Rigging plastic baits is an angling art, since no single rig meets all applications. And each rig offers advantages and disadvantages in various situations. The most versatile anglers have mastered many rigs and even have added their own distinctive touches.

Texas Rig

The always-popular Texas rig allows any soft plastic bait to be fished in and around heavy cover with minimal hang-ups, whether the target’s shallow or deep. Simply insert the point of an offset-shank worm hook into the nose of the worm and out about 1/4 inch from the tip of the worm. Next, pull the hook out of the worm body so the hook eye and knot are pulled into the plastic, while rotating the hook so it’s in position to reenter the worm. Finally, pinch the worm slightly and embed the hook at an angle that keeps the worm straight.

Because the Texas-rig requires a solid hookset to drive the hook through the plastic and into the bass’ mouth, some anglers have trouble when fishing light line. The answer is the Tex-posed Texas Rig. Instead of pinching the worm body, measure the bend of the hook against the plastic body and then insert the hook at a 90° angle, just inside this measurement. Push the hook through the plastic body so the point rests above the bait. For a more weedless version, lift the plastic in front of the hook so it barely covers the point.

When flipping or pitching a Texas-rigged worm, the worm weight often is pegged with a toothpick to prevent it from separating from the bait and snagging cover. But toothpicks can damage light line and don’t hold tightly. The Florida Rig, using weights made by Gambler, is an option, and Lunker City and Thunder Bullets have similar sinker riggings. Gambler’s corkscrew-shaped wire screws into the head of the plastic worm, while other models have a serrated spike to hold the bait.

Another variation of the Texas rig popularized by western bass anglers is the Doodle Rig, a predominantly vertical finesse presentation. It’s effective with small worms and reapers in deep clear impoundments for bass suspended in the water column or hugging bottom.

To retain the subtle action of these small baits, rig a 1/0 or #1 hook on 6- to 8-pound line. A glass bead and brass worm weight, both freely sliding on the line, combine with a Texas-rigged plastic to complete the package. Doodling involves shaking the rod tip so the brass weight and glass bead clack together, drawing bass.

Alternatively, set a weight or bead up or down the line, using a Top Brass Peg-It or rubber band to alter the distance between the bait and the weight. When vertically doodling, peg the glass bead 10 to 12 inches above the worm with the brass weight sliding freely above the bead. This rig produces sound, yet allows the worm to move freely and fall slowly. Pegging the bead 3 to 4 feet above the worm yields a finesse-style Carolina rig for clear water.

Carolina Rig

Certainly one of the most versatile and popular rigs for worms, lizards, craws, tubes, or grubs is the Carolina rig. This rig sets a bait some distance (several inches to several feet) behind a heavy sinker. The sinker, dragging along the bottom, produces a trail of silt and low-frequency sounds that attract bass to the trailing bait.

Experienced anglers match the sinker design to the type of bottom or cover. The terminal gear includes a 1/2- to 1-ounce lead or brass bullet weight, and a glass bead that freely sides above a #5 barrel swivel.

Some innovators have replaced the glass bead and sinker with a jig, which keeps the trailing bait near the bottom, while offering fish an additional target. For suspended bass, try Carolina-rigging a buoyant lure or floating tube bait with Styrofoam packing material inserted into the tube.

Another Carolina-rig trick is to fish two baits behind the sinker. Instead of a barrel swivel, use a three-way swivel with two leaders, one longer than the other. Of course, check local regulations for these options are illegal in some states and provinces.

Mojo Rig

The Mojo Rig is an excellent substitute for the Carolina Rig in areas when light line and more subtle presentations are called for. The terminal tackle—glass bead, sinker and barrel swivel—of the Carolina Rig is replaced with a single slip-shot sinker, anchored to the line by a rubber band. The slip-shot sinker can be replaced by a small bullet-shaped worm weight pegged in place.

Split Shot Rig

In ultraclear water or when a slow-falling bait is required, some anglers favor a split-shot rig. Instead of pegging a slip-shot sinker onto the line, crimp a split shot in a weight to match lure size and desired rate of fall. For this or any finesse presentation, a thin wire hook gives small baits more action, avoids tearing the plastic, and hooks bass on light line in deep water.

Leadhead Jig Rig

Leadhead jigs are standard for fishing worms, grubs, and tube baits. This rig can be used for shaking and swimming a plastic bait through suspended fish, or when bass hold in vertical cover. The head design of the jig determines the type of fall and action of the plastic bait. For example, the flat head of Charlie Brewer’s Slider Jig causes baits to slide or glide as they fall, while Gopher’s mushroom head gives a straight drop, and a darter head enables a twitching action.

To rig the bait straight, first lay the jig on the plastic worm or grub and mark the point where the shank of the hook turns upward. Next, insert the hook point into the center of the plastic bait and push it through at the spot you marked. Finally, turn the point up and out of the bait.

Weighted Hooks

For finessing a shallow bite, weighted hooks are available from Eagle Claw, Mustad, Mister Twister, and Blue Fox. Lead is molded on the shank of the hook or on a separate spur that’s inserted into the nose of the bait. The positioning of the weight determines the action and fall of the bait. The closer to the bend, the more horizontal and slower the fall, but tail action is reduced.

Down Shot Rig

The Down Shot or Drop Shot Rig is the latest finesse presentation to hit the West Coast, and insiders credit Japanese bass anglers with its development. This novel system, also called Suspend Doodle Rigging and upside-down Carolina rigging, places a pegged glass bead and worm weight, Mojo sinker, split shot, or bell sinker at the end of the line, with the bait above. When tying a 1/0 or #1 hook onto the line (a Palomar knot works well) leave an extralong tag end—2 to 5 feet. Attach the weight at the end of the tag line.

With the rig fished vertically or near vertically below the boat, shake the rod tip softly. The pegged glass bead and sliding brass weight, bouncing off the bottom, produces a sound while the plastic bait, suspended off the bottom, displays a lifelike back-and-forth motion.

Wacky Worm

The wacky worm is one of the most effective presentations for pressured fish. This simple rig, falling alongside isolated cover or a vertical edge draws bites when little else will. This rig does require a slow approach, however, and so isn’t the best presentation when bass are active, or when you must locate fish over a wide area.

The traditional rig involves a straight-shank hook run through the middle of a pliable straight worm, with the hook exposed. The rig can be made weedless by burying the barb in the bait. A finishing nail or thin lead weight inserted in the nose creates a tail-up appearance on the bottom, or can be placed toward the middle for a horizontal fall.

Weightless Worm Rig

This presentation is used with a floating worm or a soft plastic twitch bait in relatively shallow cover-filled water. Weightless rigging is best in clear to moderately stained lakes from prespawn through postspawn, and it’s always an option around boat docks. The simplest weightless worm rig includes a plastic worm and a worm hook. Although some anglers fish the worm with an exposed hook, most Texas rig or Tex-pose the hook.

Most pros rig the weightless worm with a 10- to 12-inch leader and a barrel swivel, which reduces line twist and adds weight for casting distance and accuracy. For surface fishing a floating worm, a light-wire 2/0 offset-shank hook keeps the bait up. When fishing it as a twitch bait, however, switch to a heavier 4/0 or 5/0 wide-gap offset-shank hook. For added weight and a different action, insert a small nail or weight into the body of the lure.

At first glance, a Swimmin’ Worm Rig looks like a novice’s mistaken rigging of a weightless worm. But a purposely fouled worm spiraling wildly through the water sometimes draws an aggressive reaction around cover or in open water. The rig is created by bunching too much worm between the eye and point of the hook when Texas-rigging, giving the worm a curl. A barrel swivel 10 to 12 inches in front of the worm eliminates line twist.

Prerigged worms

Several manufacturers offer worms prerigged with two or three small hooks tied on a mono leader and buried in the worm with points exposed. The worm body is purposefully curled to give a spiralling action that can be deadly over weedy flats or under docks. A swivel generally provides sufficient weight, though split shot can be added.

Flippin’ Tube Rig

An overlooked application for a tube bait is to flip or pitch the lure into wood or weed cover. Rig the tube weedless by first placing a wide-gap offset-shank hook in the center of the tube and then exiting approximately a 1/4 inch below the nose. Pass the hook through the tube so the eye and knot are pulled just short of entering the bait. Rotate the hook so it’s in position to reenter the tube. Similar to Tex-posing a worm, measure the bend of the hook against the tube and then insert the hook at a 90-degree angle, just inside this measurement. Push the hook through the body so the point rests atop the plastic tube.

An alternative rig is to use an Eagle Claw High Performance hook and internal weight system with a clip to hold the tube in place and a small sinker clipped to the hook.

No matter the rig or bait, the key to proper rigging is balancing the hook, line, and weight to promote the built-in action of the plastic bait. By carefully matching your rig to a fishing situation, and matching the hook, line, and sinker to the plastic bait, a most effective tool is created for catching bass in every environment.

* Paul Cañada, Fort Worth, Texas, is an avid multispecies angler and freelance writer and photographer.