Texas rig – A Fishermans Guide

Step 1: Add a bullet weight to leader and tie on a texas rig hook.

The first thing you need to do is add the bullet weight to your leader. Slide this up the line out of the way for the moment. The weights are used to help you position your bait in deeper cover quickly.

There are a couple of things to note when adding weight to your rig.

Heavier weights will help move the bait quicker down the water column but this can cause an issue if you are fishing in heavily weeded areas where you wait the bait to glide over the top of the weeds and not get embedded or buried in the weeds.

Anglers choice here is to use the lightest weight possible but make sure you can still feel the lure or soft plastic as its dances along the bottom of the lake bed.

Step 1: Texas Rig setup

The weight can be left to run free on the leader or pinned in place to cover the took of the hook and lure.

We prefer to pin the weight in place with a small peg. This holds everything snug and lets the eye of the hook and the know up into the cone shape of the bullet weight.

This gives a streamlined appearance because the weight sits flush with the end of the worm or lure.

Step 2: Adding your bait to the rig.

As mentioned we prefer using wide gap hooks with a kicked shank. Straight shank hooks can also be used but these work best for us and allow for better presentation. It also allows us to fish weedless setups and lets us cover more ground that a normal rig would get snagged in.

Slide the point of the hook into the very tip of the lure with the tail pointing away from the hook tip. You only want to push it in about a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch or so – but this depends on the lure you are using and the hook size.

Step 2: Adding the bait

In this example we have a paddle tail lure as they work best in the water we fish in, but you can use rubber worms or Senko’s if that works for you.

Step 3: Setting the bait up properly.

Now that you have the hook tip inserted you want to spin your bait 90 degrees towards the mouth of the hook. Pull the hook through until you reach the elbow in the hook shaft. You want the bait to cover this section of the hook but sit flush when finished.

Step 2: Baiting your rig

Once the hook is mostly through the bait you are ready for the next step. Be careful not to pull too much or too aggressively in case you pull the hook all the way through the worm or tear the rubber lure.

They are inexpensive but no pointing in waisting them unless it’s because a huge fish has torn them apart…

Step 4: The Twist.

Once you reach the point where you have pushed the hook through the worm up to the offset on the shaft you need to turn the lure.

Now it gets a bit tricky so take your time at this point.

Step 5: Finishing the setup.

The last two steps are really important so take you time here.

When you have pushed the lure all the way up the hook shaft and twisted the soft plastic to line everything up, lay the look flat over the lure to gauge where you want to insert the tip of the hook into the body.

Step 5: Getting the hook position right

It is really important that your worm or paddle tail lure is straight and fully extended.

When you have everything set up and positioned pierce the plastic lure with the hook and push it into the body slightly to protect the tip.

Correct texas rig setup

This gives you the weedless action.

Notice the hook tip is pushed into the bait and the gape of the hook is below the baits. This allows for great presentation and mimmics natural prey.

When the fish attacks, it’s usually tail first, with a sharp bite down on the swimbait, which exposes the hook. This results in lightning fast, big bites all day long.