Is It Always Better To Use A Rig With Plastics?

[mathnerdm]

Huge noob here as you'll learn real quick. My question is, if I'm casting say a 6" trick worm, is it always better to use a rig of some sort? I haven't built up a good arsenal of tackle yet obviously so the idea of trying to do something like a carolina rig almost scares me. Is it ok to just put a sinker on and throw? If it matters I bank fish exclusively. And if I'm fishing just with a hook and sinker, is a 12-18 inch leader good? I'd really appreciate any help I know you guys have to offer! Thanks and have a nice day!

[Brian6428]

Depends on what you mean by "a rig". I cant tell from your description if you use a Texas Rig, but the texas rig is one of the best method for beginners to catch fish and all it consists of is a sinker, hook and worm (any plastic). Technically that is a rig. You can also rig a worm in a carolina rig, jika rig, weightless, or many of other ways. However, you being a beginner, I would just stay with the texas rig for now.

 

Heres a Texas rig: 2251 × 864 - georgiariverfishing.com

 

Hope this answers your question.

 

Brian

[Mccallister25]

No, you dont always have to "rig" your plastics. Take that trick worm and throw it on a hook like you would a Texas rig, but keep it weightless.

Cast the trick worm out and reel it in with frequent pauses and twitches. Thats a good way to catch em. In fact it seems like thats all they've been wanting in my area lately.

[derekxec]

also use your imagination just because some people do the normal thing that everyone else does that doesnt mean you cant find something new that works

[mathnerdm]

No, you dont always have to "rig" your plastics. Take that trick worm and throw it on a hook like you would a Texas rig, but keep it weightless.

Under what circumstances would it be good to keep it weightless as opposed to I think a Texas rig (is what I was describing?) With just a hook, worm and sinker. And what are the benefits of either

[derekxec]

i like to go weightless when the bottom has a lot of weeds or if the fish are hitting stuff on the top of the water column

[5dollarsplash]

Texas rig can be thrown further and I tend to use it when I know fish are near the bottom of the water column.  Like derekxec said, go weightless when distance isn't as paramount and the fish are up higher. 

 

I try to find a happy inbetween by using the lightest weight I can that will get my bait down.  That way if you retrieve or twitch your rod the bait will float some, but you can still maintain contact with the bottom when you want it.

[Felix77]

Short answer you already know is "No".  The trick worm will get you fish just by throwing it on a hook.  Once you can afford more then add more items to the arsenal.  To keep things simple here's what I would recommend.

 

1 - Texas rig.  From the bank buy 1/8 - 3/16oz bullets and add that on to your line before the hook/worm.

2 - Split Shot.  Size #2 or #3 - Simply crimp them on the line 12 - 18" above the hook for a finesse carolina rig of sorts.

 

That should get you started.  

[Mccallister25]

Under what circumstances would it be good to keep it weightless as opposed to I think a Texas rig (is what I was describing?) With just a hook, worm and sinker. And what are the benefits of either

Its good to go weightless when you want more of a subtle, slower fall rate. Sometimes that makes all the difference. There are many things you can fish weightless, not just trick worms. If you see bass hitting topwater, by all means throw that worm weightless and keep it in the upper water column. If you know a spot holds fish, and they are suspended closer to the bottom, a texas rig would work a lot better.

[mathnerdm]

1 - Texas rig.  From the bank buy 1/8 - 3/16oz bullets and add that on to your line before the hook/worm.

 

 

So with a Texas rig, you want to put the weight right directly above the hook?

[Mccallister25]

Yes, the bullet weight sits directly above the hook. Slide your weight on your line before you tie the hook on. Once you tie a good knot, clip your tag end and rig your worm onto the hook. Push the worm up slightly higher than the hooks eyelet so the wide end of the weight fits right on the tip of the worm.

[mathnerdm]

Just wanted to say thanks again for all the help! Brand new to this forum and I've already gotten my money's worth (lol)! You guys rock.

[Mccallister25]

No problem!! Thats what were here for. Someone had to teach and help us at one pointer or another!!

[mikey5string]

I like trick worms on shakey heads, particularly the owner "ultra" head. 

 

While you don't really need anything but a hook, a texas rig is one of the most versatile and effective rigs for bass fishing and it only requires a bullet weight and worm hook. It would definitely be worth the investment.

[Jrob78]

Just to clarify because I'm not sure you understand, you aren't tying a weight on.  A weight for fishing plastics is shaped like a bullet and has a hole in the middle.  You slide the weight on your line before you tie on the hook so the weight slides up and down.  While you're fishing, the weight is down at your bait.

[.ghoti.]

To the original poster; welcome aboard.

Now, look all the way at the top of the page. See where it says Fishing Articles? Click on that. Start with articles for beginners, and work your way on from there. There's enough great information, in hundreds of articles, to keep you busy for the next year.

[bigbill]

I been using the split shot rig with plastic worms ever since 1974 in lakes. We would use a very large sewing needle to put a number 2 smelled hook thru the worm were the lump is at we would fold the smelled hook leader in half then put it in the eye of the needle and pull it slowly thru the worm. Once the loop of the leader came out of the worm we would pull that till the straight part of the hook was into the body of the worm.

I like the split shot rigged worm this way. Using any size split shot will vary the fall.

I have had awesome success using this in lakes from shore were they drop off into moving channel. The bass seem to be sitting on the edge of the moving water waiting to ambushing anything they can to eat. We have a lot of rivers they dammed well over 200 years ago. Now we have many lakes between these dams on one river. The bass fishing is hardly touches.

Thanks to my uncle George and my cousin Butchie they were on top of using this new stuff probably because they read field n stream and outdoor life all the time. These were the internet in the book form.

[Felix77]

Just Google Texas rig. There are a million pics if you aren't sure. Good luck. Post pics of your 1st T Rig Bass.

[Cgrinder]

Cast the trick worm out and reel it in with frequent pauses and twitches. Thats a good way to catch em. In fact it seems like thats all they've been wanting in my area lately.

 

 

So this is a little off topic, but I need to thank you for this idea. I just caught a solid 19 inch Largemouth by twitching and pausing a black Yum Dinger after reading your post earlier.

[mathnerdm]

Post pics of your 1st T Rig Bass.

 

Going out Friday evening so I'll let you know how it goes! Caught some bass in the past but it was more luck since I had little to no clue what I was fishing for. I'm also going to try spinnerbait, that and Texas rigging will be my project for the day. Let's hope it goes well!

 

So this is a little off topic, but I need to thank you for this idea. I just caught a solid 19 inch Largemouth by twitching and pausing a black Yum Dinger after reading your post earlier.

 

Were you using a weighted Texas rig?

[Cgrinder]

Were you using a weighted Texas rig?

 

 

Weightless. Just a 3/0 hook.

[gallowaypt]

Weightless works great with highly pressured fish and days that are hard to get bit.

[HeavyDluxe]

The other trick:  GO SLOW.  The vast majority of time, I think we anglers fish baits too fast.  

 

Take your time, let the bait rest for some seconds (even *many* seconds) before twitching it again.

 

This is a good thread, too:  Guaranteed to Catch Fish

[Mccallister25]

So this is a little off topic, but I need to thank you for this idea. I just caught a solid 19 inch Largemouth by twitching and pausing a black Yum Dinger after reading your post earlier.

Good job!! Glad I could help out

[RoachDad]

To the original poster; welcome aboard.

Now, look all the way at the top of the page. See where it says Fishing Articles? Click on that. Start with articles for beginners, and work your way on from there. There's enough great information, in hundreds of articles, to keep you busy for the next year.

Nicely done!