Rigging Guide
Weightless Rig
The purest form of rigging, and most deadly with the Senko. No sinker is used and the hook can be tied directly to the main line. Optionally, tie the hook to a 12”-24” leader tied to a swivel to reduce any line twist that may occur with weightless rigs.
27
Pegged Texas Rig
Jam a wooden toothpick in the end of a bullet sinker and break it off. Don’t jam it in so tightly that you risk weakening the line. Slide it down the line, and the toothpick will hold the sinker securely against the nose of a soft bait used in heavy cover. The sinker and bait will act like one unit that slips through weeds and resists snagging in cover.
The 6” 9L Senko (color 187) rigged weightless produced an amazing 10.27lb world record spotted bass for California angler Bryan Shishido.
Unpegged Texas Rig
A bullet sinker is allowed to slide freely on the main line with the hook tied di- rectly to the main line, but sometimes the sinker can slide far up the line away from the bait. This makes for inaccurate casts and imprecise presentations. For more control over an unpegged sinker, you can contain it on a short 12”-18” leader tied to a swivel. This gives you the freedom of unpegged lure move- ment and you gain better control over the cast and presentation.
Screw-In Rig
An advancement over the toothpick-pegging method, screw-in sinkers are mold- ed around a thin Teflon tube and a corkscrew wire that screws into the nose of a soft bait. Slip the sinker on the main line, tie the hook directly to the main line, and screw the sinker into the nose of the bait. This provides the ultimate in weedless and snagless presentation for big bass in heavy cover.
Shakin’ Rig
Use a bead on an unpegged Texas rig. The sinker will hit against the bead and make a clicking noise that can attract fish.
Note: With a pegged bullet or screw-in sinker, it can be important to thread the hook eye up to an inch or more into the bait. This leaves room so the hook eye is not jammed immovably against the sinker. Otherwise, if the eye is pressed against the sinker, gripped inside the fish’s tightly-clamped mouth, then you only move the entire bass/weight/hook forward without penetrating on the hookset. Leaving up to an inch or more of slack ensures enough room to move the hook and have it start to set before it jams up behind the sinker.
Mojo Rig
Mojo sinkers are long and thin. The sinker shape allows a Mojo rig to slide easily through rocks, weeds and brush better than most other sinker types. Mojo rigs also work for vertical fishing in deep water where baits are suspended for bass lurking in or under the tops of flooded trees and brush. They are part of a complete system that includes rubber strands that thread through the sinker to peg it from 12”-24” up the main line above the bait. The rubber strands cushion the line from any potential damage that can occur with wooden toothpicks or crimping splitshots on the line.