Tungsten jigheads offer a lot of great advantages in fishing besides being better all around alternatives to larger lead jigheads. And it's become a better way to trout fish for me this year. I believe tungsten jigheads can improve your trout fishing in a number of ways.
The Trout Magnet TUNGSTEN (TMT) jighead has become my absolute favorite head for fishing the Trout Magnet. I have used this head almost exclusively since February of 2024 and I’ve come up with FIVE reasons you need to have the Trout Magnet Tungsten (TMT) jighead as a part of your arsenal in 2025.
MOVEMENT
If you have ever seen a Trout Magnet in the water, you’ve likely noticed how balanced it is and how much it moves when it falls in the water column. The trout notice this movement and it is a big part of the magic to the effectiveness of the Trout Magnet. With the added weight at the head, the fall becomes much more erratic and the speed is increased dramatically. This takes the subtle finesse fall of the Trout Magnet and kicks it up a notch to where you can actually trigger an aggressive reaction strike on the fall. We were blown away by this and saw it make a big difference some days on the water.
SENSITIVITY
Tungsten is a much harder metal than lead, meaning when it hits something or something hits it, less of that impact is absorbed by the metal. This may seem insignificant to most but to the ultralight gurus out there, you understand that the slightest tick being felt is often the difference between catching and not. I have also seen that the heavier head makes the float respond faster when a fish hits it while being drifted under an E-Z Trout Float.
FASTER DELIVERY
With the heavier head you can cast further, and get it deep fast. That simply means more time in the strike zone which typically translates to more fish being caught.
SIMPLICITY
One of my favorite reasons is that it has almost eliminated my need for a split shot. The Trout Magnet is extremely versatile but we’ve known for years that we need to use split shots to help it get down to the proper depth. In Arkansas we fish tailwaters and are often fishing the Trout Magnet up to 9 feet deep. When I’m fishing that deep I use three bb size split shots under an E-Z Panfish float just to get it down.
With the TMT jighead, I occasionally need one split shot but often use none. This leads to less tangles and saves time on rigging and retying.
Split shot also allows us to twitch the trout magnet faster at a deeper depth. The downside of this method is that it hurt the twitching action and lowered the sensitivity. The fish had to move enough on the bite to also move the split shot in order to even detect the bite. Luckily this added weight is no longer needed. The TMT jighead is heavy enough to get deep when twitching and really relays the message to your rod when you get a bite.
LEAD FREE
I live and guide in Arkansas where the metal that a lure is made out of is not really an issue. However, there are many states and waterways where the use of lead jigs and weights is prohibited. The TMT jigheads are made out of pure Tungsten, meaning they meet the lead free requirements of these states and waterways. This whole “lead free“ topic may be a nonissue for you but we can all agree that it certainly doesn’t detract from the fishing experience.
