I call this rig Bait Armor. I have put these photos on other web sites for a few month's and thought I would share it here. I think if you try it you will see the many advantages of using this rigging method. My favorite advantage has to be the feel of a smooth solid hook-set. Maybe a few of the other advantages, Bait will slide through and around obstacles like never before. Baits last much, much longer because the cone shape encircles the bait and is held in place by the hook, which means the front soft area of the bait is not torn up by contact when setting the hook. Another advantage is control over the bait, by rigging through the soft plastic bait in different ways allows many different presentations without the bait coming loose from the hook. The bait is basically locked to the hook and will not come loose. This rig was kind of my fishing secret for many years and I never fished without it. I think when you see the simplicity of it and what it really accomplishes, you may not fish without it either. Have a great day Rich.

Hi, I could not figure out how to put up another illustration of the Bait Armor protective cover so I posted again. Have a great day, and give it a try, Rich.

I'm lost........how would this help with a smooth hookset? It looks similar to a Texas rig. I swear I don't mean to be rude, but bass are pretty picky as it is, it seems as though the plastic caps would make a bass stop and think. It's never good when a bass thinks.

Hi SavannahFisher, OK let me try to explain a little better, bear with me. The smooth and very sure hook-set comes when instead of the soft plastic bait coming in contact with the closed mouth of the fish it is protected and locked in place inside the cap by the bait armor cap. The cap is a hollow hard plastic cap that easily slides out of the fishes mouth in which the plastic bait moves to the side allowing the barb of the hook to set in the mouth of the fish. You do not have to worry that the bait is going to slide down the hook and cover the hook barb. As far as the caps making a fish stop and think, that is not a problem. A lot of times the different colored caps I believe aids in getting more bites than without the protective cover. You can also use a clear cap that is not even noticeable after the bait is pushed into it and locked in place if you think the color throws off the bite. How many times have you worked a bait threw structure or tried to set the hook and the bait would slide down the hook covering the hook barb causing a missed opportunity to catch the fish. With the bait rigged like this, the body of the bait is locked to the hook yet will easily move to the side exposing the hook for a great solid hook-set. ( No more missed Opportunities ) I just thought I would put this rigging method on here to see if people would give it a try. I have no doubt that if these caps were made in a couple different sizes in clear, they would sell off the self and be on most Bass fisherman's soft plastic baits. I guess maybe the concept is a little simple to be any good. I have used them for over twenty years and would not fish soft plastics without them. I pretty much never miss a fish and my baits last forever. Have a great day, take care, Rich.

ok not bad. do the caps have any weight to them?

the reason the nose of a soft plastic gets so torn up is from the constant re-rigging after fish or contact with cover. when the worm is locked on the hook it wont slide down so you dont have to re-rig.

but you also dont need a big bulky cap to lock a bait on a hook....there was a little invention a while ago called a parasite clip. its very small and un-noticable. i love em! www.parasiteweights.com they also have parasite weights, which do the same thing except they have weight attached.

if your little trick works for you then keep doing it! i think im gonna stick with parasite clips for now...

Hi dsaavedra, I guess I will try my best and answer your questions in order. You asked : do the caps have any weight to them? They are a hollow plastic cap, so I would say a little weight but not much. If you look at the first photo you will see a purple bullet weight. You can put a bullet weight in the cap ahead of the bait. I like to thread brass and glass beads on the line inside the cap and then push the bait in and lock the hook in place. The brass and glass beads on the line inside the cap make for a very loud rattle that Bass love to go for. I really do not see a big bulky anything with this rig. I just thought I would share this rig, until you try it you will not fully understand everything it adds to soft plastic baits. This cap does not just lock the bait to the hook. I am glad you like what you use. I like what I use, we are both happy, have a great day, Rich.

Well, I'll give it shot. I'm not one to shot down an idea until after I have tried it. Thanks Rich.

Do a search on Parasite weights and clips, they are amazing and what you have there is close.

  Hi SavannahFisher, Great I think if you give one a try you may like what you find. I will give you a quick method of making them. First I guess find the old pen cap you want to use. You will want to trim the little pen holder extension of with a razor blade. Cut the cap off at the length just long enough so your rigged plastic will fit in just far enough so the hook shank will just go inside the cap after you put the hole in the base with the a slit interring the hole from the base. Now take a small steel rod and heat it with a lighter, carefully burn a small hole threw the point of the cap, it helps to turn the rod as you burn threw. Push the hot rod into the cap far enough so it does not burn to large of a hole, the hole should be smooth and small, remove the rod after it has cooled. Burn a hole the same way just a little up from the base of the cap. may up a sixteenth of a inch. Now with a razor blade cut a slot fro the outside of the base to the hole you burn at a sixteenth of an in above the cap base. That slot allows you to push the hook shank into the hole until it is trapped and held in the hole. Sorry for the not so good explanation, I figure the photos pretty much give a pretty much self explanatory explanation. I would start with a small cap for a weightless worm until you see exactly what this rig can do.

  Hi TClarkCustomLures, I think the Parasite weights and this rig are completely different animals. The Bait Armor rig ads a hard smooth cone shaped surface that slides over, through any structure while protecting and holding the bait exactly the way it was rigged. I really do not see the comparison. The Bait Armor rig can be fished weightless or with a weight added inside or brass and glass beads. Completely different. I like using this rig along river banks and cattail stands. I cast the bait just past the water into the cover, then reel up the slack line and let the lure fall as softly as possible into the water. If there is a fish there you have a fish on. I guess you have to give it a try, then I think you will understand how it is different. Have a great day, Rich.

Your diagram is totally awesome, what software did you use to create that?  You're right, seeing and using this set up is the key to better understanding it.

Hi TClarkCustomLures, I used Corel Draw to make the diagram. The drawing is actually to patent specs, but missing a page I did not post. So I guess you like the rig ? I think if fisherman try this rig to see for themselves what it accomplishes. They will have to be amazed. After twenty years of fishing this rig, I still enjoy the feeling you get back from the fish when you set the hook, smooooth and solid. I would like your opinion about the rig even though you have not had much time to fish it yet. I think it takes at least a summer of fishing to understand its full capabilities.  Maybe if you give your opinion others will try it. Have a great day, Rich.