Use these effective rigs to help you on your next fishing trip! Pictures & videos are in work. If we are missing a rig, please e-mail us at tips@howtobass.com and we will get it listed a.s.a.p.

       Carolina Rig

    The carolina rig originated in South Carolina and is the most popular soft plastic rig. It consists of a weight and a bead placed in front of a swivel, then a leader of various lengths with a hook and soft plastic bait. The bead is placed inbetween the swivel and weight to protect the knot. As an extra bonus, it also makes a clicking sound when dragged across the area you fish. The goal of this rig is to have the softbait be located just above a weedline. EX: If you are fishing a weed bed and the weeds are six inches in height, you want your leader long enough that the bait will cruise right above it, or just through the tips of the brush. Here are some tips that may come in handy while fishing with this rig.

       - Use a longer leader size in clear water.
       - Use a heavier weight for deeper situations.
       - While using a carolina rig, keep the weight in contact with the ground.
       - Use this rig where cover is limited. Stay away from wooded areas, and heavy weeds.
       - Fish this rig with a drag and stop motion or pulls. Point your rod forward and drag it to your left or right
          waist. (3 or 9 o' clock position) Experiment with different ways that work for you.
       - The longer the leader, the less you will be able to feel. Keep a shorter leader for better sensitivity.
       - It's best to use this rig on hard bottoms, humps, points and weedlines.
       - Experiment with size, shape and different colored baits when searching for bass.

       Texas Rig

    The Texas rig is a very easy and basic setup that catches fish using soft plastic baits. The biggest advantage of this rig is that it is weedless. Meaning the hook is inserted back into the bait so it won’t catch on debris in the water. It involves sliding a bullet weight on the line first and then attaching a large offset worm hook. Once you attach your soft plastic worm, the bullet weight will rest right on the nose of the worm. When you use the Texas rig, you usually know where the bass are and want to place it as close as you can to the bass. Use these other tips submitted by anglers to help your next fishing trip.

       - Fish the Texas rig using short pulls and/or slow jerks and pauses.
       - Use bigger weights to penetrate thicker cover and for deeper water.
       - Don’t be afraid to set the hook while learning the feeling of the bottom.
       - Make shorter casts for better control.
       - Add a bead between the soft plastic worm and weight for noise and flash.
       - To keep the weight in place, place a tooth pick in the top side of the weight and then using fingernail
          clippers, clip off the excess. Don’t push too hard or your line can break.
       - Watch your line closely in deeper water. Bass will take it most of the time during the fall.
       - Keep slack on your line while letting it fall.
       - If you’re fishing in an area with no cover or flat bottom, expose the hook.
       - Texas rig any kind of soft plastic.
       - Bites can be big and they can be small. Keep your eye on the line!
       - Always let the fish tell you what they want, and experiment with other colors, sizes and shapes until they
          do.

       Floating Rig

       Double Fluke Rig

    The double fluke rig. Just as it sounds, it is a rig with two flukes attached to it. What advantage do you have with this rig vs. a single rig? For obvious reasons you have another chance to hook up with a bass and what’s really great about the double fluke rig is it starts to look like a school of fish, or one fish chasing another making any bass that much more interested. To setup this rig grab your main line and slide it through one of the holes on a barrel swivel. Now attach a big offset hook. 4/0 or 5/0 in size. Now on the other side of barrel swivel attach anywhere from 14 to 20 inches of line. Attach a hook on that line and now attach a fluke to each hook. This bait is used with great success while bass are schooling and is also great for many other applications. Use these tips to help you along the way.

       - The longer the leader off the swivel, the more erratic behavior the fluke will have.
       - Give quick jerks to make the flukes seem injured.
       - Use a heavier line while using this rig. The swivel slides up and down a lot.
       - Purchase quality swivels. You want one that will actually do its job.
       - Always try different colored flukes until you find what works best.
       - Hold on! The bass will attack with force.
       - Fish it like a jerkbait or a steady retrieve with a few pauses.

       Drop Shot Rig

       Split Shot Rig

       Wacky Rig