Light Texas rig-bead or no bead?

[Bankc]

9 hours ago, Jaderose said:

I use 2 beads.  I saw someone do it one time and liked it.  Does it do anything?  I doubt it but what the heck...it catches fish.

 

I use two beads when fishing with a light lead weight.  You get a bit more click that way, as the soft lead often doesn't do much on it's own.  I also use two beads, a plastic and a glass, when fishing with a large tungsten weight, like a 1oz. or so.  The plastic bead helps absorb some of the impact so that the hard tungsten doesn't make direct contact and shatter the glass bead.  

 

I believe beads do make a difference, under the right circumstances.  I fish a lot of heavily stained waters with soft, clay bottoms, so I think the beads help the bass locate the lures without having to hit them in the nose with it.  There are a few places I fish as well with clearer water and sand, gravel, or rocky bottoms, and on those, I don't worry about beads.  

[BustedSwimbait]

Bought a small bag of red and clear beads, but still new in package after many moons.

[Smells like fish]

I tried beads, nothing significant occurred, I no longer use beads…  it didn’t seem to impact the TR either way. 

[NorthernBasser]

5 hours ago, Bass Junke said:

I started using a small plastic bead on my Texas rigs this year. Purely for knot protection. I noticed when fishing a heavier sinker the knot was visibly beat up. The bead I use is small enough that it slides onto the knot and stays there. 

You can always rig the hook a little deeper into the bait so that that knot isn't even exposed. The weight will fit flush against the bait as well. 

 

[Bankbeater]

I don’t think I have ever used a bead on a Texas rig. 

[schplurg]

When I use beads I put on two. I don't think lead weights and beads make much noise, you need the second one. I think Tom mentioned that here before but I'm not sure.

 

I don't know if they help I only do it sometimes.

[papajoe222]

Anytime I use a sliding sinker with a worm, there is a glass bead on there. I may put a bobber stop a few inches above the weight so it won't slide way up the line, but I want it tapping against that bead especially when I'm fishing grass where a bass may not see it from a distance.

[Spankey]

No bead for me. I do different things to peg my weight. 
 

Seems interesting to try. 

[J Francho]

I used to use a bead a lot.  Last several years, I use a jika rig instead, so no bead.

[Bass Junke]

16 hours ago, NorthernBasser said:

You can always rig the hook a little deeper into the bait so that that knot isn't even exposed. The weight will fit flush against the bait as well. 

 

Most of the time the eye of my hook IS buried in the nose of the bait, at least that is where it starts. Those heavier sinkers, 3/8, 1/2oz and heavier tend to push things around. I don't use a bobber stop, I like "the bait chasing the sinker" to the bottom action. 

I use a bobber stop on a C-rig. Just to put some sort of restriction on the distance the sinker can slide. Helps casting an already difficult rig to cast. 

[WRB]

If you push the hook eye more then 1/8” into the worm head 3 things happen; the weight destroys the worm head bending back and forth, the hook set covers the hook point, you miss hooking the bass. Looks good through.

When casting a sliding weight Texas Rig the weigh is up against the worm head until the rig hits the water and starts sinking. The sinks slower then the weight separating sliding down the line, the glass faceted tempered bead tends to stay near the worm head. The sliding weight separation is important, it allows the worm to swim while being pulled down, it’s weight less. When you pick up the line slack to move the worm the pulled to the weight hitting the bead with a click sound. 

I usually shake the rod tip to dance the worm before lifting the rod tip up the hope it. Rarely drag a T-rigged worm with weight and bead. I would say 25% of worm strikes happen on the fall or seconds after. 75% strike come during the shaking or shortly after the hop.

If I rarely peg a weighted worm, instead use a jig. The exception is a punch rig.

Tom

[Boomstick]

IMO beads are for C-rigs not T-Rigs.