Texas Rigged Worm – Straight or bendy?

I’ve recently got back into fishing about a month ago after a long time away. Sometimes I’m using Texas rigged worms. I’ve been using a non-offset 2/0 hook and a 6 inch worm. (The worms are 20 years old and still work. 59 cents for an 8 pack back then).

My initial rigging was to go straight into the top of the worm, pull the hook out about 3/8 inch down, pull the worm up to the top of the hook, twist the hook, then bury the hook so the point almost comes out of the worm. This results in the top part of the worm having a bend in it. The preferred method I see on youtube for non-offset hooks is to first angle the hook into the top of the worm. Then after repeating all the above steps, the worm is straight. There is no bend at the top. In both cases I use a sliding cone weight above the hook.

So far my results have been that I have caught more fish when the worm has a bend at the top. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Bob

PS – I’m really enjoying the fishing and the experimenting. I’m still making a lot of mistakes but hopefully learning from them.

You don’t want a bend in the worm in my opinion. I try to put all my soft plastics on my rigs as straight as I possibly can. You shouldnt have a bend in your worm the way you are rigging it. Sounds like the same way I do it and I don’t get a bend.

Glad you’re enjoying it and catching fish. It’s a great way to catch them. And if you’re catching more fish with a bend in it, keep it! If it’s catching fish don’t change it. If it stops straighten it out and see if it catches more.

I prefer to rig mine as straight as possible. I also prefer a hook with as much of a bend as possible. The old style of Owner Z lock hooks were my favorite ( They have since changed the design a little ) The more bend the better the hook keeps from sliding down when getting pecked by panfish and smaller bass. I use to use a Texas rig a lot. I have since changed to almost all Jig worms and dropshots. If you haven’t tried either of those yet, give both of them a try. Use the jig worm over the top and on the edge of weedlines and the dropshot just off the deep weedlines. I’m glad you are enjoying your time on the water. Best of luck to you the rest of the summer season !!!

Just yesterday I tried wacky worm for the first time (no weight). I was out for an hour and caught one. Note that I fish from shore. There were three other guys there, all casting small crank baits. Only one other bass was caught while I was there, so I considered my first try with wacky worm a success.

There’s so much I’m enjoying : Being out. Trying different techniques. Trying different locations. Catching some fish. Not taking it too seriously. I kind of feel like I did when I was a kid.

Bob

Bob P wrote:

Just yesterday I tried wacky worm for the first time (no weight). I was out for an hour and caught one. Note that I fish from shore. There were three other guys there, all casting small crank baits. Only one other bass was caught while I was there, so I considered my first try with wacky worm a success.

There’s so much I’m enjoying : Being out. Trying different techniques. Trying different locations. Catching some fish. Not taking it too seriously. I kind of feel like I did when I was a kid.

Bob

Gotta get that Neko rig going too! I like it better than the wacky rig because it’s slightly weighted so you don’t have to weight an hour for it to fall (although that is sometimes why the wacky rig is so deadly). Make sure you check out the bass section of the forum for more information!