How Do You Texas Rig a Soft Plastic, and When Should You Use It?

What a Texas rig is

A Texas rig is a soft plastic with the hook point buried in the bait and a sliding bullet weight in front. Because the point is hidden, it doesn't snag. That's why it's the most weedless rig in bass fishing.

It's the first rig most anglers learn, and the one many go back to all their lives.

How to Texas rig a soft plastic, step by step

1. Slide on the weight. Put a bullet weight on your main line, pointed end up toward the rod.
2. Peg it (optional). For heavy cover, slide a bobber stop or punch stop above the weight so it stays tight to the bait.
3. Tie on the hook. Use a Palomar knot.
4. Start in the nose. Push the hook point straight into the center of the bait's nose and bring it out about 1/4 inch down the belly.
5. Turn the hook. Pull the hook through until the eye is buried in the head, then rotate it 180 degrees so the point faces the bait.
6. Line it up. Lay the hook along the bait to see where the point should go in. Push the point through the body there.
7. Skin-hook it ("Texpose"). Let the point rest just under the surface of the plastic. The bait should hang straight, not bunched up.

If your bait spins when you reel it in, it's not straight. Re-rig it.

Hook, weight and line

Hooks:

• 3/0–4/0 offset or EWG (extra wide gap) for most baits
• 1/0–2/0 for finesse worms
• Offset round bend for skinny worms, EWG for thick creature baits and craws
• Heavy-wire straight shank for punching mats

Weights:

• 1/8 oz or no weight: shallow water, slow fall
• 1/4–3/8 oz: the standard. Most Texas rigging lives here.
• 1/2 oz and up: deeper water, wind, current or heavier cover
• 1 to 2 oz: punching thick mats on the Delta
• Tungsten is smaller and more sensitive than lead. It's worth the money in cover.

Pegged or not? Peg the weight in heavy cover so it doesn't slide up the line and get hung. Leave it loose in open water for a slower, more natural fall.

Line: 12–20 lb fluorocarbon for most work. Braid (50–65 lb) for flipping and punching heavy cover.

Rod: 7' to 7'6" medium-heavy or heavy casting rod with a fast tip.

When to use a Texas rig

Use it when:

• You're fishing cover: tules, grass, laydowns, docks, brush or rock.
• You're flipping or pitching to targets.
• You're punching through matted grass or hyacinth.
• You want to crawl a bait along the bottom without snagging.

Pick something else when:

• Fish are suspended or very deep and pressured. Use a drop shot.
• Bass want a slow, horizontal fall in open water. Use a wacky rig.
• Bass are ignoring everything in clear water. Try a Neko.

Texas rig on the Delta

The Texas rig is a Delta staple. Ways to use it:

• Tules: pitch a Baby Hawg or Stick Bait into pockets and gaps, especially on the shady side. 1/2 oz in tules and grass.
• Riprap: crawl a Stick Bait or Craw along the rock on a slow incoming tide.
• Mats: punch a Baby Hawg into hyacinth or matted grass with 1 to 1-1/2 oz tungsten on braid, and up to 2 oz in the thickest stuff.
• Thick tules: a weightless Texas-rigged Stick Bait slides in quietly.

Texas rig on the Mother Lode lakes

On New Melones, Don Pedro and McClure, drag a Texas-rigged Craw or Finesse Worm on a 3/8 oz weight down rocky points and ledges. Slow hops work best. Most bites feel like a tick or just extra weight.

How to fish it

• Crawl it slowly along the bottom with the rod tip.
• Hop it a foot off the bottom and let it fall back on slack line.
• Pitch it to a target, let it fall, shake it a few times, then pull it out and pitch again.

When you feel a bite: reel down, take up the slack, and set the hook hard. With a buried point, you need a firm hookset.