Help With Hooks And Sinkers

[Corey Reed]

I have never taken much note in what sinker size I use on my Texas rigs. Also is there a good rule of thumb about what size hooks to use with certain sized soft plastics?

[Avid Angler FL]

Well it all depends on the size of the soft plastic. And as far as sinkers go, it's usually about the speed of your presentation (rate of fall), casting distance, and how much cover, if any, you're trying to punch through. Hook sizes you should keep on hand should range from 2/0-4/0. If you're using really small plastics maybe a 1/0 and for large baits like a 7" Fluke, I wouldn't go with a hook under a 5/0, but of course, not many practical baits require a hook that size. If you're fishing say a 7.5" Culprit Worm, and fishing near active fish, I'd go with a 3/0 hook, and a 3/16 or 1/4 oz bullet weight. If you're fishing a Zoom Finesse Worm in light cover with a more finesse approach, I'd go with a 2/0 hook and a 1/8 or maybe even a 1/16 oz bullet weight. It'll all come down to your preference and judgement of the conditions, but when all else fails, slow down your approach and keep trying! Good luck and tight lines!

[Catt]

As a general rule of thumb with Texas Rigs I’ll start with a 3/16-1/4 oz bullet weight depending on wind.

As a general rule of thumb with most plastics my starting point is 3/0-4/0 straight shank round bend hook.

You can get as complicated as you want after that

[Corey Reed]

Very helpful!

Thanks y'all!

[bigbassctchr101]

I use a 5/0 on most of the plastics I fish. Brush hogs, worms over 7inches, flukes, frogs, etc... And most of my jigs have a 5/0 hook in them as well. We don't have much stuff to punch through over here, but my bullet sinkers are usually 1/4-1/2. I would fish any sizes in that range with a 5/0 hook. Smaller baits like, creature baits, craws, baby brush hogs, etc I throw 3/0-4/0 hook and would not mind a bit to go 1/8-3/8 bullet on anything like this. Thats just my personaly preference because it hooks out just fine for me.

[Packard]

I use 6/0 EWG with a 1/2 oz tungsten. That is for everything except my 4" senkos, then I'll step down to a 4/0 with a 1/4 oz.

[philsoreel]

Roughly speaking with Gamakatsu off-set round bends...

Zoom U-tail- 3/0

Culprit- 4/0

10in. worms- 5/0

I've fallen in love with Rebarb 4/0 medium wire straight shank Gamakatsu hooks. They hook up so easy and are the perfect size for most flipping baits. I use FC for all t-rigs except punching, so bending them isn't an issue.

Tungsten worm weights from 1/32-1/2oz. all depending on wind, depth, and cover. 3/16ths. is a good starting point. Increase with wind and/or deeper water. Decrease with heavy grass/weeds. For a long time I used the lightest weight I could get away with, but now I prefer the most I can get away with for better feel and contact. Fall-rate is another thing you have to play with. If they are feeding a slower fall-rate works better for me and a faster fall-rate when I'm after reaction strikes.

Flipping a t-rig I usually use a 3/8-1/2 flipping weight.

So much of this stuff is personal preference. These are just some of mine.