5 Easy Bass Fishing Rigs Every Angler Should Know

In right around 13 minutes, Bassin Bill Mathews breaks down 5 of his favorite bass rigs for fishing throughout the year. Each rig features a unique set-up and application helping them stand apart in specific situations. One bait might work around shallow grass, while another is better suited for dragging over deep rockpiles.

Bill covers it all, while providing an easy to understand approach for each bass fishing set-up. This video is packed full of juicy fishing tips from rigging tutorials to on the water applications. Sit back, relax and let old Billy boy walk you through some of the best rigs in bass fishing.

After that, scroll below for a more in-depth look at each rig. We've time-stamped each part, so it will bring you straight to that section if you click the little blue numbers below. Enjoy!

1) Wacky Rig

0:32

Rigging the senko style bait or stick bait wacky style gives your plastic a different look, causing it to fall with a slow and pulsating motion that flicker and flutters as it slowly descends to the bottom.

Rig a soft plastic 'wacky style' worm by holding the worm with your index finger and thumb to find the lure’s center point of gravity. After finding the center, push an offset hook through the middle of the lure and leave the hook point exposed. You can mimic a crippled shad by raising and lowering the worm a couple of feet and letting it slowly fall, but never letting it touch the bottom. Mix in a few pops or twitches with the rod tip to change things up and follow that up with a long pause, that's when they usually bite!

Learn More:
3 Tips To Master The Wacky Rig

2) Ned Rig

1:38

It doesn’t get any simpler. The ned rig is just a small chunk of a soft plastic stick bait threaded onto a light 1/16 to 1/4 ounce jighead. With little to no action, this simple and compact presentation if often called a ''do nothing'' bait because of it's ability to catch fish when sitting completely still. By slowly dragging, hoping or swimming their baits while adding in the occasional ''do nothing'' pause, anglers have tremendous succecss fishing ned rig style baits.

While any stick bait will work effectively, there are few better ned rig baits than the 10,000 Fish Sukoshi Bug.

Take your time while rigging, aiming to get the center of your hook shank directly out the back of your soft plastic, about half way up it's body.

Learn More:
Ned Rig Fishing 101

3) Texas Rig

3:03

The Texas rig consists of four basic elements: a soft plastic lure, bullet-shaped sinker, pegging device and a hook. The hook is the key component of the rig.

My hook choices for Texas-rigged lures are 3/0-4/0 straight shank for plastic worms, Senkos and 6-inch plastic worms; 4/0 straight shank for 7- to 8-inch plastic worms; 5/0 straight shank for 10-inch or longer plastic worms; 4/0 extra wide gap (EWG) for beaver baits and craws; and 5/0 EWG for creature baits and flipping tubes.

Learn More:
Texas Rig Fishing 101
Texas Rig Vs Jig Fishing

4) Drop Shot Rig

6:12​

The drop shot rig is quickly becoming one of the most important rigs in bass fishing. You can fish drop shot rigs fished deep, shallow, and anywhere in between. In this post, we will unravel the mystery of the drop shot rig and all of the components and setup you’ll need for drop shot fishing. Be sure to check out the video at the bottom of this post to watch how to set up the drop shot rig in a few easy steps.

Learn More:
Dropshot Fishing 101
Learn How To Drop Shot In Two Minutes

5) Carolina Rig

9:03

Carolina rigs are more effective in open-water situations along structure such as long points and vast flats where an angler needs to cover water quickly. The basic setup of the Carolina rig with its heavy weight (usually ranging in size from 1/2 to 1 ounce) and soft plastic lure trailing behind on a leader line is ideal for dragging quickly along structure to trigger strikes from bottom-hugging bass. Dragging the rig at a faster pace along wide open spaces also allows anglers to present the lure in front of more schools of aggressive bass.

Learn More:
Carolina Rig Fishing 101
Carolina Rig Fishing Hacks
Texas Rig + Carolina Rig = The Terolina Rig