A little trivia: Bought some split shots today, sizes 5 and 7, made by Eagle Claw. I already had some size 5 that were made by Gremlin. When I put them together, I noticed the Gremlin shot is larger than the Eagle Claw. Had always assumed they were the same size, regardless of who makes them. Guess not.

Or, maybe they weigh the same but one is bigger around because it is not as dense, has more tin in it??? Yeah, talking about stuff like shows I have too much free time on my hands. :-)

Unfortunately there is no standard size specification for split shot. For a good article see this link. In the US the Water Gremlin size is the defacto standard because it is widely sold by Walmart and other retailers.

The diameter of a split shot is not important, but the weight is important in bobber fishing. For the best sensitivity the bobber should be weighted so that most of the bobber is submerged. The popular 3/4 inch balsa oval float made by Thill, Eagle Claw and others works well with a #3 Gremlin split shot.

I learned the hard way that one cannot depend on advertised sizes. I found a bargain source for split shot by the pound, and ordered a big supply because I lose a lot of them. I ordered size 3 and got a size somewhere between a 4 and 5.

I usually just buy an assortment of sizes since corks can vary in size and shape and it seems like I end up snagging and losing a cork when it becomes my favorite setup.

Thanks for the replies and for shedding light on the subject. I usually put corks/floats on a short piece of 4lb line, pinch on a split shot an inch or two below, drop it in a glass or water and see how high or low the float sits in the water. May need to try two or three diffent sizes of split shot to see which one works best with the float.

this

I know Water Gremlin shot will range in size in the same shot size because the make shot in different metals. Leads, tin, steel and other metals too. I tend to use Water Gremlin because they make a lot of the style and types of shot that I like and they are more consistent than most others.

A have always had problem with split shot coming off my line, now I just use a 1/16 oz worm weight with the hole in the middle and squeeze the lead on my Line.

I like the split shots because I can put then on the line and take them off without removing the hook. If I want to change to a different size it is fast and easy. I think I will start using only Water Gremlin shots for the reason Jagg discussed.