Basic Texas Rig

The Texas Rig is one of the simplest, yet most effective rigs out there. The rig is set up by simply taking a soft plastic bait (worm, crayfish, minnow) and Bass hook. Use the Bass hook to make a small incision in the beginning of the lure, and carry the hook through and embed it into the middle of the lure (as pictured).

This rig is limited in the type of fish that it produces, but it should be a mainstay in any serious Bass fisherman's repertoire. It is most effective, when fishing for Large Mouth Bass although smaller fish will chase it. The embedded hook makes the rig weedless, allowing your plastic bait to cover area that baits with exposed hooks can not cover, due to foliage. These areas are often, where the larger Bass hide and feed.

Personally, I enjoy fishing the Texas Rig and it is often the first rig I use, when Bass fishing. This rig has produced Bass for me in areas that were considered to have poor Bass fishing conditions. I recommend fishing this rig in areas with high seaweed concentrations, in or around boat wells, and in areas of high underground structure in your favorite local fishing spot. Try to use crayfish plastic lures or the generic Senco Worm, also use colors that match the water color.

My only qualms about the rig are that bigger fish will often ignore this setup, Bass will generally lose interest after a reaction strike, it loses quite a few fish if you don't set the hook hard, the rig loses effectiveness with current. However, to counter current you can apply a split shot weight 6-12 inches away from the hook. The application of this weight system will catch onto weeds, but I use this to get deeper into weed beds (remember to clean off before your next cast). The more conventional way to apply weight to the rig is add a bullet weight to the beginning of your bass hook. This keeps the rig clear of weeds, though personally I don't use this weighting system.

In the past week this rig has gotten me a 17inch 4lb Large Mouth. I go fishing generally once a day in the summer and will use the rigs and lures in my post for a week at a time and post my analysis of the lures here. Tune in next week for the Wacky Rig, another personal favorite of mine.