Various Ways To Fish Soft Plastics (Rigging Instructions)

I have determined that there are MANY ways to fish a soft plastic bait. I have tried to identify the more common ways of rigging a bait and plan on explaining how the rig is put together and tied. This is NOT a comprehensive list, just one that takes into account the more commonly used fishing techniques.

To start off with the old fashioned Texas Rig. It consists of a weight and a hook, sometimes glass or plastic beads are also added. The hook is tied to the main line in whatever style of knot you prefer to use. Ahead of the hook is a weight of some kind, normally a pass through weight, often called a slip sinker (weight). If a bead(s) is/are added, it would go between the weight and the hook. The hook then goes through the nose of the soft plastic bait and comes out approximately �� after it goes in. The hook is then turned, to face the bait and gathered up, so you can push the hook back into the bait at a lower point that it is hanging. This is to get the bait hanging straight down. The hook point can be buried in the bait or exposed or even skin hooked, called Texsposed. The most weedless hooking is either the Texposed or the hook point buried in the bait.

Carolina rigging uses the same hook/weight/beads configuration, but it also has a leader, between 5� and 7� long, depending on how finicky the fish are, and a swivel or Carolina keeper. Here, the weight goes on the main line, then the swivel or Carolina keeper goes onto the tag end of the main line. If the Carolina keeper is used, there is no need for a leader, as this separates the weight from the hook. If a swivel is used, then tie the leader directly to the open half of the swivel. Next comes the hook and the soft plastic bait is then rigged as the Texas rigged soft plastic is, i.e. skin hooked, main body hooked (Texas rigged) or exposed hooked. You can also nose hook the bait in clear water that has nothing to catch on the exposed hook.

The Alabama (umbrella) rig is fished using a multiple metal armed device. There is a head with a ring attached to it that the main line ties too. The head resembles a spinnerbait or jig head design. The metal arms can be a few as 2 to as many as 20+. Some A-rigs have willow leaf blades on them to mimic shad fleeing. To each arm is attached a snap, the snaps are then opened to take on a hook or a jig head with a hook to attach a soft plastic to. Generally, the shad shaped soft plastics are used to bait the A-rig. These are commonly called swim baits or swim tail baits. Each soft plastic body is then placed on the hook, similar to the Texas rigged hook, exposed, skin hooked (Texsposed), buried in the body or nose hooked. The A-rig is commonly thrown on heavy line or even braided line. This rig mimics a school of bait fish and often works well on suspended fish.

A shaky head rig is commonly called a finesse rig and can be fished with another rig called the drop shot rig. All a shaky head is, is a small jig head with a hook on it. Jig heads as light a 1/16th oz to as big as 1 oz can be used. They come in football heads, round heads and flat heads to stand up on the bottom of the lake. The hook then takes a soft plastic bait rigged in any of the aforementioned rigging types. Mostly, this is used to catch finicky fish. The lighter the head, the slower the fall rate of the bait is, so generally, the easier it is for a fish to bite it, falling slowly in front of them.

The drop shot rig is also called a finesse rig. It can be fished in conjunction with the shaky head. Here, a special weight is used to tie the drop shot rig (unless used with the shaky head). This weight has a set of pinchers to pinch the line with, but can be easily removed, if hung up on the bottom. You CAN fish a drop shot with regular weights, but they are much harder to attach than the drop shot weight. On the drop shot, a length of leader line is left behind the hook, in other words, the hook is tied above where the tag end of line and the weight goes. Now, some people tie a short leader before the hook, thus letting it swing even easier, but the standard drop shot is tied directly to the main line w/o any additional leader for the hook. As mentioned above, the drop shot and shaky head are also referred to as a finesse rig or a �weenie� rig.

A fairly easy way to rig a soft plastic is to use it as a jig/spinerbait/buzzbait trailer. Many baits, i.e. creature baits, lizards, crawdads, jig trailers, brush hogs, flappin� hogs, etc.. can be easily used on the back of a jig to slow the fall and give the jig more action when worked through the water. Only your imagination is the cut off for what can/cannot be used as a jig trailer. Some slide the soft bait on the hook and leave it exposed, while others do a skin hook to make it more weedless, again, your imagination is the only thing limiting you as to what and how to use a soft plastic bait as a jig trailer.

Weightless is a VERY popular way to rig a fluke style bait (minnow or shad imitation). Now weightless can be done several ways, not to confuse, but to enhance the bait moving through the water. The first weightless is just that putting a soft plastic bait on a hook, normally Texposed or skin hooked w/o any weight what so ever. Another weightless adds a small nail to the bait to make it sink faster. While this is not truly weightless, it is considered as a weightless presentation. Another way to rig weightless is with a split shot above the hoook. I prefer to use a big swivel, in place of the split shot to get the same forward swimming motion you get with this presentation. A split shot rig is also considered a finesse style presentation. Here is a unique weightless rig, called a double fluke rig. It involves two swivels and two leaders. I have fished this weightless rig for over 14 years and it works great on schooling fish. It is actually a takeoff on a drop shot rig. Slide one swivel onto your main line, tie a 12-18� leader onto the free end of the swivel and a hook at the bottom of the leader. On the tag end of your main line, tie the other swivel to it and then tie an 18-24� leader with a hook onto it. This mimics a school of shad and works great around schooling fish.

The weightless presentations are normally used as a swimming style retrieve, in slow or moderate retrieve or with jerks added to the retrieve. Jerk, take up the slack, jerk, take up the slack and repeat to whatever cadence you feel is the best for the conditions you are fishing. MANY people swim a jig, and this presentation is HUGE for the jig trailer. Most fishermen want to move a LOT of water while fishing a jig (not to be confused with a finesse jig presentation) and they want as many things on the soft plastic bait to move, appendages, legs, claws, tail, etc.. Swimming a jig has become popular in the past several years and MANY people throw a swimming jig with a chatterbait. Using the aforementioned baits as trailers on a chatterbait can also catch a lot of fish. A chatterbait would be considered a bladed jig.

Wacky rigging is simply putting the bait on the hook sideways. Instead of threading the hook through the nose of the bait, you thread the hook through the essential middle of the bait and fish it that way. This presentation often is done in short jerks, as that makes the bait gyrate to a rhythm instead of just straight reeling. Any soft plastic bait can be wacky rigged, but most of the time, it is some type of worm or senko that is wacky rigged.

Jika and Slither rigged soft plastics are a newer rather new presentations. The Jika rig is using a hook and putting a snap or swivel or split ring on the hook and then adding a bell sinker to the hook. This is to create more action in the bait than a Texas rigged soft plastic. The slither rig is a bullet weight with a skirt on it, just above a normal worm hook. Some consider a Slither rig to be a VERY short big drop shot weight with a hook tied about 5-6� above it. So, depends on what part of the country you are from as to what different rigs are called. Most soft plastics are then Texas rigged or Texposed to keep them more weedless.

Again, this is by no means a comprehensive list of rigging for soft plastics, but hopefully, it will give you a reference to try new things. Each presentation has caught fish, some with more ease than others, but they are all fish catching presentations. Really, the only thing that limits you on how to fish a soft plastic bait is your mind and imagination. The more you think about it, the more options you will come up with, so just because there is no name for it or no one has tried it before does not mean much, in fishing terms. Hope this helps. I would like to thank Ralph Manns, Bob Gross, Jay Grave and Paul Ferguson with their help writing this article. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

What, no comments after 100 views? It only took about 3.5 hours one day to put together. Tight lines keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Good information. Thanks for all the your hard work.

Probably good to add punching and maybe florida... I don't use it, and I consider it a pretty basic texas rig mod but it's different none the less...
As for punching, maybe also include the Okeechobee/Sizmic rig... I'm not sure how effective that rig is though, seems like the fish would be picking up a LOT of weight when it took the bait, and also have a lot of weight to throw a hook as you drag it through the worst of the worst cover... I have my own special something in mind for a new punching rig, gotta figure out details and try and make one though...

http://fishing-hit.com/florida-rig/

Thank you Sir for your highly informative and well written article.
Bill

Thanks Mr. Rains. Putting all those techniques in one place will without a doubt help many or our young anglers better understand a lot of terminology and set-ups for many different rigs.

I truly appreciate your articles and read all of them.

Thanks to all that have commented. It certainly helps to get feedback. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

also adding the rage rig might be good, that's a very popular one actually that doesn't get much limelight attention

Very nice article; after reading it, it reminds me to try small 1/16oz hair jig to shaky this weekend on some rip rap.

Very nice Thad!

Like Don said, this is great stuff for someone getting into bass fishing, and also a good reference tool for everyone. What may even help more is if you go into hook styles and sizes for each application.

I bet you that some of the High School team leaders are printing it off and giving it to their young fishermen and fisherwomen, I know I would if I was in that position!

Thanks for taking the time to write the article and sharing with others.

I've read a few of the other articles you wrote and the ones on fishing crankbaits have helped a lot. Thanks again !!!!

Thad- great right up, it's gonna help a lot of folks.
Love TFF !

TTT

Could you post your crankbait test article?

Sure, but which one? 100 CB test or silent vs. rattle? PM me if you want.

Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains