I'm thinking of rigging a 3" stick worm (BPS 3" Stik-o) T rigged, and weightless. Is fishing it as a slowish jerk bait the best way of fishing it summertime?

no

 

A answer of simply "No" doesn't cut it without additional support detail ... Yes , you can fish 3" inch Stick-O on a 1/0 EWG hook T-Rig style casting out on a light spinning setup letting it sink and give it a subtle jerk every few seconds until it hits bottom . Then in a typical senko T-Rig fashion - raise your rod tip several inches then let the Stick-O  fall back to the bottom - reel in the slack and repeat back to the boat or shore... Hope this helps .

No,

I rig with a #2 EWG, and retrieve in "typical senko T-Rig fashion," as Chris describes.   This does almost as good as a Ned Rig, without the snags.

If it is weedy where you are fishing I would just flip/pitch into the weeds. I did that a ton last year with great success. You could theoretically fish it like a jerk bait but I'd rather use a fluke. But yes, stick baits are very versatile and can be flip/pitched, "jerked", and so many other ways. It's just that it gets really weedy in the summertime. You would probably get more luck fishing it like a jerk bait in the spring. 

i do it all the time, especially for smallies.  Sometimes the 3" bait will get bit when others won't

 

11 hours ago, Heron said:

No,

I rig with a #2 EWG, and retrieve in "typical senko T-Rig fashion," as Chris describes.   This does almost as good as a Ned Rig, without the snags.

While I suggested a 1/0 EWG hook (the largest I would consider) a #1 or #2 EWG hook would be outstanding as flyfisher described . #1 or #2 EWG hooks can be hard to find though and you may have to order on line ...

I can tell you this for sure. The 3" stick baits (i.e.: Senkos) work phenomenally when wacky rigged on a drop shot.

If the fish are active then that may be a good technique. I fish senkos a lot and do not think anything can beat fishing it weightless, wacky style. 

Has anyone tried Texas rigging a Zman TRD? They are listed at 2.75" and I didnt know how much difference that 1/4 inch would make in terms of which hook to use.

 

 

Ive seen guys in my club do it and catch fish.  One guy has it on deck as a follow up to his flukes.

 

Bass will sometimes swipe and bail on a fluke,but a smaller more subtle 3 inch stickworm will get bit when fished like a soft jerkbait

another great way to use a 3" stick bait is to nose hook it if there isn't a ton of grass to hang up on.  You'll go through some baits but it is a great presentation for smallies when you basically dead stick it through eddies and riffles.  Works for lake largemouth too but i catch too many smaller fish and sunnies so i usually stick to the larger baits.

I use a 4 inch senko with a 3/0 EGW gammy. I use this when there is a lot of milfoil growing. It comes through it pretty well and catches a lot of fish. 

First thought.... "Slug-Go" by Lunker City Lures.  Killer technique back in the day...

18 hours ago, flyfisher said:

another great way to use a 3" stick bait is to nose hook it if there isn't a ton of grass to hang up on.  You'll go through some baits but it is a great presentation for smallies when you basically dead stick it through eddies and riffles.  Works for lake largemouth too but i catch too many smaller fish and sunnies so i usually stick to the larger baits.

I wonder if using a weedless wacky hook might help the grass issue?  

18 hours ago, Bassguytom said:

I use a 4 inch senko with a 3/0 EGW gammy. I use this when there is a lot of milfoil growing. It comes through it pretty well and catches a lot of fish. 

Do you use this weightless? 

1 hour ago, MemphisFF said:

Do you use this weightless? 

Always weightless.

21 hours ago, J._Bricker said:

First thought.... "Slug-Go" by Lunker City Lures.  Killer technique back in the day...

Still is...

Thanks 

5 hours ago, Bunnielab said:

I wonder if using a weedless wacky hook might help the grass issue?  

I tried it but it didn't seem to help that much.  If it is really grassy i just weightless texas rig.

On March 11, 2016 at 9:53 PM, J._Bricker said:

First thought.... "Slug-Go" by Lunker City Lures.  Killer technique back in the day...

I thought of using the Slug-o, but it's extremely light (hard to cast on a bait cast weightless) and a bit expensive to me ($6.30 for 10). For $3, you get 16 3" Stik-os.