How To Setup The Best Bass Fishing Rigs

What is the best way to set up a bass fishing rig? Its one of the first challenges you encounter when you decide to take up bass fishing.

There are several tried and true ways you can present a lure to a big, hungry bass. Becoming familiar with some simple but effective bass fishing rigs will help you catch more fish.

Here are a few of the best ways to set your line up for bass fishing.

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• Weightless Worms
• The Texas Rig
• The Carolina Rig
• The Drop Shot
• Hard Baits

Weightless Worm

Shopping List:

• Worm Hooks 3/0 - 5/0 -
• Soft Plastic Worms or Other Soft Plastic Lures -

As the name states, all we have here is a worm hook tied to your fishing line. The worm is then placed on the hook, usually Texas rigged but can also be wacky rigged for maximum action while the worm is going through the water column. This setup is not limited to worms but can also be used with any other soft plastic lure available. This is a very simple and productive rig.

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Texas Rig

Shopping List:

• Worm Sinkers 1/4 to 3/8 ounce -
• Worm Hook - 3/0 - 5/0
• Soft Plastic Worms or Other soft lures -

The Texas rig is very simple way to set up your fishing line. Above we talk about a weightless worm being hooked Texas style. To complete the Texas rig add a worm sinker to your line before you tie your hook on. The bullet style weight helps pull the rig through cover when fishing grassy or woody areas.

Texas rigging your soft plastics involves pushing the hook point through the tip of the bait about 1/8 inch or so and bringing it back out below the bait, twisting the hook so that the point is pointing back to the belly of the bait and pushing it back through the bait. Once pushed back through only the tip of the hook should be exposed. To make it even easier to move through weeds, skin the exposed end of the hook by just barely placing the hook back into the bait.

Advantages of the Texas Rig.

As mentioned, the difference between the weightless worm and the Texas rig is the addition of the weight. The weight adds the advantage of longer casts and a faster fall. The advantage to the longer cast is pretty self explanatory as for the faster fall, most bites on a lure come during the fall of the lure through the water. This is a reactionary bite and is a great way to get bass to bite when they really aren't looking for a meal.

Checkout our video on the tying the Texas Rig.

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Carolina Rig

Shopping List: 

Carolina rigging is an effective way to cover a lot of area quickly. To tie this rig you will first slip a egg sinker on to your main line followed by a bead. The line is then tied to a barrel swivel. On the other side of the barrel swivel you will tie your leader.

Your leader can be the same as the main line but I usually opt for fluorocarbon as my main line and then monofilament as my leader material. Your leader should be at least 2 foot long with 3 feet being the usual standard. Some anglers will go even longer. Just watch the length especially if you are using a rod shorter than 7' long. You can run into casting problems using short rods.

Tie on a 3/0 to 5/0 worm hook depending on the size of your soft plastic, which is the final component of this rig. As mentioned in both the above rigs, the standard way is again Texas Rigging your lure on this hook.

Some will use crankbiats or other floating lures with the Carolina Rig to keep them up just above the bottom while dragging this rig over grass and other structure giving them a really life like appearance.

*Learn more about the Carolina Rig.

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Drop Shot

Shopping List:

• Drop Shot Hooks - Bass Pro Shops 205-Piece Drop Shot Kit - Kits
• Drop Shot or Bass Casting sinkers
• Soft Plastic Worms or other soft lures

This rig is what they call a finesse fishing tactic. All you need to do here is take your drop shot hook and tie on to your line anywhere from 10 to 18 inches above the end of your line, if not longer, depending on what level of the water column the bass are hanging out. Use a palomar knot to tie your hook and make sure your hook is facing up towards your rod tip during the tying process.

There are a couple of ways you can hook your soft plastics to this rig. One is to simply hook through the nose about 1/4" back. Another really effective way is to wacky rig your worm. This involves hooking the worm in the middle of the body. The concept here is to get maximum motion out of the lure as it falls and sways with the current of the water. This really entices a bass to strike. Add a sinker to the end of your line and you are ready to cast out and catch your next prize.

See more on the dropshot rig.

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Crankbaits, Spinnerbaits and other hard lures

This one is simple enough. Most other lures you use will be tied directly to your line. You can also at times use a snap swivel to make changing out lures easier and faster. Some anglers believe though, that a snap swivel affects the performance of the lure. The best way to find out is to try it yourself. The only other variances in rigging these type lures would be the use of trailers for spinnerbaits, chatter or buzz baits and jigs. Adding a soft plastic lure to these as a trailer can really help in attracting a big bass to take your lure.

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Using this list as a guide to set up your line for bass fishing will give you plenty of ways to rig your lures the next time you are hunting your prize winning catch.

Now that you know the bass fishing rigs to use, learn more about the Largemouth Bass.

More great info on our bass fishing home page.