Ode To The Texas Rigged Worm

[Catt]

J Francho

If you pick up any magazine, go to almost any forum, or listen to most Pros you’ll get replies like “When all else fails, it can usually be counted upon to save the day”. The Texas Rig has been relegated to a backup lure when it should consider it as a startup lure.

Few anglers will cast a Texas Rig out on structure and slowly crawl it back to the boat or use it dissect a piece of cover. They say “it’s too slow” or “I don’t have the patience to fish like that” or “you have to look for the reaction bite”.

I think the Texas Rig is the most well kept secret in the fishing industry

[acajun2]

I fish 90% of the time with a plastic worm. Unfortunately, I've had little success with the Texas or Carolina rig. They always seem to get hung up in the undergrowth and I wind up pulling in a large mass of undergrowth on just about every cast. When I fish the worm with no weight, I can usually manage to pull the worm through the undergrowth with little collection of growth on the head of the worm. The downside is that I can't cast more than about 50' because the worm isn't heavy enough to carry out. I still love the worm.

[Catt]

I fish 90% of the time with a plastic worm. Unfortunately, I've had little success with the Texas or Carolina rig. They always seem to get hung up in the undergrowth and I wind up pulling in a large mass of undergrowth on just about every cast. When I fish the worm with no weight, I can usually manage to pull the worm through the undergrowth with little collection of growth on the head of the worm. The downside is that I can't cast more than about 50' because the worm isn't heavy enough to carry out. I still love the worm.

Try a 1/16 oz weight or a small paneling nail inserted for additional distance

[Nitrofreak]

The Texas Rig has been relegated to a backup lure when it should consider it as a startup lure.

No offence catt but are you saying you do not use search baits?

If I am fishing in a location for the first time or if I am just looking to find fish quick I will utilise one and if I do get a strike I do switch to a Texas rig to "pick apart" structure.

For the most part my Texas rig is my primary rig and a rig I spend most of my time with on the water, so to me just because I utilise other baits first at times does not mean I am ready to abandon it and put it on a shelf.

[J Francho]

Few anglers will cast a Texas Rig out on structure and slowly crawl it back to the boat or use it dissect a piece of cover. They say “it’s too slow” or “I don’t have the patience to fish like that” or “you have to look for the reaction bite”.

Only a few anglers are true winners, or trophy catchers. I'd rather count myself as the few, then.

[WRB]

The Texas rig worm has also generated an industry of worm hooks, unbelievable amount of different designs have been developed.

The basic straight shank sproat hook; like the Mustad 3/0 worm hook being one of the first and still very popular. Eagle Claw was a big worm hook company back in the 70's and came out with several off-set designs, followed with round bends. The Japanese hooks like Gamakatsu introduced premium sharp hooks and it just keeps on expanding; the KVD Grip Pin off-set EMG being one of the newer offerings that looks a lot like the hook posted in this thread.

Why so many hooks designs for the Texas rig? It's a combination of worm body diameter, soft plastic, line strength, rod strength and hook setting technique and timing. With everything said and done, the original straight shank sproat sharp worm hook, size 3/0, works great for the average 6" to 7 1/2" soft plastic worms today.

In todays high speed world it's hard for many anglers to start the day off slowly and the Texas rig, like most under water soft plastics, is a slow presentation.

Like todays top water lures are fished fast, yet can be extremely effective fished very slow like we did in the past; let the ripples fade before moving the lure. Slow works about 80% of the time any given day on the water.

Tom

[tyrius.]

Like todays top water lures are fished fast, yet can be extremely effective fished very slow like we did in the past; let the ripples fade before moving the lure. Slow works about 80% of the time any given day on the water.

Tom

I love fishing a Hula Popper just this way. Smooth water, cast out, let it set until the ripples are gone and then SLOWLY work it back. A bass coming out of glass smooth water to nail a topwater bait is awesome!

[Catt]

No offence catt but are you saying you do not use search baits?

If I am fishing in a location for the first time or if I am just looking to find fish quick I will utilise one and if I do get a strike I do switch to a Texas rig to "pick apart" structure.

For the most part my Texas rig is my primary rig and a rig I spend most of my time with on the water, so to me just because I utilise other baits first at times does not mean I am ready to abandon it and put it on a shelf.

I do not “search” for bass with lures; I “search” for bass with Topographical Maps, Aerial Photographs & Satellite Imagery, & the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

I dislike the terms “search lures” or “reaction lures”

All lures are used to search the cover for bass

All lures are reactions lures, bass see lure – bass reacts to lure

Many anglers start their day off in shallow water and then move deeper; I start my day of in deep water and generally stay deep.

[Nitrofreak]

I do not “search” for bass with lures; I “search” for bass with Topographical Maps, Aerial Photographs & Satellite Imagery, & the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

I dislike the terms “search lures” or “reaction lures”

All lures are used to search the cover for bass

All lures are reactions lures, bass see lure – bass reacts to lure

Many anglers start their day off in shallow water and then move deeper; I start my day of in deep water and generally stay deep.

Thank god for modern technology!!!

The simple worm search has come a long long way huh. lol.

[Jim_M]

From a nOOb bass fisherman's perspective, not a nOOb business man mind you, all I need to see is the amount

of display space tackle shops (big and small) devote to plastics. They WORK, plastic worms especially.

Recreational dollars are scarce and getting scarcer. Shops interested in staying around for the long haul can NOT

afford to risk limited marketing space to "maybe" items. If we aren't catching, we're not buying either.

I have not had much success with the worm, yet. Attention deficit, no question. Someday, someday.

Jim

[J Francho]

Jim, good point. It's also just as simple as durability. A $10 crankbait can catch 100's of fish. A 10 pack of Culprit worms, maybe a dozen or more. People that use them, go through them.

[BrianSnat]

When I started fishing I almost exclusively used the pre rigged Creme worm with the beads and small spinner. I remember going fishing with my uncle and we were in the tackle shop and the owner telling my uncle that never mind the other brands, Creme is the ONLY brand he should use. This was probably the early 70's.

I'm not sure where I learned about Texas rigging. Perhaps it was diagrammed on the back of a pack of worms I bought. I was skeptical. 1 hook? Buried inside the worm? I was used to the Creme worms that were rigged with a trailer hook. Even when I rigged my own plastic worms I emulated the Creme two hook rig.

Anyway, I first tried the T rig some 25 years ago and I really started bringing in the bass. I used it pretty much exclusively until I discovered the C rig about 5 or 6 years ago and the wacky rigged Senko more recently, I still use it and always have at least 1 rod with a T rigged plastic tied on in my boat. I admit I use an unweighted Senko or the C rig more often these days, but if those aren't working I go right to the T rig before anything else.

BTW, my dad's pretty much retired from freshwater fishing and gave me his freshwater tackle box. There are about half a dozen packs of Creme worms in it. One of these days I'm going to tie one on for old times sake.