T-Rig worms help!

[LazyBASS1301600404]

Any T-Rig worm specialist out there?  I have a very very VERY hard time trying to catch fish or even just a single nibble at my city park lake.  I guess I have no clue as to what I am doing wrong...

I throw my rig out there,  let it sit,  bump, let it sit..  Sometimes I dead stick it for awhile.

I heard this is one deadly way to catch fish but I am stumped.  Do I just suck really bad or is it really that hard to catch fish at City park lakes?

[SJB1226]

T rig worms is a bassin staple.. use a 6 to 7.5in worm (Unless theres some good fish in the pond then 10in is fine to even 12in) Ide use a screw lock tungsten weight in the 1/8th to 1/4oz range depending on the wind and depth on the pond... and a Drag drag drag hop hop drag drag drag hop hop Ect ect. Should catch fish.. Most of the time fishing it that way gets bit in lakes, rivers and ponds.. sometimes they want it just dragged and some times they just want it twitched and hopped... but most of the times the drag and hop will put fish in the live well and some times Dead sticking it can kill them something thats deadly to is to just make the worm quiver right at/in the structure without moving it just very softly shake the rod tip to make it quiver.. Watch your line you may get bit and not feel the strike on slack line I assure you EVERYONE of us here have been bit on a T-rig and not felt the strike even with my uber high end stick's I still get bit and dont feel it from time to time! I watch my line like a hawk!! keep that in mind.. If you havent been watching your line and its slack when dead sticking who knows how many fish you very well may have missed!. T-rigging is one of my top 5 ways to fish and I have plenty of fish over 7# on them and a few 10+'s on them.. 6 pretty much fail safe color IMHO is watermelon red flake, Black shad, Red shad, pumpkin seed June bug and motor oil. I really LOVE Culprit worms (My FAV is Red shad and Black Shad.) and the Rage tail Anaconda is a real fish catcher if you want something that not subtle... just stay with it and you will catch fish T-Rigging.. It catches fish year round in all depths of water in any water way with bass in it all over the world!

just try different retrieves, sizes, colors and weights in till you start hooking up! remember it doesnt matter what you fish if you havent found the fish nothing will work! so make sure you are putting it around fish and you will start sticking them!

[WanderLust]

Try weightless... and use a money color like Watermelon seed, dark pumpkin etc.

5 inch works well around here.

My T-rig worm bite has died off a bit however creature based is still red hot.

[Catt]

I was introduced to the Texas Rig back in 1972 while the equipment has changed the technique is still the same. The Texas Rig was originally designed to fish a plastic worm but today it is used with any type of soft plastic.

Fishing the Texas Rig

1) Make a long cast

2) Strip 3 or 4 arms length of line, this will assure a vertical fall

3) Count the bait down, 15' of water count to 20 to make certain the bait is on the bottom, do it in your head if need be

4) Pause a good 30 seconds after the bait reaches bottom

5) Lower your rod to the 3 o'clock position while reeling slack & feel for anything unusual

6) Move the rod from 3 o'clock to 2 o'clock to 1 o'clock to 12 o'clock in three motions (speed varies)

7) Pause 30 seconds & feel for anything unusual

8) Repeat 5, 6, & 7 all the way back to the boat

9) If at any time you feel a noticeable tap, tug, line tighten, heaviness, or see line movement.

10) Without hesitation drop the rod, reel the slack, and set the hook

[Nibbles]

Could be that your city park lake doesn't have very many bass left in it, or that you might not be fishing at the right place.

[Bankbeater]

Could be that your city park lake doesn't have very many bass left in it, or that you might not be fishing at the right place.

This is the first thing that I thought of also.

[WanaBe_Like_IKE]

Could be that your city park lake doesn't have very many bass left in it, or that you might not be fishing at the right place.

This is the first thing that I thought of also.

X3 I agree

[NateFollmer]

I'll agree with the colors that have been said previous, but I also like to use laminates.

Black/blue and black/red T-Rigged ribbon tail worms have been the best producers for me when the bite is tough. I fish a dirty old canal with a huge carp population and a very small largemouth population. The largemouth in there only seem to eat two things, tubes and these laminate worms

[LazyBASS1301600404]

Could be that your city park lake doesn't have very many bass left in it, or that you might not be fishing at the right place.

Could be,  but everytime I go I see them crash the top atleast a handful of times within the 4 hours I am there.  I have caught them on top water but when that dies off I try to setup the T-Rig worm.

I assume lots of pressure at city park lakes makes it tougher but I have 0 confidence at any city park lake with a T-Rigged worm.

I've heard downsizing to 4 inch senkos or worms might help,  is this true?

Side note,  I've caught 1 bass on a T-rigged worm but that was just dumb luck and didn't feel a bite as I was untangling my birds nest   ;D ..  For T-Rig I use a Cumara 6'8 , I believe medium fast,  the shimano pole designed for this type of rig.

[Nibbles]

IDK if it will make you feel any better, but in my experience bass will go as far as picking up t-rigged plastic worms that have been sitting on the lake floor and not moving when they're hungry.

If I'm not getting any bites, I double check my presentation. If it's not my presentation, I move to a different location. 9 times out of 10, the problem is where I'm throwing it and not how I'm working it.

[LazyBASS1301600404]

IDK if it will make you feel any better, but in my experience bass will go as far as picking up t-rigged plastic worms that have been sitting on the lake floor and not moving when they're hungry.

If I'm not getting any bites, I double check my presentation. If it's not my presentation, I move to a different location. 9 times out of 10, the problem is where I'm throwing it and not how I'm working it.

Gotcha, will definitely keep that in mind.

[SJB1226]

Could be that your city park lake doesn't have very many bass left in it, or that you might not be fishing at the right place.

Could be, but everytime I go I see them crash the top atleast a handful of times within the 4 hours I am there. I have caught them on top water but when that dies off I try to setup the T-Rig worm.

I assume lots of pressure at city park lakes makes it tougher but I have 0 confidence at any city park lake with a T-Rigged worm.

I've heard downsizing to 4 inch senkos or worms might help, is this true?

Side note, I've caught 1 bass on a T-rigged worm but that was just dumb luck and didn't feel a bite as I was untangling my birds nest ;D .. For T-Rig I use a Cumara 6'8 , I believe medium fast, the shimano pole designed for this type of rig.

LOL Im typing this on my lap top at a red light on my way to the lake! ahh gotta love mobile broad band net work cards!

Those bass have seen everything probably I would throw a smaller very real looking blue gill swim bait something they probably havent seen a lot and will replicate their normal food source closely.

I would T-Rig Craws over worms and Lizards because everyone and there daddy throw T-Rigged worms and lizards and more then anything Senko's....

If it was me I would start out fishing any visible cover with a Small jig and craw trailer (Paca craw or Rage chunk) on FC lots of fisherman=spooky bass and FC will help with that... fishing all the cover well and from all different angles.. then parallel the bank line or grass line scooting and hopping the jig with short pauses here and there...

I really believe the Swim bait idea will catch you fish more then a T-rig will because its something that looks real and they probably havent seen a lot of. the Jig and craw will to because its something that just catchs a lot of bass and big bass and I doubt they see them a lot... Jigs arent most peoples first or even tenth choice for pond fishing lol... most kids dont fish Jigs and all those kids will be hammering the bass with T-Rigged worms, Lizards and more then all Senkos like I already said..

another lure that you should hookup a good bit with is a smaller jerk bait like a Like a Lucky Craft Pointer 78SP or a little bigger 100SP or go tiny with a 65SP (Pointers are my FAV jerk baits) or if LC cost to much for ya X-rap (Its the small one that comes in only one size) and then the X-Rap Slash bait in XR08 or XR10 size... and I would use Silver, Gold, Olive, purple gold or Glass Ghost...

Sounds to me like you are having more trouble catching fish at that pond then catching fish on a T-Rig thats why I wrote all this to give you some good ideas to stick fish.. Most ponds have bass if they have been there a while and water quality is good... Im willing to bet there is a fair population there. If you see Plenty of blue gills then there are bass in that pond.

Catching pond fish can be super ease or very very hard... but once you get a feel for what they want catching them becomes a lot easier.. one more thing... Use you heavy T-rig or jig to find any drop offs or ledges that may be out in the deep water and some times right off shore in shallow water... if you find them you will find bass and with high water temps you will probably find a lot of them. When I pond fish and I cant put a small jon boat in it with a fish finder to see the bottom I do what I just said and go around the whole pond finding whats out there.. I know my 3 acre pond like the back of my hand...I have it totally filled with LM and some in the 8# range lots in the 5# tons in the 2-3# it AVG's 6-10 fish an hour and ive caught 39 one day in about 2 1/2 hours avg about 3lb's and the main reason I catch so many is number 1 they are there and number two I know what the bottom looks like and where all the structure is.. If you need anymore pond fishing advice PM me ill get with you....

Any typo's im sorry im typing on handed and not looking at the screen I dont want to die lol... BTW it took me 10 mins to write this I really hope you get some use and ideas from it for all my hard work LOLOLOL.

Have fun bro and good luck.

[roadwarrior]

Maybe these threads will help:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1158577137

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1180501296

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1182371999

8-)

[hookset on 3]

T rig worms is a bassin staple.. use a 6 to 7.5in worm (Unless theres some good fish in the pond then 10in is fine to even 12in) Ide use a screw lock tungsten weight in the 1/8th to 1/4oz range depending on the wind and depth on the pond... and a Drag drag drag hop hop drag drag drag hop hop Ect ect. Should catch fish.. Most of the time fishing it that way gets bit in lakes, rivers and ponds.. sometimes they want it just dragged and some times they just want it twitched and hopped... but most of the times the drag and hop will put fish in the live well and some times Dead sticking it can kill them something thats deadly to is to just make the worm quiver right at/in the structure without moving it just very softly shake the rod tip to make it quiver.. Watch your line you may get bit and not feel the strike on slack line I assure you EVERYONE of us here have been bit on a T-rig and not felt the strike even with my uber high end stick's I still get bit and dont feel it from time to time! I watch my line like a hawk!! keep that in mind.. If you havent been watching your line and its slack when dead sticking who knows how many fish you very well may have missed!. T-rigging is one of my top 5 ways to fish and I have plenty of fish over 7# on them and a few 10+'s on them.. 6 pretty much fail safe color IMHO is watermelon red flake, Black shad, Red shad, pumpkin seed June bug and motor oil. I really LOVE Culprit worms (My FAV is Red shad and Black Shad.) and the Rage tail Anaconda is a real fish catcher if you want something that not subtle... just stay with it and you will catch fish T-Rigging.. It catches fish year round in all depths of water in any water way with bass in it all over the world!

just try different retrieves, sizes, colors and weights in till you start hooking up! remember it doesnt matter what you fish if you havent found the fish nothing will work! so make sure you are putting it around fish and you will start sticking them!

For all the T-rig newbies, save this as a fav. Refer back to this often.

Excellent and well thought out, SJB.

[via]

Maybe these threads will help:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1158577137

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1180501296

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1182371999

8-)

That first link helped me a lot in fishing

[SoFlaBassAddict]

If you fish soft plastic craws on a t-rig, this will help.

Soft Plastic Craw Fishing

That has got to be one of the best reads on the forums.  You can apply a lot of that to any standard Texas rig. Catt basically gave you a step by step starting point. My advice, don't overthink the bait. Toss it out there, let it hit the bottom and start your retrieve. You'll catch fish....if they're there. Catching bass is easy; finding them and what they want to eat is the hard part.

[LazyBASS1301600404]

LOL Im typing this on my lap top at a red light on my way to the lake! ahh gotta love mobile broad band net work cards!

Those bass have seen everything probably I would throw a smaller very real looking blue gill swim bait something they probably havent seen a lot and will replicate their normal food source closely.

I would T-Rig Craws over worms and Lizards because everyone and there daddy throw T-Rigged worms and lizards and more then anything Senko's....

If it was me I would start out fishing any visible cover with a Small jig and craw trailer (Paca craw or Rage chunk) on FC lots of fisherman=spooky bass and FC will help with that... fishing all the cover well and from all different angles.. then parallel the bank line or grass line scooting and hopping the jig with short pauses here and there...

I really believe the Swim bait idea will catch you fish more then a T-rig will because its something that looks real and they probably havent seen a lot of. the Jig and craw will to because its something that just catchs a lot of bass and big bass and I doubt they see them a lot... Jigs arent most peoples first or even tenth choice for pond fishing lol... most kids dont fish Jigs and all those kids will be hammering the bass with T-Rigged worms, Lizards and more then all Senkos like I already said..

another lure that you should hookup a good bit with is a smaller jerk bait like a Like a Lucky Craft Pointer 78SP or a little bigger 100SP or go tiny with a 65SP (Pointers are my FAV jerk baits) or if LC cost to much for ya X-rap (Its the small one that comes in only one size) and then the X-Rap Slash bait in XR08 or XR10 size... and I would use Silver, Gold, Olive, purple gold or Glass Ghost...

Sounds to me like you are having more trouble catching fish at that pond then catching fish on a T-Rig thats why I wrote all this to give you some good ideas to stick fish.. Most ponds have bass if they have been there a while and water quality is good... Im willing to bet there is a fair population there. If you see Plenty of blue gills then there are bass in that pond.

Catching pond fish can be super ease or very very hard... but once you get a feel for what they want catching them becomes a lot easier.. one more thing... Use you heavy T-rig or jig to find any drop offs or ledges that may be out in the deep water and some times right off shore in shallow water... if you find them you will find bass and with high water temps you will probably find a lot of them. When I pond fish and I cant put a small jon boat in it with a fish finder to see the bottom I do what I just said and go around the whole pond finding whats out there.. I know my 3 acre pond like the back of my hand...I have it totally filled with LM and some in the 8# range lots in the 5# tons in the 2-3# it AVG's 6-10 fish an hour and ive caught 39 one day in about 2 1/2 hours avg about 3lb's and the main reason I catch so many is number 1 they are there and number two I know what the bottom looks like and where all the structure is.. If you need anymore pond fishing advice PM me ill get with you....

Any typo's im sorry im typing on handed and not looking at the screen I dont want to die lol... BTW it took me 10 mins to write this I really hope you get some use and ideas from it for all my hard work LOLOLOL.

Have fun bro and good luck.

Great info!!

Using jigs at my local city park isn't very likely,  every cast I pick up moss and tons of weeds(even with weed guard).

I like the swimbait idea but it would have to be weedless,  not sure who makes these?

I mainly suggested the T-Rig because using any type of lure I will pick up weeds on every cast.

I bought a pack of robo craws and will probably try that next.

Roadwarrior - Thanks for the links, I will read them over.

SJB - Thanks for the info!

[LazyBASS1301600404]

If you fish soft plastic craws on a t-rig, this will help.

Soft Plastic Craw Fishing

That has got to be one of the best reads on the forums. You can apply a lot of that to any standard Texas rig. Catt basically gave you a step by step starting point. My advice, don't overthink the bait. Toss it out there, let it hit the bottom and start your retrieve. You'll catch fish....if they're there. Catching bass is easy; finding them and what they want to eat is the hard part.

Will definitely read this.  Thanks!

[LazyBASS1301600404]

If it was me I would start out fishing any visible cover with a Small jig and craw trailer (Paca craw or Rage chunk) on FC lots of fisherman=spooky bass and FC will help with that... fishing all the cover well and from all different angles.. then parallel  the bank line or grass line scooting and hopping the jig with short pauses here and there...

Sorry to be a newbie but what does FC mean?

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Fluorocarbon.  It's a material some lines are made out of.  You've got Mono, Co-Polymer, Fluorocarbon, and Braid.

[LazyBASS1301600404]

Fluorocarbon. It's a material some lines are made out of. You've got Mono, Co-Polymer, Fluorocarbon, and Braid.

ah gotcha,  ok I know what Fluorocarbon is.  Thanks

[iceintheveins]

Use as little of weight as possible unless you are trying to penetrate thick cover.

[LazyBASS1301600404]

Use as little of weight as possible unless you are trying to penetrate thick cover.

Not penetrating any cover,  what do you guys suggest on weight size?  Also are the screw-in weights no good for this?

[Catt]

Weight size is determined by Rate Of Fall not by any other factor!

A 1/8 oz weight may triggering strikes but the additional speed of a 1/4 oz weight may trigger twice an many strikes.

Even when Flippin/Pitchin/Punching, a 3/4 oz. weight may only penetrate surface vegetation with help of the angler by shaking his rod tip. A 1.5 oz. weight would easily penetrate surface vegetation but the slower fall 3/4 oz. weight may trigger more strikes.