Apparently, lead shot was invented and patented in 1782 by a man called William Watts from Bristol, England.
The process was to heat the lead until molten then drop it from a height. Due to the act of a falling liquid becoming spherical the molten lead formed tiny spherical balls and solidified as it fell .The partially cooled balls were caught in a water filled basin at floor level. William Watts adapted his house by adding a three story tower and digging a shaft under the house to achieve the required drop. Nowadays other methods are used to make shot, one of them being the cold swaging process of feeding calibrated lengths of lead wire into hemispherical dies and stamping them into spheres.

What is split shot and its use in angling?
fishing shot Split shot is a small spherical piece of metal which is cut part way through the diameter. Split shot is used in angling to add weight to the fishing line to set your float, (sink the float so that only part of the float shows above the water). The fishing line is placed in the cut of the split shot and the split shot crimped closed to hold in place on the line. Split shot was originally made from lead but in 1987 certain sizes were banned due to a number of water fowl being poisoned from coarse fishing lead shot . Non lead alternatives have since been introduced, using materials such as steel, tungsten, nickel, iron, bismuth tin etc. Although not as soft as lead the new metal split shot still servers its purpose. Some split shot also has a double cut (cut opposite sides of the shot) this allow the shot to be removed easily and re used.

Although the main use of split shot is to set your float, the way you space your shot can play a critical part in your presentation. To get your hook down to the bottom quicker then bunch the shot together near the hook. To get your bait to fall through the water more slower then spread the shot evenly apart between the hook and float. Most floats have a weight marking on them and this is a guide to what weight the float will carry. I have yet to come across a float that has the exact weight printed on it so use this as a guide only and add or remove split shot as necessary.

Split shot conversion chart
This is for general guidance only
Size	Weight	Equivalent
3SSG	4.8g	6 x AAA
2SSG	3.2g	4 x AAA
LG	3g
LSG	2g
SSG	1.6g	2 x AA
AAA	0.8g	2 x BB
AB	0.6g	2 x No1
BB	0.4g	2 x No4
No1	0.3g	6 x AAA
No3	0.25g	2 x No6
No4	0.2g	3 x No9
No5	0.15g	2 x No8
No6	0.1g	2 x No10
No8	0.06g	2 x No11
No9	0.05g
No10	0.04g	2 x No12
No11	0.03g	3 x No13
No12	0.02g	2 x No13
No13	0.01g

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