No Confidence In The T-Rig!

[Rhino68W]

A few weeks ago I caught 2 PBs off a spinner-bait, 5 minutes apart, at a local pond. I have only gone to the pond 2 times since then, and cant seem to catch hardly anything. I'm not sure if it is the season changing, or my eagerness to catch more lunkers. I know I can't expect to catch the big ones again anytime soon, but before that I used to catch about 5-6 1 1/2 pounders each trip to make for super fun fishing. I have tried various approaches, both basic techniques and more advanced, but one I can seem to gain confidence in is Texas rigged Senkos. I know it's a staple for most anglers, but I can't seem to get it. When I try it I feel like the bass can't see it or something. I am aware of the videos out there regarding T-rigged Senkos (and other soft plastics for that matter) but still can't gain confidence in it. So I need help.

 

What methods do you use when it comes to T-rigged Senkos?

 

What type of cover, depths, weather conditions, and landscape should I use it around?

 

​What is your preferred tackle/lure choices when it comes to the T-rig?

 

 

I have attached pictures of the pond. Deepest point it about 15 ft.

 

 

[F14A-B]

Do not stress, it does have a learning curve to it. Line watching, feel, or lack there of...it simply takes a bit of learning that's all, when I learned I used a clear/ blue fluorescent line.. It helps with vision... FC , helps with supreme feel... I use a MH or H rod various lengths for T-Rigged anything. Wacky/ open hook rigs on the same plastics, a Medium power... line watching & feel are critical elements of this. Start using a clear blue line till you pick up a few strikes, then if you desire switch to FC... Perhaps you may excel at feel rather than line watching, both, IMO are critical.

Last but not least, don't give up... Like I said it does have a learning curve to it.. Same as jig fishing.

[geo g]

There are problably more fish caught all over the country on a Texas Rigged plastic then any other method.  Texas rigged plastics can be fished deep, shallow, mid range, in wood, thick weeds, pad fields, under docks, open water, along ledges, fished fast, fished slow, the opportunities are endless. 

 

If things are tough I would slow down, use a dark color, and jerk and long pause.  Senkos are just one type of bait, but in my opinion one of the best.  Go with the 4 inch size, watermelon red, junebug, black, or Okeechobee color.  Use the least amount of weight possible for the conditions.  I go weightless often, you can get a walk the dog action with a jerk and slack action, slowly.   Sometimes a 1/32 bullet weight.

 

Rod a 7 foot MH to get them out of the junk and there head up.  A fast baitcaster reel for power.  15 pound Floro line for sensitivity and no stretch.

 

Our lakes in south Florida are shallow and full of vegetation.  Its important to have stout equipment.

[BassThumbAddict]

Id be throwing them every where on that north? Side bank. Also beating the crap out of those lay downs you can see.

[Rhino68W]

Do not stress, it does have a learning curve to it. Line watching, feel, or lack there of...it simply takes a bit of learning that's all, when I learned I used a clear/ blue fluorescent line.. It helps with vision... FC , helps with supreme feel... I use a MH or H rod various lengths for T-Rigged anything. Wacky/ open hook rigs on the same plastics, a Medium power... line watching & feel are critical elements of this. Start using a clear blue line till you pick up a few strikes, then if you desire switch to FC... Perhaps you may excel at feel rather than line watching, both, IMO are critical.

Last but not least, don't give up... Like I said it does have a learning curve to it.. Same as jig fishing.

 

I have 3 main setups;

Spinning on a 6'6'' M rod with 6 lbs smooth casting Mono

Baitcasting 6'6'' M rod with 20 lbs braid

Baitcasting 6'9'' MH rod with 20 lbs braid

 

Would It be too much to take one of my baitcasters with a 1/2 Bullet weight T-rig, and my spinning rig with a wacky rig and just used these all morning? Also, should I use a Mono leader on the baitcaster?

[Rhino68W]

Id be throwing them every where on that north? Side bank. Also beating the crap out of those lay downs you can see.

I know I am going to sound dumb for not knowing this, but what is a "lay down"?

[paangler13]

Lay downs are trees down in the water. (usually with the trunk out, and the top in the drink.) 

 

I would throw  a senko on your spinning rig. I usually use 8lb test, but you can get away with six.  Be careful with your hook sets, and keep your hook point all the way through your bait. Bury just the tip of the hook in the plastic. makes hook sets a little easier. 

 

I would also use no weight. The key thing with a senko is it's shimmy on the fall. You loose that shimmy when you use a heavy weight! I don't know if I have ever used over a 1/4 oz. with a senko. 

 

Good luck rhino,

 

Jim

[F14A-B]

Braid has no slack line feel. Period. On senkos, I fish them without additional weight. I also use owner hooks W/ cps... T-rigs cover a ton of plastics, but, with senkos I never use a slip- sinker..1/2 on top of a 5" senko seems a little much to me. Go much lighter than 1/2 if you must.

I am not a fan of braid, but 20 seems a bit light as well... I still suggest FC , however for weighted rigs braid will be fine ( bottom dragging ) Senko's, I fish on FC .. I expect my strikes to come on the drop. Then, I pop them hard off bottom & repeat.

It takes a bit of practice. Mh on the rod the way you want to rig it. Use a senko anyway you want, that's the way I use them. You can use a mono or FC leader. Spinning gear is great for wacky work... Line watching & feel are still vital for both styles of fishing soft plastics....

[fishguy613]

I love Texas rigged Senkos, I use the gambler ace as well they are great and reasonably priced. I'm using a Heavy rod 3/8oz weight, 50lb braid to 20lb fluoro leader. I pitch it and cast it shallow and deep

[RSM789]

If you aren't confident with a Texas Rig, you may want to use something other than a weightless senko.  Without a weight, you won't be able to feel the bottom and will have a struggle detecting the strikes, only figuring out you have a fish when the line has moved off (which will result in a lot of gut hooked fish).  I'd recommend any other type of plastic that works well when being pulled down by the nose as opposed to the senko which kind of glides & shimmies.  We all have our favorites, some straight tailed, some curly tailed, choose something that catches your attention in the beginning, that way you will be more confident with it.  A floating worm will be better than a sinking worm, because it will tend to stand tail up.

 

You are actually at an advantage learning to fish a Texas rig from shore because you have a stable platform.  When I first started bass fishing, it was from a boat on a lake that was often windy & I never gained confidence in any bottom bumping methods because I could never tell what was going on.  It wasn't until I was boat-less for a few years, fishing from shore, that I was able to feel the contour of the bottom & different types of structure did I gain confidence.  Once you know what a rock, twig, mud or other things feel like, it makes figuring out what is a strike & what isn't.  You will get to the point where you know that your rig has picked up some moss or old line left in the lake on the retrieve.

 

Definitely go with any line other than monofilament & tungsten weights if you can.  They will telegraph things better up the line to your hands.

[ABW]

Don't bring anything else when you go fishing for a couple days. Only the t-rig and your plastic of choice.

 

Some good soft plastics that catch fish are Rage Craws w/ 3/16 oz bullet weight, Trick Worms, Brush hogs.

[greentrout]

No more than 10lb test mono, 1/8 oz. bullet weight, down to 1/32 and Zoom Finesse worms. I like Junebug and use a 5 1/2 ft. pistol grip medium rod with a bait caster.

 

Old school basser...

[flyfisher]

i prefer braid when fishing any type of plastic, senkos included.  what you lose in "slack line" sensitivity you more than gain in the ability to get solid hook sets and the ability to throw them into any type of cover.  My set up is a 6'8" medium power extra fast action spinning rod with a my reel spool with 20lb (6lb diameter) braid.  You do have to watch the line but that is something you should be doing anyways.  Any type of movement of the line that is not natural you set the hook.  There is a bit of a learning curve but it just takes some practice and you will get it.

 

You can throw these baits anywhere and everywhere.  I rarely if ever use weight with mine.  if you need to get them deeper just be more patient, they will sink to whatever depth you want, it just might take a little more time and many times, for me at least, this is when you get some hits.

 

Good luck and keep on trying.

[Catch and Grease]

You could Texas rig a terd and catch fish... you can never go wrong with a straight tail worm or craw lure!

[kikstand454]

Agreed. If you're having troubles with the weightless senko- put on a light bullet weight and a trick worm or ribbontail worm of your choice. Having the weight on there makes knowing what's going on ALOT easier.

Fwiw- I haven't thrown a senko in years. I have three boxes of them collecting dust. Lol. All I ever seemed to catch on them was dinks, and I got bored to tears waiting on a weightless one to fall. They're pretty good on c-rigs and dropshots

[Felix77]

When I have problems fishing senkos it's because I am too impatient and tend to do too much with them.  For example ... imparting too much action or action too soon.  I am supposed to wait for them to sink down and I prematurely move it, twitch it, jerk it etc.  While I can get bit that way from time to time it's not ideal for catching fish on them consistently.

 

As cheesy as this sounds I use a count method to slow myself down.  I take a few casts and watch the line.  I count to see how long it takes for the line to stop moving away from me.  After that I begin my retrieve ... slow drag, hops, twitches.  Each move I use that same count.  It takes forever for the retrieve sometimes but that seems to work consistently for me.

 

It takes a ton of patience.

[TBO]

i fish t-rigged curly tails without a weight . sometimes it needs to just sit for 2 minutes literally and other times they wont hit bottom before they are taken.  i noticed that most of the fish i caught hit the bait before coming back to eat it.  so i hook set on the second strike i feel.    other times you will notice your line moving and never felt anything,     i havent ever had luck with senkos. 

[GoDeep]

The fall and spring really messes with me when it comes time to slow down and drag the bottom with a jig or t rig. I tend to fish the t-rig or jig too fast and get skunked. You just gotta regain your technique. 

[benthinkin]

I personally really do not like senkos. They have never worked with weight for me and throwing them weightless is a PITA because they fall so slow. I throw brush hogs or rage craws and seem to do much better that way. That being said for water with little structure or cover senkos may be superior.

[Bankbeater]

When I have been using crankbaits and spinnerbaits for a while, the big problem I have going back to plastics is that I want to fish them too fast.  I tend to want to move them along, and I have to make myself slow down.

[corn-on-the-rob]

No more than 10lb test mono, 1/8 oz. bullet weight, down to 1/32 and Zoom Finesse worms. I like Junebug and use a 5 1/2 ft. pistol grip medium rod with a bait caster.

 

Old school basser...

haha, This is my first year using baitcasters (im 23 fished all my life but now expanding my versatility and tournament fishing). My dad set me up with two medium pistol grip rods a 6' and a 5.5' for cranking/spinners/etc. he has always raved about them and picks one up on ebay every once in a while because I don't think many brands make them any more. I definitely love them especially for light set ups like small cranks, 1/4oz spiinnerbaits.

[greentrout]

haha, This is my first year using baitcasters (im 23 fished all my life but now expanding my versatility and tournament fishing). My dad set me up with two medium pistol grip rods a 6' and a 5.5' for cranking/spinners/etc. he has always raved about them and picks one up on ebay every once in a while because I don't think many brands make them any more. I definitely love them especially for light set ups like small cranks, 1/4oz spiinnerbaits.

Remember, popularity with gear comes and goes. I remember when the buzz-bait and plastic lizard, to name just a few,  were the craze. But one thing remains constant: the 5 1/2 pistol grip remains deadly accurate when casting a T-rigged worm.

 

Good fishing and old school basser...