You don't want your lure to go to the bottom like a rock and sit there. You want your lure to tick the bottom as it flows and tumbles with the current. This weight can still get down and root them out while being moved by the current and looks natural to smallmouth. Again, a creek angler is fishing shallow water. The productive water on my favorite creek is thigh deep or less.
Shallow water is another great benefit of creek fishing.
People do not believe there are smallmouth in water that skinny. I'm glad they feel that way and hope it continues. I rarely see another person on my favorite creek except at the two easiest places on the creek to access, leaving about 60 miles of productive water for me. Another misconception about creeks is they hold only little fish. Granted, you are not going to catch many 22 inchers out of a creek, but you are not going to catch many 22 inchers out of a river either.