Drop Shot RigOne of the best soft plastic rigs for bass fishing is a drop shot rig. Worm style hooks are what the vast majority of anglers (myself included) are using these days for 90 per cent of weedless soft bait rigging. The best knot for a jig head is the loop knot . The most well-known way of rigging soft plastics is the Texas rig. Like nose hooking on a dropshot, wacky rigging a plastic is a great way to free up the action and create a profile that bass can’t resist. It is similar to the Texas rig in that the plastic worm or bait is rigged weedless, but the weight is separated from the lure with a leader and a swivel. You don’t need to go crazy with it because it’ll have its own action but a few twitches here and there won’t hurt. There are a bunch of different ways to rig them up and in this post, I’m going to be showing you the 4 best ways to rig up your soft plastic lures. Your plastic now needs to be rotated 180 degrees and once done you need to carefully align your hook up with the chosen bait to determine where the hook will rest. Tyler Nonn, twcharters.com. Rigged right these can be tossed in skinny water and are effectively weedless. There are of course numerous reasons behind this and the first lies in the fact that some of the profiles, colours and shapes of soft plastics are such a near replication of the baitfish these fish are feeding upon it is quite remarkable. A worm hook placed in a soft plastic makes the rig. by OTW Staff April 11, 2019. We aren't fishing or outdoors "experts" but we enjoy trying out new gear, testing different theories, and leaving the outdoors better than we found it. All are effective but it must be mentioned that the “ball in loop knot” method is absolutely useless if using a worm style hook that features an eye sitting at 90 degrees. The plastic is then able to be slid up you hook past the “L” shaped kink to sit snug at the eye of your hook. Tyler Nonn prefers to fish with a 10-inch … We’ll be doing giveaways on our YouTube channel and all you have to do to enter is click here to subscribe to our channel, like a video, and comment giveaway. This is going to add some weight so you can cast it better and it’ll help the bait sink. How to Tie a Texas Rig for Bass and Saltwater Fishing. Their soft plastic bodies are ideal for fishing with a jig head, Texas rig, split-shot, or fished with a Carolina rig. On the other side of the swivel, you attach a 12- to 60-inch leader, tied to an appropriate hook and a soft plastic bait. ProjectZ Season 4. Hogy. In this chapter we look at selecting a standard jighead and how to effectively rig a soft plastic on a standard jighead. It’ll work best if you’re using a slimmer bait. With many different baits, hooks, and actions soft plastics can be a bit tricky to get started with. Fishing World is Australia’s premier and longest established fishing magazine and has become known as the “sport fishing bible”. Texas Rig Soft Plastics. Before casting anything you have rigged remember to always “swim” your chosen bait close by to simply observe the lures action. Learn more about catching bass with soft-plastic lures and jig heads in the video above. Nothing fancy, just bass rigs you make with a bait, a sinker, and a hook. In this chapter we look at selecting a standard jighead and how to effectively rig a soft plastic on a standard jighead. The angling edge at such locations comes with leaving the comfort zone and trying something different, in this case, soft plastics. In certain areas 30 lb gear may not be enough to stop a barramundi in a forest of timber. You can drag it along the bottom or lift it up a few feet and let it sink back down. Here’s how to rig it up: Sometimes the fish will prefer going after a baitfish compared to something crawling on the floor and that’s when the drop shot rig comes into play. Texas Rigging A Soft Plastic The other reason I like a drop shot rig is it allows your soft plastic baits to have more action while they suspend off the bottom. Given the environment these fish live and their absolute love of heavy timber snags, weedless soft plastics can be a fantastic inclusion into any luring kit. Bigger fish such as spangled perch and even baby bass are all high on the menu. The mistake many anglers make is not keeping the worm on center with the hook. Slide the hook through the bait and make it so that the head sits on the offset shank and then pushes the hook’s point through the bait. Click Image Below to Play. In the hunt for barramundi, mangrove jack and cod I much prefer the accuracy and ease of operation offered by bait casting set ups. • Slide the hook through the bait and rotate it back around so the head sits in the offset shank. Both work very well and the best idea always is to carefully match hook size and pattern to the various plastic being used. Elkton, Maryland. Sometimes a fish will move the bait and the weight is sitting on the bottom … Rigging keys: Choose a hook that reaches back into the body, but not into the part of the tail that actually “swims.” Jigheads work best for open water and umbrella rigs. You can also get away with hooking your soft plastics … Tue, Aug 6th, 2019 12:00:00 am. Slide the bait to the top of the shaky head, rotate the hook, and put the hook back in the worm (same as the Texas rig). About a year ago, I made a YouTube video titled "This is My Favorite Soft Plastic!!!" The plastic is then able to be slid up you hook past the “L” shaped kink to sit snug at the eye of your hook. All you have to do is attach your hook or jig to your line and hook the worm in the middle. Q: Do soft-plastics work on other rigs, too? Z-Man plastics are soft, yet durable and can even withstand the onslaught of numerous toothy critters. The piece showcased my love affair with the Z-Man FattyZ, how to fish it, and why I've found it so incredibly appealing in a variety of finesse situations.Over 26,000 views later, my take on the matter hasn't changed; I can't get enough of this bait. RIGGING - JIGHEAD. There are a bunch of different ways to rig them up and in this post, I’m going to be showing you the 4 best ways to rig up your soft plastic lures. Sign-up to receive the twice-weekly email newsletter. Part 3 GOAT ToadZ - Raw Sketches. Shaky head rig – To rig a shaky head rig, insert the hook point into the bait head and back out below it. Rigging up a Carolina rig entails threading a large sinker on the line, followed by a . This is a simple procedure but does need some explanation for those who may be unfamiliar with this deadly method. Feel free to give it a share! It could be in the weeds, around a fallen tree, in shallow water, or around a dock. Here are my favorite ways to rig soft plastics: Texas rig. 2021 Boat … Soft plastic shad fishing lures are proven fish catchers, partly due to the wriggling action they get from their paddle tails and their realistic apperance. If you’ve ever fished in a weeded area you probably know all too well that snags are going to happen. The Carolina Rig below has the sinker running on the mainline above a swivel with a short trace to the unweighted plastic. The sinker will fall to one side rendering the plastics action useless and this method must be used with hooks with an eye that sits at 180 degrees. It works well and you can buy a bunch for fairly cheap. Want to enter into our fishing gear giveaway? This is a simple procedure but does need some explanation for those who may be unfamiliar with this deadly method. Like this article? They're a fantastic looking fish and their willingness to crash a surface lure, swimbait and other lures is also a huge contributor towards this surge in popularity. When soft plastics fishing for flatties I use 2 simple techniques. Rig it correctly and you’ll be amazed at the subtle action you get from the soft plastics … You want to keep the weight on the bottom the entire time so all you have to do is give the rod a few twitches. Get on the water with the ProZ who rely on our baitZ! This will sit very flush or if desired your hook point can be lightly pinned just under the skin of the lure. It really does pay to have a more in-depth look at the various methods of rigging weedless presentations. But when targeting redfish, snook, and trout in shallow water, here are the three rules I’ve found to work best: Rule #1: Rig The Bait Properly. Remarkably, some even smell and taste like the real thing too! As a result, many bass anglers know how to do this rig. We Neko rig a lot of fat, straight-tail worms and often just wet the O-ring or the worm and slide it onto the plastic. Surface frogging is a visual way of catching mangrove Jack and other species. If boat or kayak based these outfits are a dream to cast and enable you to really punch up lures against timber snags and vegetation. The point lies right along the back so the lure is almost completely weedless, and it casts much easier and more accurately when rigged this way. Go through the bottom and out the top so the hook is sticking standing the right way up. Backcountry Cariboo is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees (at no cost to you) by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. In this portion of the how-to video, you will learn how to rig your soft plastic jerkbait to fish the bait on or near he surface of the water. This will allow the worm to stand upright when it’s floating in the water. When fishing with soft plastic lures, the rigging of them is extremely important. The shaky head rig is pretty similar to the Texas rig but the main difference is that it’ll allow the tail of the bait to stick straight up in the air. Techniques with lures and soft plastics. It’s best used in clearer water where you have finicky fish and don’t want the bait sitting on the bottom. There are many hook patterns and brands such as Owner, TT, Mustad, VMC, Gamakatsu and Wilson, who are all now producing high quality worm style hooks. What this displays is that there are times where the fish are “lazier” but will certainly take the opportunity to eat when the offering comes past home and up in their face. Texas-rigging a soft plastic to a bare hook and no weight, you can cast it out and bring it in with a steady retrieve, or use a pause-and-twitch retrieve, at any depth from the surface down. Shimano make many rods that fit this description. Rig Jigheads So the body Is straight, not crooked If a soft plastic has a straight back then it needs to be rigged onto the jighead in such a manner that it remains straight. How To Rig Jerk Baits. Soft plastic lures have been available since the plastic worm was introduced to the market in 1951. Related Videoz. This seems to work best for me but you can also hop it, shake it, or swim it. With this I simply incorporate a 1/16th bullet head sinker and allow this to run down my leader to meet the lure (Texas style rigging method). Doing that will cause the worm to move. 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