Texas Rigging 101

Ah, the Upper Midwest, the land where the walleye is king. Pike, though proud to be the state fish of North Dakota is overshadowed by South Dakota and Minnesota’s finned favorite son. As for my beloved bass, well, they are just merely afterthoughts in the North Country Fishing Encyclopedia. But should you turn a blind eye to all the walleye whoop-de-doo this spring and summer and pursue either largemouth or smallmouth in this region, Our Outdoors proudly presents the “Texas Rigging 101” course, guaranteed* to put a few more fish on your line and on your roll of film. (*Not a guarantee)

A Very Brief History

Texas rigs are about as old as the first soft plastic worms. Developed by Nick Creme in the 1950s, these first vermiform plastics were reusable, flexible, and downright effective on bass. Throughout the past five decades variations on the worms from a multitude of manufacturers have spawned not only new styles of worms, but also entirely new soft-plastic bait categories as well. Tube, fluke, shad, lizard, brush hog, and crawdad plastics of various sizes, shapes and colors can be found on the walls of many popular chains and mom-and-pop tackle stores throughout the country. All are effective in catching fish, some more than others depending on the situation. Some are scented with garlic, others are impregnated with salt. Most manage to make a tacklebox smell like a pizza parlor run by a family of crayfish.

Accompanying some form of soft plastic in a Texas rig is a hook. Hooks, well, they’ve been around forever; so long I’m certain no one can put an exact date on it. First made out of the bones of animals or pieces of wood, indigenous people around the globe speared worms, bugs, and hunks of blubber from their latest kill on these early hooks to entice the fish they saw swirling in their local lake or stream. Voila! Angling was invented. In the era of steel and titanium, choices aren’t limited to oak and deer femurs. There are over 20 pages in the Cabela’s Master Catalog that deal solely with varieties of hooks. Some are suited for Texas rigs, but most are not. Worm hooks are probably the best; some are specialized for thick worms, others for tubes, a few for lizards and specialty baits. Going with the keep-it-simple theory, lets examine a 2/0 worm hook from the VMC company. This hook is a basic hook; it has an offset gape, is moderately thick, and is chemically sharpened with an inexpensive price tag. For my efforts in the Upper Midwest, these hooks have fit the bill perfectly when it comes to largemouth bass.

Texas Rigging Steps Place hook in worm, cast worm out, catch fish, it’s that simple right? Not really. Well, it IS, but probably not to a person who has never done it before. A Texas rig involves a little twisting of the bait, some tweaking of the hook, and the addition of weight. Follow along with the sidebar guide and go step-by-step until the process becomes habit. Try practicing with inexpensive baits such as bargain-bin tubes or worms if needed.

Getting Started - Necessary, of course, are a hook and a worm (or other soft plastic) and a weight if the situation calls for it.

1) Place hook in worm: I like to penetrate the hook in a little bit deeper than the length of the neck of the hook. Usually on a 2/0 VMC, that depth is about 1/8-inch deep before I turn it out through the bottom of the plastic.

2) Thread the hook through the worm: Carefully slide the length of the hook through the hole you have created in the plastic until it looks like the second picture. The eye of the hook can be inside the plastic a little or it can be out. This variation can be determined by your preference or that of the fish.

3) Insert hook into plastic again: Run the hook point back up through the worm so that it rests flat on the top side of the soft plastic. If there’s a bend it the worm, that’s ok, it may provide some triggering action that might stimulate a bite. I like my worms to lay flat on the hook most of the time, call me a purist if you must.

4) “Texposing” the hook: If you are fishing cover, you may want to tuck the point of the hook under the plastic to prevent snagging weeds. Simply pierce the point into the underlying plastic to prevent vegetation from accumulating on the lure. In the case of thick cover, you may want to leave the hook underneath the plastic completely in step three – that is the original Texas rig. Just remember, if the hook point is not out of the plastic, you will have to set the hook harder to penetrate both the plastic and the mouth of the fish.

5) Add a weight, or don’t: Attaching a bullet sinker of varying size at the front of your offering will help you deliver your snag-proof, fish-catching composition to any depth and at any rate of fall. If it is an early July evening, and the bass are smacking the surface, refrain from weighting the offering and pull the lure through the surface slop. Adjust your presentation with various weights in different shapes, or move the weight up the line and use an egg sinker to make a silent version of the Carolina rig. Bullet sinkers and egg sinkers will resist snagging more than a standard splitshot. I recommend Water Gremlin’s BullShot sinkers for their easy-on easy-off application on the water. Such a weight is evidenced in picture five.

6) Cast lure out, catch fish: I guess it is that simple!

Texas-rigged lures are great for slithering off of the shoreline into shallow weedy areas. Since they don’t snag up as often and look more natural when they don’t fall out of the sky into the water, this approach can be very effective. These setups don’t hang up as easily on tree limbs or between rocks either, giving anglers an advantage over bass. Further, hydrodynamic body stylings on tubes allow them to be skipped several feet under cover like trees and docks when rigged in this manner. Indeed, Texas-rigging a soft plastic bait puts a whole new arsenal of lures and a whole new strategy at an angler’s fingertips.

So this openwater season, if you’re looking for bass, a Texas-rigged worm such as the Storm Ribbonworm or the Yamamoto Senko can be a deadly late spring and summertime lure. Texposed tubes are my go-to for dock fishing with a 1/16-ounce BullShot leading the lure down into cover. Texposed, unweighted tubes are great for slop-loving largemouth, and when the action is hot, they can be the most exciting lure an angler can throw. Check out the variety of soft plastics available, and find out which one works best for your fishing trip.

Expand your horizons this year - try out a Texas-rigged soft plastic for bass in the region. You might find yourself wondering what that other fish you were fishing for was before you went angling for bass…in our outdoors.

Editor's Note: Once again, Nick continues to extend his knowledge of fishing different species throughout the Upper Midwest. Through the years I've seen a lot of his photos come through the photo gallery and also his personal site. It's amazing the fish he catches; well actually, it's not that amazing...just facinating! He has put long hours into researching and putting that very research to test on the water. Because of it, I now know how to do a little Texas Riggin, now I need to put it to the test myself!