As any bass fishing veteran can attest, an excellent worm rig has won more tournaments than anything else, hands down.
And while there’s no one rig to rule them all, with just a handful of tried-and-tested options, you can improve your odds of catching trophy largemouth.
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Table of Contents (clickable)
Essential for both Texas and Carolina Rigs, a good offset hook needs to have a wide gap and a sharp point. You can count on Gamakatsu--there’s no better hook company out there.
These purpose-designed hooks are ideal for Wacky and Neko Rigs, and they really do result in more good hooksets than the alternatives.
Bullet weights are used for both Texas and Carolina rigs, and I prefer them to other styles. Your mileage may vary, but for my money, these are my top choice--and I like to keep a few dozen on hand every time I hit the water.
Essential for a Neko Rig, these worm weights stay put.
No Carolina Rig is complete without a big, flashy bead for the bullet weight to slap.
Float stops are a critical component of the Carolina Rig.
While almost any style sinker will work with a Drop-Shot Rig, I find that pencil sinkers are the least likely to get hung up.
You’ll need a good barrel swivel to connect your weighted main line to your leader on a Carolina Rig.
Some anglers prefer to hook an O-ring rather than the worm when Wacky and Neko rigging. These are sized just right for that.
The Texas Rig is probably the most popular choice among bass anglers on any lake I’ve fished, and the reasons why are easy to understand.
Weighted at the nose, the Texas Rig casts true, making tough-to-navigate cover easier than it should be. It also provides enticing action as the weight slides the worm deeper into the water, letting that tail waggle for all its worth. And when worked across the bottom in short hops and falls, it’s proven to catch big bass, season after season.
Add to that that it can be rigged to run essentially weedlessly, and you’ve got a winning combination than any largemouth angler can appreciate.
I really like to run this rig with a soft plastic that makes the most of the downward flutter, whether that’s a craw in spring or a worm in summer.
To assemble a Texas Rig, follow these steps:
The Carolina Rig wonplenty of fans for its ability to free soft plastics from the constraints of a closely-associated weight. That allows the worm to wriggle and float to the bottom very slowly, and this downward fluttering fall is lethal, triggering a reaction strike even when the bass aren’t particularly hungry.
The addition of a bead below the weight also creates some rattle and vibration as you work it.
And when rigged Texas-style, the Carolina Rig’s worm is pretty much weedless.
Considering all that, it’s easy to see why this rig is a tournament favorite.
To assemble a Carolina Rig, follow these steps:
We’ve written quite a bit about the Drop Shot Rig, and suffice it to say, it’s one of our favorites. Check out our drop shot tips!
My go-to finesse option for largemouth, I can’t sing its praises loudly enough. The Drop Shot allows you to work near the bottom at a predictable depth, avoid snags, and provide unbelievable options for soft plastic action.
And whether you nose hook, tail hook, or wacky rig your worms, it gives them unbeatable life as you twitch this rig.
But unlike most worm techniques, this rig is best fished with a lighter bass rod for greater finesse.
To assemble a Drop Shot Rig, follow these steps:
The Wacky Rig and a fat Senko are pretty much all you need to drive bass crazy. By lifting your rod tip, you send your worm shivering and wriggling on the fall. And that’s just magic!
And whether you like to hook your worm or use an O-ring, one thing’s for sure: fished properly, the Wacky Rig is money.
That exposed hook can be a problem in the thick stuff, so I like to run a Wacky Rig where I know I won’t get hung up.
To assemble a Wacky Rig, follow these steps.
The Neko Rig is the new kid on the block, but it’s already getting the nod from pro anglers on the tournament circuit.
Allowing variations in rigging that result in erratic action or predictable trips to the bottom, the Neko Rig takes advantage of off-center weighting and multiple possible hook positions to turn a worm from vertical to horizontal presentation--and back again!
The Neko Rig is really a modified Wacky Rig, although you can vary where the hook runs through the worm (or where you place the O-ring). What remains the same is weighting the fat end of your soft plastic.
To assemble a Neko Rig, follow these steps:
These are proven rigs that tournament pros know and trust to put them in the money, and whether you’d like to fish the circuit or just enjoy a morning’s bass fishing, they’ll help you land more big largemouth--guaranteed!
We hope this article has helped you find a new rig or improve on your old ones, and as always, we’d love to hear from you.
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