Bass Fishing Rigs

The Last entry in the Bass Fishing series

A couple of popular rigs are the Drop Shot and the Wacky Rigs which are essentially the same, except for a difference in attaching the plastics. Two other fishing rig set ups, are the 'Texas' and 'Carolina' Rig. All are for bait fishing with soft plastics.

Drop Shot Rig 

This is tied right on the fishing line itself. To tie this rig, I stretch out about 18 inches or so of my line, maybe even an inch or so more. Right at 18 inches, I will double the line over on itself. Then, using a 1, or a 1/0 hook, I slide my folded over line through the eyelet of the hook and then tie the loop back over the line, don't worry about the excess or about cinching it tight just yet. Once my loop that I ran through my hook's eyelet has been tied around the line above the hook, I slip the excess loop over the hook and now  cinch the entire thing up tight. The hook is now suspended roughly 18 inches from the end of my line. I tie on a drop shot weight on the end of that line (18 inches below my hook)  and the rig is ready to fish except for my plastic. I insert through the nose of the plastic worm I've chosen and this allows my worm to swivel back and forth to entice a Bass.

Wacky Rig 

The set up is really not wacky, as it is made up exactly like the Drop Shot Rig. It's just in how I attach the plastic to the hook for a completely different presentation. After I've made up my rig, instead of hooking my plastic through the nose for that 'swimming' action, I hook it through the middle of the worm. This creates a completely different presentation, because the worm no longer looks as if it's swimming, but flopping a bit as the rig falls to the bottom. I fish this set up, either as it's going down or coming back up, depending upon 'how' I'm generating strikes.

Texas Rig 

I start by sliding a slip sinker (the size depends upon the lure I'm going to use) just by inserting the line through the small end first and sliding it on the line. Then, using a 2 or 3/0 hook and tie it on the line using the same method as the Drop Shot Rig. It's a really simple and secure knot. For the plastic, I insert it about a 1/4 inch back of the nose and then shove that all of the way up the hook. Once I reach the end of the hook, I simply bury the tip of the hook in my plastic, creating a weed guard for my hook. It affords me the ability to drag through heavy cover without snagging.

Carolina Rig 

I use an egg sinker for this one, a bead a swivel and a 12-18 long leader. I start by sliding the egg sinker on first then the bead (as a shock insulator for the swivel) and then I tie on a swivel. Now the bead helps absorb some of the shock from the weight sliding back and forth. All of the knots I tie are the same as they are strong and reliable. The knot is called a 'Palomar Knot' and it works great. At this stage, I'm half done as I now have to tie on a hook. I use a good 6 or 8 lb test leader and I tie about 12-18 inches of it to my swivel. Now I'm ready for a hook, and once again I use a 2 or 3/0 hook tying it on using the same method I've talked about. I hook my plastic on exactly like I talked about with the Texas Rig making it a weed guard style hook. Now, when I toss my line over the side, the egg sinker slides up and down and my plastic has a resistance free presentation when a Bass strikes.

That's it, the four set ups for plastics.Thanks for reading and I'll see you on the trail--