Hook, Worm, Shot = Bass

[Mobasser]

I have an older friend I've started fishing with again. He only uses two rigs for fishing soft plastics. A T rig, and a splitshot rig. His variation of the old standard split shot rig is using a bullet sinker, and a Peg It, made by Top Brass tackle. He generally uses 8lb mono line, with a 1/8 oz bullet sinker. He prefers Roboworms, both the 4.5" and 6" models, but there's lots of other good plastic baits which can work also. The Peg It is a good product, and allows you to move your weight up or down the line as needed. He cast, and uses a slow steady retrieve, pausing occasionally. When he's working visible cover( in our case an old rotted, sunken wooden dock in 8ft of water) he cast past the object by several feet. When his bait is in front of the cover, he hooks his finger under his line, and inches the bait along very slowly, taking up slack line as needed. I watched him pull 3 bass from under this dock the other night, fishing this style. One was a solid 3lb fish. I had thrown a Pop-R, and a spinnerbait, only minutes before, with no strikes. In areas with silt or sand bottoms, Mike seems to think the actual sinker may be part of the attraction here. The light sinker kicking up silt on the bottom, may cause a bass to swim out from cover to investigate, then, seeing the plastic worm, pounce on it for an easy meal. My brother and I fished split shot worms many years ago. We caught fish with a lead shot, nose hooking the worms, before we learned about weedless rigging. We also picked moss and weeds off, after almost every cast, so this is really nothing new. It's an improvement on a decades old technique. Much of the credit for the split shot rig goes to California angler Dick Trask, who caught scores of fish with this style of fishing years ago. Glenn has some great videos on this site, detailing how to rig, and fish this style. In many ways, this is kind of a downsized Carolina rig. In some situations, it may be better. There's less hardware, swivel, beads, etc, and, you can easily adjust your leader length, as need be. Most strikes come as a steady pull, or a tightening up of the line, and with the sharp, light wire Gamma hooks, it's not hard to get a good hook set, and some bass seem to almost hook themselves. If your set up on a good deeper water spot, and not exactly sure where to start, you can fan cast this rig, and cover a good amount of water with a slow steady retrieve. The real key is fishing it slowly. My old friend Mike doesn't always keep up on all the latest rigs. He's old school, and likes to keep things simple. According to him, anything that's worked well for 50yrs or more is still working for a reason. I have to agree with him. The split shot rig, or its variations, can be an absolute deadly way to catch bass.

[Bass Rutten]

The mojo rig rocks (I affectionately call it the mofo rig because it catches bass like a mofo!), deadly on pressured waters especially when combined with stick baits, covers water pretty good too. My go-to plastic rig right up to the spawn.

[snake95]

On 6/1/2020 at 11:47 AM, Mobasser said:

The split shot rig, or its variations, can be an absolute deadly way to catch bass.

Mo I want to thank you for this post.  I have read about the mojo rig for years and your post motivated me to get my act together and try it for the first time.  My son and I went out to our closest pond with a couple of mojo rigs last night and did pretty well.

 

To get technical, we used:

- 6-10 ML and 7 ft M spinning rods

- 10 lb+/- power pro with 8 lb floro leader

- About 8-10 inches between weight and hook

- 1/8 oz tungsten cylinder weights

- bobber stops on each side

- Owner rig'n hooks

- 4" keitech swing impact (alewife, I think)

 

We used a rod sweep and reel retrieve.  Found it worked well.  Next time will slow down the retrieve.

 

I have never fished the rig'n hooks before, I found them in a clearance bin.  I also did not realize until after we fished that they are intended for this method.  They were awesome.

 

I also tried a YUM vibra king tube with an earplug inserted to make it float, but didn't get to try that much.

 

Looking forward to trying other baits to use this method to cover some water.

 

What do you think is the advantage/disadvantage of the mojo rig over regular texas rigging for dragging pond bottoms?

 

(I can see where T-rigs are much better for targets and cover, but they can also be dragged).

 

I guess the main thing is your bait doesn't get pulled right to the bottom?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Captain Phil]

The Mojo Rig was a secret technique in Florida tournaments for years.  It's deadly on highly pressured waters like we have here in Florida.  I throw it on a spinning rod with 8 pound green Maxima mono, pegged 1/4 oz. cigar weight and a 4" Zoom finesse worm.  If you can't catch fish with that, you should take up golf.  :>)

[snake95]

Another question to add to the mix...

 

I can see using a full-sized Carolina rig in deeper water in a lake, with bigger baits, etc.

 

I don't see why you would use a "dragging" rig like this with weights over about a 1/4 oz fishing ponds and small lakes from shore.

 

What are your thoughts on that?

 

Also... any favorite baits for this method?  I am thinking about trying some Yum craws next.

[OkobojiEagle]

On 6/1/2020 at 10:47 AM, Mobasser said:

I have an older friend I've started fishing with again. He only uses two rigs for fishing soft plastics. A T rig, and a splitshot rig. His variation of the old standard split shot rig is using a bullet sinker, and a Peg It, made by Top Brass tackle. He generally uses 8lb mono line, with a 1/8 oz bullet sinker. He prefers Roboworms, both the 4.5" and 6" models, but there's lots of other good plastic baits which can work also. The Peg It is a good product, and allows you to move your weight up or down the line as needed. He cast, and uses a slow steady retrieve, pausing occasionally. When he's working visible cover( in our case an old rotted, sunken wooden dock in 8ft of water) he cast past the object by several feet. When his bait is in front of the cover, he hooks his finger under his line, and inches the bait along very slowly, taking up slack line as needed. I watched him pull 3 bass from under this dock the other night, fishing this style. One was a solid 3lb fish. I had thrown a Pop-R, and a spinnerbait, only minutes before, with no strikes. In areas with silt or sand bottoms, Mike seems to think the actual sinker may be part of the attraction here. The light sinker kicking up silt on the bottom, may cause a bass to swim out from cover to investigate, then, seeing the plastic worm, pounce on it for an easy meal. My brother and I fished split shot worms many years ago. We caught fish with a lead shot, nose hooking the worms, before we learned about weedless rigging. We also picked moss and weeds off, after almost every cast, so this is really nothing new. It's an improvement on a decades old technique. Much of the credit for the split shot rig goes to California angler Dick Trask, who caught scores of fish with this style of fishing years ago. Glenn has some great videos on this site, detailing how to rig, and fish this style. In many ways, this is kind of a downsized Carolina rig. In some situations, it may be better. There's less hardware, swivel, beads, etc, and, you can easily adjust your leader length, as need be. Most strikes come as a steady pull, or a tightening up of the line, and with the sharp, light wire Gamma hooks, it's not hard to get a good hook set, and some bass seem to almost hook themselves. If your set up on a good deeper water spot, and not exactly sure where to start, you can fan cast this rig, and cover a good amount of water with a slow steady retrieve. The real key is fishing it slowly. My old friend Mike doesn't always keep up on all the latest rigs. He's old school, and likes to keep things simple. According to him, anything that's worked well for 50yrs or more is still working for a reason. I have to agree with him. The split shot rig, or its variations, can be an absolute deadly way to catch bass.

Breaking a long post into paragraphs will help the reader comprehend your thoughts...  Thanks

 

oe

[Captain Phil]

A Mojo rig will snake through grass better than a Carolina rig.  It's a finesse technique.  When bass are pressured or the water is very clear, smaller lures are more effective.   In smaller ponds and lakes, the fish tend to be smaller as well.

[Mobasser]

2 hours ago, snake95 said:

Another question to add to the mix...

 

I can see using a full-sized Carolina rig in deeper water in a lake, with bigger baits, etc.

 

I don't see why you would use a "dragging" rig like this with weights over about a 1/4 oz fishing ponds and small lakes from shore.

 

What are your thoughts on that?

 

Also... any favorite baits for this method?  I am thinking about trying some Yum craws next.

snake 95, this is a good fish catcher. I think it works best with 1/4 or less weight. I also think most any smaller plastic baits could work well. Craw, creature, worm, or various grub styles. I knew another guy years ago that split shotted Zoom Critter Craws, and did well.

[snake95]

34 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

snake 95, this is a good fish catcher. I think it works best with 1/4 or less weight. I also think most any smaller plastic baits could work well. Craw, creature, worm, or various grub styles. I knew another guy years ago that split shotted Zoom Critter Craws, and did well.

You have my son and I hooked on a new rig to us.  I appreciate it.  I have a feeling Catt would throw a lizard on this rig, so... I think I know the next bait we will be trying out.

[MIbassyaker]

Really effective rig, but I don't fish it much because of more frequent gut hooking. 

 

I've taken to using a 1/8 cylindrical weight ahead of a bobber stop rather than pegging the weight -- I like the line to be able to pull freely through weight on the strike, which seems to helps strike detection a bit. 

 

I like thin-bodied creatures or worms (indeed, roboworms are perfect for this) that hook-up easily when rigged on light-wire hooks. A baby brush hog is pretty good. I also like the Big Bite Baits Kriet Creature, and one that I think may have been been discontinued, the Nebait Baby Action Cat, which has a hollow body (like a tube) that collapses easily.

4 hours ago, snake95 said:

I guess the main thing is your bait doesn't get pulled right to the bottom?

 

it seems to permit the bait to behave "as if" it were rigged weightless (i.e., slow, fluttering fall), but near the bottom.

[Luke Barnes]

This thread has the gears in my head spinning. Ive never used it or a traditional Carolina rig. I really like the idea. I know most soft plastics dont float, but the zman elaztech stuff does. Has anyone tried this? Or airtail worms? I RARELY use worms or stick baits but I want to try this. I have plenty of zman plastics, plus worms and stick baits. I'm going to experiment with this in a local heavily fished pond. 

[Captain Phil]

3 hours ago, snake95 said:

I have a feeling Catt would throw a lizard on this rig, so... I think I know the next bait we will be trying out.

Deadly.  I once won a tournament in the dead of winter fishing a Mojo rig with a 4" lizard.   It was 35 degrees.  The fish were so sluggish they didn't bite the lizard, they just hung on to it.  

[evo2s197]

7 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

Really effective rig, but I don't fish it much because of more frequent gut hooking. 

A high end sensitive rod will help, along with crimping down the barb will allow you to remove the hook from a gut hooked fish, if you practice catch and release no need for a barb on a rig known to gut hook a fish when improperly fished, and knowing how to properly "play" a fish you will rarely lose any from a barbless hook.

[schplurg]

11 hours ago, OkobojiEagle said:

Breaking a long post into paragraphs will help the reader comprehend your thoughts...  Thanks

 

oe

Good advice. I skipped it and started at the 2nd post  

[MIbassyaker]

1 hour ago, evo2s197 said:

A high end sensitive rod will help, along with crimping down the barb will allow you to remove the hook from a gut hooked fish, if you practice catch and release no need for a barb on a rig known to gut hook a fish when improperly fished, and knowing how to properly "play" a fish you will rarely lose any from a barbless hook.

I submit that keeping a finger on your line will help much more than buying a higher-end rod.

 

I agree about crimping the barb, but there is still an added burden in time spent getting the hook turned and popping it out, and this can still be a pain with small fish.

 

Even fished properly, by avoiding slack and not letting your attention lapse, there is a somewhat greater chance of deep-hooked fish that can't be entirely avoided. I think that makes it worth considering on a situation-by-situation basis whether the potential benefits outweigh the risk;  I tend to use it when fish are a wary, tentative or unaggressive, as that's where it can have big advantages over alternatives.

[evo2s197]

1 hour ago, MIbassyaker said:

I submit that keeping a finger on your line will help much more than buying a higher-end rod.

 

I agree about crimping the barb, but there is still an added burden in time spent getting the hook turned and popping it out, and this can still be a pain with small fish.

 

Even fished properly, by avoiding slack and not letting your attention lapse, there is a somewhat greater chance of deep-hooked fish that can't be entirely avoided. I think that makes it worth considering on a situation-by-situation basis whether the potential benefits outweigh the risk;  I tend to use it when fish are a wary, tentative or unaggressive, as that's where it can have big advantages over alternatives.

And that's were a quality high end rod comes in to play, high end doesn't always translate to quality, sensitivity etc but most often it does, when you can feel a strike on slack line in the wind through the grip that your finger resting on the line missed that's when you know the difference.

 

If you have issues removing a hook with no barb then acquiring better tools would be a good idea, the proper tool or tools for the job make everything fast and easy, of course with any lack of dexterity even with the proper tools I could see why some individuals would consider hook removal a burden and thus present potential burdensome techniques sparingly.

[Luke Barnes]

Anyone tried this with floating soft plastics like zman stuff or air tail worms?

[galyonj]

10 hours ago, Luke Barnes said:

Anyone tried this with floating soft plastics like zman stuff or air tail worms?

I haven't but I'm sure it would work.

[Primus]

It's been a few years since I fished a Mojo rig but it excelled in catching numbers of fish. I remember 4" lizards, small tubes & 4" rib worms working very well, that said I'm sure many other soft plastics would get the job done including those listed by the preceding comments.