T
he Texas-
rig has
been a main fixture in bass
fishing for many years
and through that time
it has gone through
some changes.
In 1949, Nick
Cream invented the
first plastic worm
that we all take for
granted now. Nick
had a few tries at
making a rubber worm
version, but the results
were mixed. Not
satisfied Nick turned
his attention to an
emerging plastics field
which showed more
promise. He started to
explore plastics options
from DuPont, where a
lab tech gave him a few
chemicals to try.
Working with these materials he cooked up mixtures
that he poured into a worm mold that he made from steel
and thus the first plastic worm was made. Refining his
mixture Nick produced the first plastic worm that looked
alive and was fishable creating bass fishing history.
Let’s take a deeper dive into today’s Texas-rig fishing
and give you five tactics to improve your fishing today.
WEIGHTS: LEAD, STEEL OR TUNGSTEN
One of the biggest changes to come to Texas-rig fishing is the use of tungsten weights. This has been a slow movement through the years. There are really three material players in the sinker landscape. Lead is first, and is still the most carried among fishermen. It is widely available and is the most cost-efficient on the market.
Next up is steel. Bullet weights are the only manufacturer of
®
steel weights in the
fishing market. These
sinkers are slightly
larger in size than lead,
but steel is a harder
material than lead so
the feel that you get
from steel is improved.
Last up is
tungsten. Tungsten is
the hardest of all three
and weight density is
the highest. You end
up with a smaller size
weight and the best
transmissions of feel,
because of its harder
material. The downside
of tungsten is cost. Of
the three options, it is
the most expensive.
Many fishermen have
accepted this and have
slowly turned towards
tungsten as their
sinkers of choice.
Here is how I manage this situation. When it comes to fishing in weeds, I will use either a lead or steel sinker option, as there is no sinker material advantage. When fishing hard bottom situations, I use a steel or tungsten sinker. I get better feel from these materials to help break areas down better.
FREE MOVING OR PEGGING
This is a category that some fishermen get confused on.
They see someone
peg their weight, so
they think that they
are doing something
wrong, so they start
to peg their weight.
There are reasons for
pegging your weight.
When fishing in
weeds (casting) you
are best to leave your
weight unpegged.
One of the reasons
for this, as your sinker
is falling it many
times will separate
from your bait and
your sinker will fall in
front of your worm
or plastics. To the
bass this looks like a
fish (worm) chasing a
baitfish (sinker) that
fact can trigger bass
to strike your worm.
Spring 2022
page
11