. Some waters and wildlife areas have their own rules on lead. See the sinker and weight guide for what we found about Texas.

Keep reading

This is general technique, not a rule for any fish. Which weight works depends on the water, the day and the bait. Sources are listed below, read on the dates shown.

For more reading, we suggest these articles

In-Fisherman, Rob Neumann (May 28, 2014): Catfish sinkers (checked 2026-10-18)
In-Fisherman, John Neporadny Jr. (June 10, 2014): Crappie sinker rigs (checked 2026-10-18)
In-Fisherman (July 13, 2012): Bass tinkering tips, part II (checked 2026-10-18)
Wikipedia: Fishing sinker (shapes, materials, regulations) (checked 2026-10-16)

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