One of the most common questions from anglers new to bass fishing is: how do I actually set up my soft plastic lure? There are dozens of ways to rig one, and the right choice depends on where you are fishing and what the fish are doing.
Rig 1: The Texas Rig — The Foundation
The Texas rig is the most versatile and widely used soft plastic setup in bass fishing. It presents your lure weedless, meaning you can fish it through thick grass and woody debris without snagging.
1. Thread a bullet weight onto your mainline, pointed end facing down. 2. Tie on a wide gap hook using a Palomar knot. 3. Insert the hook point into the head of the worm about 1cm deep, then bring it out. 4. Rotate the hook 180 degrees and bury the point back into the body of the worm.
Rig 2: The Carolina Rig — Cover Ground
The Carolina rig separates the weight from the lure, allowing your soft plastic to float naturally behind a sliding sinker. Ideal for covering large areas of flat, open bottom.
Rig 3: The Drop Shot — Finesse Magic
The drop shot suspends your lure at a fixed height above the bottom. Tie a drop shot hook to your mainline using a Palomar knot, leaving a long tag end. Clip a drop shot weight 20-60cm below the hook. Hook your soft plastic through the nose only.
Rig 4: The Wacky Rig — The Slow Fall
Hook a stick bait through the middle and the two ends wriggle in a V shape on the way down. Bass simply cannot resist it. Cast to dock posts, weed edges, or trees and let it fall on slack line.
Rig 5: The Ned Rig — When Nothing Else Works
A small piece of soft plastic on a light mushroom-head jig. When the bite is tough, the Ned rig gets bites. Fish slowly along the bottom with subtle twitches.
Custom Bait Shack supplies premium soft plastic lures for all of these rigs — shop at custombaitshack.com