I'm starting to use Texas Rigs more and more and have gone back and forth on the subject of whether or not to peg the sinker. I like the feel of the sinker pegged to the bait when I'm fishing it, and some of the places I fish are terrible for snags, so pegging helps. But I'd like to know if I am missing any important advantage by pegging the sinker verses not doing so?

Thanks.

Peg it if you are around moderate to heavy cover. If not, there are advantages to not pegging. The bait can separate a little from the sinker so when the fish bites, they are less likely to detect anything, or use the weight as leverage to throw the hook. 

I do both. Like FryDog62said around heavy cover or when flipping,pitching or punching I always peg or use screw weights. otherwise when throwing in light cover or offshore worming I will not peg.

Uhh! Nope!

 

Don't believe the whole theory on the amount of separation between the weight & the worm. It's inches not feet! Once you move the Texas Rig that separation closes & doesn't open again. 

 

Don't snell nothing either 

I only peg the weight if I’m punching. Otherwise I don’t see the advantage.

@Catt 100%

 

only when punching for me from now on.  The sinker never separates from the hook in regular uses.  

If you've ever seen your Texas rigged bait in the water pegged vs unpegged, you'd never peg again.

Almost never.  It's something I only do when I'm throwing my bait directly into super heavy cover and can't afford to have my bait and weight separating.

 

Which is pretty much never.

 

I did it for a while and noticed significantly less bites probably due to a much less natural presentation.

I use the same rod for pitching/flipping that I use for worming and often pitch a worm. Thus I do peg it all the time. A certain pro fisherman had a YT video saying he never, ever pegged a worm weight because, in his opinion, it caused fish to be lost. Later I saw another of his videos where he was pitching laydowns and had one pegged and he  didn't even mention it. As stated above, in open water, there's no need to peg it and might get your hook in a few more fish. 

The only time I peg is in extremely thick cover such as  a brush pile made from cedar trees.

The only time I peg is punching matted vegetation. 

 

To this dumb Cajun fishing a Texas Rig through cover takes a level of sensitivity seldom mentioned here. That sensitivity is not only in the rod but in the hands of the angler. Then ya gotta interpret what's being felt.

@ironbjorn is correct.

 

get a chance to look at your T-rig.  it barely separates.  3 inches max with my 1/8 tungsten bullet.  realizing this, is why i am gonna try a free-rig tomorrow.  i want to see what my bait does with some better separation.   i am going to my crystal clear lake tomorrow, if my truck seems okay.

I get more bites unpegged. 

The Florida Rig’s effectiveness is to keep your bait together in one compact unit. 
If you’re dropping in the middle of vegetation you don’t want the weight hitting bottom with your plastic hung up. 
 

Other than for that reason there is no advantage. 

 

 

Mike

^^^^^pegged bullet weight is the Florida rig^^^^^ another term lost in the fog of bass lore.

I use the Brass ‘n Glass rig a sliding bullet weight to add a little color and sound. 8mm tempered faceted glass bead with either brass or tungsten bullet weight.

Tom

31 minutes ago, Mike L said:

If you’re dropping in the middle of vegetation you don’t want the weight hitting bottom with your plastic hung up. 

 

If you're using plastics with appendages hanging off everywhere it's gonna get hung up pegged or unpegged. 

 

Many times I've had bass annihilate my Texas Rig after popping it free.

37 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

 

Many times I've had bass annihilate my Texas Rig after popping it free.

Yep, and that’s where being dialed in and knowing that real possibly could happen is the difference between hooking up and thinking you’re just hung up. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

Where I mostly fish T rigs, it’s shallow and weedy. If I use any weight at all, it’s often a small split shot. When I fish deeper water, I use a bullet weight unpegged. I don’t punch often, but when I do it’s with a pegged bullet weight, how heavy depends on how heavy the cover. 

Depends on the cover. 

Normally, I don't peg my texes rigs, but occasionally.

 

Lately, I've tried something a little different and put a rubber bobber stopper above and below my weight so I can either keep it pegged to the worm, slide up the upper stopper to let it move, or slide both up to keep it held up off the hook for a splitshot style setup

Thanks guys! I'm going to leave it unpegged as much as possible.

Always

Almost always. I do a lot of skipping and there's nothing much more frustrating than making what would have been a good cast just have the bait and sinker separate and ruin the cast. 

Never

23 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

Peg it if you are around moderate to heavy cover. If not, there are advantages to not pegging. The bait can separate a little from the sinker so when the fish bites, they are less likely to detect anything, or use the weight as leverage to throw the hook. 

^^^ I'm in this camp.^^^