Split Shot – What are they

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Split Shot – What are they



Split shot is used to add weight to fishing line to make it sink and to cock your float

Split shot used to be made out of lead which was banned and now is made out of non toxic materials .Which is much kinder on the environment and wildlife

Split shot comes in a variety of weights which are broken down into sizes of

SSG = 1.6grams ish and the largest split shot
SA
AAA
AB
BB
#1
#4
#6
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12
#13 = 0.004grams ish very small split shot sometimes call dusk shot
Think I’ve got them all

So which split shot should you buy and use if just starting out? Most common used in my tackle box are AAA / BB / 1 / 4/ 8 /10. As I find that covers most fishing situations

Standard split shot contianer

And remember you can re use them by gentle opening them back up with you thumb nail, this will save you a lot of money in the long run as they are expensive for what they are

Using Split shot
So we know that they are used to sink your line or to cock your float

A common question when starting out is how much weight do I need to cock a float and how do I position the split shot ?

The float – when you buy a float you will see on the side that there is print saying i.e 4BB . The 4BB means that to cock the float correctly you will need 4 individual BB split shot

Using split shot and spacing
When placing your split shot on your line think of one thing – if I drop a maggot into the water how does it sink through the water? Not like a bullet to the bottom .So as always with fishing presentation of the bait to the fish should be as natural as possible

So here is a very basic lay out

What you are after is to space the split shot out evenly thus the line will sink through the water at a steady and even pace , passing through all the feeding zones

The above is only a basic lay out as there are loads of different ways to sent out your split shot but to list them all would take a year and a bit . So if you are targeting say tench / roach or fishing in a river /lake then just post below and one of the fishing forum members will gladly help

Do you have tips or questions of using split shot then post below

[Norfolkboy]

Great post!

Just thought i'd add SSG are also called Swan shot too

[FlyingFox]

Nice info Richard

always good to read information about all aspects of fishing...keep the posts coming mate

[Portland Pirate]

Originally Posted by Fishing Forum Admin

Split Shot – What are they


Split shot comes in a variety of weights which are broken down into sizes of

SSG = 1.6grams ish and the largest split shot
SA
AAA
AB
BB
#1
#4
#6
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12
#13 = 0.004grams ish very small split shot sometimes call dusk shot

Hi Richard.

Good post. Can you tell me if there is a way to calculate how to replace a single split shot of one size with multiples of other sizes? The reason I ask is that I was reading an article in IYCF regarding stick floats. They guy was using a 4 AAA float but replaced most of the AAA with #6 shot to get a slow sinking patern. Is this easy to work out or is it just a case of trial and error?

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Not sure to be trueful mate but suppose 1 AA = 2 No1 ish

Sorry not much help mate but if I find out I will post

[Omahayank]

Great post Richard, now let me throw in a monkey wrench.
When in the U.S.A, shot size has something to do w/a total. (much like how nails were sold in blacksmith times)
We have
#B (the smallest)
#BB (.177)
#3/0
#7
#5
#4
#3
#2 (the heaviest)

The number of shot added up to a total weight of material. Two #2 shot equaled an amount, seven #7=likewise I'm not sure how the really small shot got so designated, but I do know #BB shot is a standard .177 size used in "BB" and pellet guns.
Water gremlin is the biggie in the US. See http://www.watergremlin.com/Round%20...tshotindex.htm

[eljeffo]

Awesome! ya know, I used them for years, the wrong way of couse' and I'm glad to finally un-mystify one of my most common peices of terminal tackle. thanx!

[Pross]

Just found this information (cannot guarantee its accuracy yet though)

1 SSG = 2xAAA = 4xBB = 8x#3 = 16x#6

Apparently #3 is half a BB not #4 which I'd always thought was the case and apparently many others do too (probably because it tends to be a #4 that is included in the mutliple dispensers) so really the shot you need to have in your tackle box are really SSG, AAA, BB, #3 and #6 plus possibly some dust shot if using very fine floats. Also, your bait will add to the weight if fishing dead depth or under depth.

[Pross]

Hmmm, this info appears to disagree!

SSG - 1.6g
SA - 1.2g
AAA - 0.8g
AB - 0.6g
BB - 0.4g
#1 - 0.3g
#4 - 0.2g
#6 - 0.1g
#8 - 0.068g
#9 - 0.051g
#10 - 0.03g
#11 - 0.02g
#12 - 0.012g
#13 - 0.005g

[geffski]

great post! will add tho the shot can be placed in in various patterns
to fit the situation!
say if i wont a slow sinking bait ill fit the shot very high to the float
so the float cocks as soon as it hits the water and allows slow sinking of the bait in a natural way(handy on still waters when you have the roach in a frenzy)
or a bunch of ssg,s 3 inch from the hook, handy when waggler fishing
for tench or carp, posibilitys ar endless as the advert says!

ps dont over crush the shot on! this can damage your line
also nice to be abel to move them about or take a few off!

GOOD SHOTthers not many fishing applications
when they dont come in handy at some point or other!