What conditions/situations do you look for to decide to throw a t-rig? 

Grass, wood, rocks, docks etc..

Anywhere but open water. 
 

 

 

Mike

Just about anywhere but especially on wood , laydowns , beaver houses...  I do like  like them in open water , especially on deep points .

If I'm in the boat, there is a worm t-rigged on the deck.  Size/shape of the worm, the amount of weight, and the hook style will vary by season and weather, but I'm never without one ready to go.  

Thanks! Do you use it mainly if you aren’t getting bit on moving baits (cover-squarebill, spinnerbait...) or do you lead with it? 

A T rig has been my best producer for a long time. It's one lure you can cast almost anywhere. I may start out trying to catch fish on a faster moving bait, but usually end up with a T rig. I often lead off with it too, especially in hot weather

There is no wrong answer, but one straightforward approach is the "one-two punch":  First make some casts to an area with a moving bait, then a few casts to specific targets with the worm before moving on.

37 minutes ago, clemsondds said:

Thanks! Do you use it mainly if you aren’t getting bit on moving baits (cover-squarebill, spinnerbait...) or do you lead with it? 

Yes.    

 

Texas rigs work great in heavy cover . Sometimes I start out with it sometimes not . Keep experimenting until something clicks .

99.95% of time ?

1 minute ago, Catt said:

99.95% of time ?

99.99% for me!

1 minute ago, NorthernBasser said:

99.99% for me!

Seriously?  You two really use it that much? Strictly straight trig worm? Senko? 

25 minutes ago, clemsondds said:

Seriously?  You two really use it that much? Strictly straight trig worm? Senko? 

Oh, not Senko (I also rig it wacky style). I also use shaky heads, so maybe I exaggerated a bit. But when throwing a worm I definitely t-rig it way more often than not. 

 

 

1 hour ago, clemsondds said:

Seriously?  You two really use it that much? Strictly straight trig worm? Senko? 

 

1 hour ago, NorthernBasser said:

Oh, not Senko (I also rig it wacky style). I also use shaky heads, so maybe I exaggerated a bit. But when throwing a worm I definitely t-rig it way more often than not. 

 

 

 

Seriously 

 

Texas rigged plastics both weighted & unweighted.

 

Most wacky rig a Senko, I Texas rig em weightless & fish em like a Fluke.

1 hour ago, clemsondds said:

Seriously?  You two really use it that much? Strictly straight trig worm? Senko? 

I rig stick baits (senkos etc) t-rigged the majority of the time. I barely wacky rig but that's because I fish very weedy lakes. I favor the VMC light wire offsets for this. Too heavy of a hook and you lose the stick baits magical action on the fall. For example, I discovered these last year and they are pretty amazing:

https://vmcpeche.com/products/fastgrip-wide-gap-worm-hook

3 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

If I'm in the boat, there is a worm t-rigged on the deck.  Size/shape of the worm, the amount of weight, and the hook style will vary by season and weather, but I'm never without one ready to go.  

I'm the same way but with a Rage Craw. But it's always on the deck ready. Most of the time it's on a pegged 1/8 oz tungsten bullet weight and a 3/0 Owner CPS spring hook.

Have tried T-Rig Senkos before at the same time friends used Wacky rigged. Wacky was always more successful so switched to that and haven't gone back.

4 hours ago, clemsondds said:

What conditions/situations do you look for to decide to throw a t-rig? 

anytime i’m on the water unless the wind is blowing like a freight train 

3 hours ago, clemsondds said:

Thanks! Do you use it mainly if you aren’t getting bit on moving baits (cover-squarebill, spinnerbait...) or do you lead with it? 

You throw it when the bass hits and misses your buzzbait or Whopper Plopper at the exacts spot where hit occurred.

 

The bass thinks it wounded the topewate and will hit your Senko.

 

You lead with your plastics at any time, especially in creeks, rocks, piers, docks, brush piles, wood, Cypress trees, logs, mouths of smaller creeks entering larger creeks and the list goes on.

I like to divide the water where I fish into worm water and jig water to start with.

Worm water for Texas rig with sliding bullet weighs I tend to use worms 7" to 13" preferring more gradual sloping terrian. Jig water I prefer faster sloping rocky terrain with more sparse cover then worm water. I also fish T-rigged slower than jigs most of the time.

Other then drop shot where I nose or wacky hook worms, I weedless hook worms including finesse slip shot rigged worms.

My game plan develops depending on what the bass prefer. If I start out worming clay to gravel transitions with wood stick ups for example and the bass strike jigs in lieu of worms or vice versa I go with what is working regardless if my preference.

My Texas rigged worms usually includes a glass faceted bead between the bullet weight because I like to shake, hop and drag worms.

Tom 

Never fished in Texas, so haven't had a reason to Texas rig. Maybe one day .

I usually start with moving baits. I switch to a Trig when the bite dies on moving baits. I will throw a Trig in places it is not good for crankbaits. I always have at least one rod set up with a Trig anytime I'm fishing.

54 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

 

Most wacky rig a Senko, I Texas rig em weightless & fish em like a Fluke.

I started out fishing weightless Senko's t-rigged all of the time. Then I heard about how successful wacky rigging them can be. So I started throwing them that way, and I do have success. But I definitely seem to have more success fishing them t-rigged and fishing them like a Fluke. 

I always have a spinning setup which I only use for weightless Senkos, either texas rigged or wacky. 

 

I also always have a baitcasting setup with either a texas rigged, bullet weight worm, craw or lizard. 

 

If all else fails or the fishing is tough it's hard to beat a Senko, they are straight fish catching machines and that's no secret. 

1 hour ago, NorthernBasser said:

I started out fishing weightless Senko's t-rigged all of the time. Then I heard about how successful wacky rigging them can be. So I started throwing them that way, and I do have success. But I definitely seem to have more success fishing them t-rigged and fishing them like a Fluke. 

I went through a similar progression and ended in the same spot.

For me, whether a senko gets the t-rig treatment or the wacky treatment depends on how I want it to move as I bring it back.

 

If I want vertical movement to be the dominant mode of presentation during the retrieve (e.g., lift-fall-lift, etc.), I will go wacky.

 

If I want horizontal movement to be the dominant mode of presentation during the retrieve (e.g., jerk/drag/twitch- pause), I'll go with the t-rig.

 

Both have their time and place.

12 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

For me, whether a senko gets the t-rig treatment or the wacky treatment depends on how I want it to move as I bring it back.

 

If I want vertical movement to be the dominant mode of presentation during the retrieve (e.g., lift-fall-lift, etc.), I will go wacky.

 

If I want horizontal movement to be the dominant mode of presentation during the retrieve (e.g., jerk/drag/twitch- pause), I'll go with the t-rig.

 

Both have their time and place.

This is what I am wanting to hear...time and place for when you decide to use a worm over a squarebill/spinnerbait/crankbait. Which conditions. Love the responses so far!