Bass Fishing the Texas Rig

The Texas Rig is a staple set up for fishing both smallmouth and largemouth bass with artificial bait.  A Texas rig consists of a soft plastic bait that has a bullet weight above it with the hook threaded inside the head of the worm and buried into the bait to make it weed less.  The line is simply threaded through the bullet weight to allow the weight to slide freely up and down the line.  Some anglers add a small glass bead between the bullet weight and the hook for more enticement.  This addition falls into the category of personal choice.  Some link the glass beads and some don't. 

To rig the hook inside the worm you insert the point into the head of the plastic bait for a short distance, exiting the hook outside the bait around 1/4 of an inch from the head.  If you are using a worm hook, use the crooked portion of the hook near the eye to determine how far into the bait to come back to the outside.  Once you have the hook all the way out the side of the bait, rotate the whole hook back towards the bait and bury the point into the bait.     

What you need to complete this setup:

• Line – 12lb test + with around 14lb being optimum.


• Weights – Bullet.


• Glass Beads - optional.


• Worm Hook – your choice, and the choices are endless.


• Plastic Worm – again choices are endless.




• Sinking – good for all around fishing.


• Floating – best when you think they are hovering say…around the length you chose for your leader off the bottom.

Order of tying this rig:

Weight >Glass Bead (optional)> Worm Hook w/Worm.

How to fish it:

The Texas Rig and the Carolina Rig are fished in much the same way.  You need a heavy enough rod and tackle to combat hang ups.  Your casting areas will be into cover, thus you will often have to work to retrieve this bait.  It's weed less for a reason...that reason is that you are intentionally casting it into areas of cover where the fish are lying in ambush. 

Cast your bait where you believe the fish to be. Hint – bass like cover. Temperature and time of the year are the considerations for how deep you should be fishing.

A lot of your bites are going to come while your bait and line are falling towards the bottom. The bait is going to tempt the the bass into an ambush.  If you don’t get your bite on the fall, you have to “fish” it some.

To fish the bait after the weight is on the bottom move the tip of your rod just a bit to make it move. Be easy with it. Only use your reel to tighten up the line. You should only be moving the TIP of your rod around eight inches at a tug. Move it some, and then let it sit. Once you think things have settled down a bit, stir things up again with more movement.

Remember, you aren’t reeling in the bait, you are fishing it. Think, “I’m just going to drag the weight on the bottom a little to make the bait dance for old man bass”, because that’s what your goal is. If you jerk your pole 12 inches all at once, this doesn’t make for very realistic action on the bottom of the lake. The weight slowly making it’s way over obstacles on the bottom will give that worm plenty of action. You don’t need to create more with the end of your pole.

After you have fished your bait out of the area of the cover you can retrieve it and re-cast. Fish the area close, with each cast within a foot or two of your last. Thoroughness pays dividends here.