Texas Rigging

[waskeyc]

With all of the recent discussions of dead sticking, wacky rigging, and shaky heads, it would appear that I'm about 15 years behind the current trends in bass fishing. But maybe by throwing a Texas-rig I'll be offering something that a 6-year old bass has never seen from any of you before?

A friend of mine suggested recently that instead of placing the head of the worm over the eye of the hook, he wants to try running the worm way up the line and placing the barb closer to the tail of the worm, to catch bass that just nip at the worm. I thought that most bass probably bite the head of the worm first, so there might not be an advantage to a lower hook placement.

What do you all think? Would placing the hook point lower in the worm increase the hook-up ratio with a Texas-rigged plastic worm?

[Sam]

With a Texas rig you have a bullet weight in front of the hook eye to allow the bait to fall to the bottom.

If you use the suggested rig the weight will be against the worm's head, only, and it may make the worm move or move down the line and bind into a ball since you do not have the blocking action of the hook's eye. You will need to "peg" the weight so it does not move easily along the line.

I don't think it will matter. The bait will still look the same to the bass and the action should be about the same.

With that said, give the rig a try and see what happens and let us know. We are always on the look out for new techniques.

[SDoolittle]

If you use the suggested rig the weight will be against the worm's head, only, and it may make the worm move or move down the line and bind into a ball since you do not have the blocking action of the hook's eye. You will need to "peg" the weight so it does not move easily along the line.

I disagree. I don't think this will cause the worm to slide down any worse than the traditional method of rigging a Texas rig. I certainly don't think you would have to peg the weight. If you're worried about the worm sliding down, peg the worm, not the weight. With that said, I don't think this would be any more effective that the traditional Texas rig because bass typically suck the whole worm in at once.

[J Francho]

Bass inhale the whole bait, no point in running it up the hook and line. I just cover the hook eye and knot to protect the connection from the bullet weight.

BTW, I'll bet 70% of guys throwing plastics are Texas Rigging them. It's a staple that works whether or not a fish has seen it or not. And Fish for the 10-12 year old fish. They are a lot bigger.

[Hyrule Bass]

depending on the length of the worm, it may take away some of the action if its a shorter worm

[waskeyc]

If you use the suggested rig the weight will be against the worm's head, only, and it may make the worm move or move down the line and bind into a ball since you do not have the blocking action of the hook's eye. You will need to "peg" the weight so it does not move easily along the line.

True, but if I run the hook through the worm far enough, the line and hook eye will still be inside the front half of the worm, so the tendancy for the weight to push the worm down won't be any greater than the typical method for T-rigging.

I tend to agree that bass will generally inhale a plastic worm, so it likely won't make much difference.

[NoBassPro]

Go real old school and get some of those prerigged worms

[Sam]

Hey Birddog, I tried doing this once many years ago.

Stopped as it is easier to rig the worm as we always do.

My 1/4 ounce sinker, unpegged, knocked the head of the worm down the line towards the hook and it twisted before the hook eye.

Maybe my weight was too heavy or the grass caused the weight to put too much pressure on the worm?

Sometimes when fishing a pink trick worm below the surface I will place a bead between the sinker and worm. That seems to keep the worm straight.

I may give the suggested method another try next summer just for the fun of it.

This is way we love bass fishing. Very few rules to obey. Just go out and do something different.

[Gator_Bait]

Bass inhale the whole bait, no point in running it up the hook and line. I just cover the hook eye and knot to protect the connection from the bullet weight.

That brings up a question...I've been useing Zoom Speed Worms and haveing a good bit of luck with them. But, quite often I notice something has bit off half of the crook on the end of the tail...this would kill the action. What is biting the end off my worm if a bass inhales the whole thing?

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Each one has been bit off at the same spot...I've got a bag of these. Would rigging the hook farther back help?

[SDoolittle]

What is biting the end off my worm if a bass inhales the whole thing?

Bluegill

[Gator_Bait]

Bluegill

Would Bluegill be big enough or stong enough to attack a worm that big?

[grimlin]

Would Bluegill be big enough or stong enough to attack a worm that big?

yes...I've lost more curly tails than I care to count to bluegills.

Turtles are also known to cut a bait in half....I've reeled in crayfish imitators plastics with the head and claws bit clean off.

[Hyrule Bass]

Would Bluegill be big enough or stong enough to attack a worm that big?

definately bluegill

[BrianSnat]

That brings up a question...I've been useing Zoom Speed Worms and haveing a good bit of luck with them. But, quite often I notice something has bit off half of the crook on the end of the tail...this would kill the action. What is biting the end off my worm if a bass inhales the whole thing?

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Each one has been bit off at the same spot...I've got a bag of these. Would rigging the hook farther back help?

Do you have pickerel where you fish? They'll slice a worm in half.

[Ern]

Would placing the hook point lower in the worm increase the hook-up ratio with a Texas-rigged plastic worm?

Would definitely constrict the movement of the worm.

[bigbassctchr101]

That brings up a question...I've been useing Zoom Speed Worms and haveing a good bit of luck with them. But, quite often I notice something has bit off half of the crook on the end of the tail...this would kill the action. What is biting the end off my worm if a bass inhales the whole thing?

">

Each one has been bit off at the same spot...I've got a bag of these. Would rigging the hook farther back help?

COuld very likely be bluegill, but I also think that a bass could do this as well. If you've ever had the pleasure of seeing a bass eat your worm or jig you can sometimes see it come and grab one end before it inhales the whole thing. I see it a lot with floating worms and flukes, they will grab the tail for about .5 seconds, flare the gills and suck in the rest of the bait. If your losing a pincher, or half of your worm, it is very possible you set the hook too soon and the bait did not enter the fishes mouth completely.

As for rigging the bait down on the hook. This is how I fish a weedless wacky rig. I don't usually have a bullet weight on the head though. I have thrown it weightless and thrown it on a c-rig though and it works great. I start rigging the bait about 1/4 down off the head, and the hook point comes out about 3/4 the way down the bait.