Texas rig technique help

[Tasten]

Hey all I've been bass fishing for about 2 months now and I've been using the texas rig. I'm not exactly sure what the retrieve technique is.... I've caught a couple nice largemouth just by casting and retrieving slow-medium speed. I've heard that you need the jerk the bait up or something and then let it sit for however long, but it isn't really seeming to work. Any tips would be appreciated thanks

[keithdog]

There really is no one way to fish a t rigged plastic. Crawl it slowly along the bottom, hop it up and down in short hops, swim it medium slow through the water column, or simply let it sit motionless. Let the fish tell you what they like that particular day. It partly depends on what plastic your fishing with at the moment. Is it a worm, a beaver, a senco. And where you are using it will also change the tactic you will want to first emply. Are you working a worm along the deep edge of a submerged weedbed, or working a creature bait in thick brush? Lots of variables dictate what type of action and retrieve to emply with T rigs.

[screwballl]

It can be used any number of ways which is what makes this so versatile.
Weighted and Slow like a craw, worm, or baby catfish along the bottom;
I have used it drop shot into vegetation (to keep the hook from getting caught on the way down);
Where a creek comes into the lake/pond a bit faster, toss it weightless as far up the creek as you safely can and let it float its way down on its own, especially around bends or wider slower areas;
Position yourself so yo toss it to the higher elevation rocky areas, so it lands close to the surface or at least a shallower area and just short rod tip twitches enough to have it "jump off" and slowly float to the bottom again, then another twitch. This works great along dams/reservoirs or steeper drop offs into the channel of manmade lakes.
Sometimes if I see they are biting the surface, I may toss it parallel to the shore weightless and retrieve faster like a surface snake or something, that usually works in warmer water at dawn and dusk...

[Rebbasser]

Welcome to the forum and the crazy world of bass fishing!

Nice thing about the T-rig is there are a lot of ways to fish it. I use a lift and drop retrieve for probably 99% of my t-rigging. Cast it out, let it sink to the bottom and reel down to it-lower the rod tip as you reel. I usually end with the rod tip in about the 8:00 position. Then lift the rid tip stopping it in the 11-11:30 position. It will lift the bait off the bottom, and when you stop lifting it will fall back to the bottom. Hits usually come on the fall-you may feel a thump, you may see your line move, or you may feel nothing. If you have no hits just continue the retrieve. I rarely move the bait with the reel-I move it with the rod tip, lifting it then letting it fall.

Sometimes the bait will just feel "heavy". It is kind of hard to describe, it feels sort of like you have picked up some weeds or something. If something doesn't feel right, go ahead and set the hook. You will be surprised the number of fish you get that you don't feel until you lift the bait after it falls. Over time the more you use it the better feel you will get for it.

[MallenManson]

Welcome to the insanity that is officially called bass fishing, Tasten.

[Tasten]

Thank you all for the tips, I've been trying the popping up retrieve but I'm fishing off a dock that is about 5 feet raised off the water so when i'm retrieveing it If i pull up a little too much I get a flying hook coming at me I can't really cast real far due to florida's horrible weather lately been getting really bad winds and freezing tempuratures :/

[Tasten]

Originally Posted by MallenManson

Welcome to the insanity that is officially called bass fishing, Tasten.

Haha yes I recently moved to Florida about 2 months ago(thats when I decided to try Bass fishing) I ended catching my first one and I guess what they say is true "once you catch the first bass your hooked" hah

[everettvet]

Tasten,
There are a lot of variables in a texas rig. Such as weight size and type, hook size and style, choosing a type or style of plastic, size of plastic to peg or not, deceiding to hop or drag it, water depth, water clarity and I am sure that I am leaving something out. As you can see, it is not as simple as a weight, hook and plastic bait. I am not an expert. I have been fishing for years and I am still learning. Read as many articles as you can. I bet you can find some you tube videos on the subject. Have fun and welcome to the site.

[Backwater Charlie]

I just raise my rod-tip slowly and let it back down, then eat up all of the excess slack line. I LOOOOOVVVEEE fishing Texas-rigged worms. It's my speciality.

But whatever works for you, keep using.

[BassinNC]

Well I would say about the same thing everyone else has said so ill just say welcome.

[basstech]

Welcome and congradulations on finding the best Bass Fising forum on the internet.
My only advice is, start saving your money, if you really get into the sport, the Bait Monkey is going to pay you a visit, sooner or later.

[Tasten]

Yes I know how that is, nothing like buying a 7 dollar lure and losing it the 4th cast >.<

[orcpr]

When working a shoreline from a boat,notalot of cover,what kind weight would you use?Seems like i have better luck with lighter weights.I dont know why.When i see the guys on tv they almost always use heavier weights than me.Any idea?

[Tavery5]

Originally Posted by Tasten

Thank you all for the tips, I've been trying the popping up retrieve but I'm fishing off a dock that is about 5 feet raised off the water so when i'm retrieveing it If i pull up a little too much I get a flying hook coming at me I can't really cast real far due to florida's horrible weather lately been getting really bad winds and freezing tempuratures :/

Hey Tasten, I was just thinking about your post and that you said you were kinda rippin the bait up off the bottom, sometimes to the point that you were pulling it out of the water. My take on fishing t-rigged plastics is that it is a sort of finesse type fishing. You might want to try and make your cast, let the bait sink to the bottom on a slack line, all the while watching for any indication of a bite, lots of times they will take it on the initial fall. If you don't get bit on the initial fall, let it sit for 20 seconds or so, then just give it the smallest of twitches, very small, let it sit for another 10-15 sec. If you still dont't get bit, then slowly sweep the rod and let the bait fall again. If you still have not got bit, reel it in and repeat. This technique works well for t-rigged senko style worms and many other plastics. Good luck and welcome.