Words + Photos By: Kit Belen
There is more than one way to skin a cat and even more ways to rig soft plastic baits. The following are some of the rigs that I use and have been successful with.
Some are traditional, while others are not so traditional.
Jighead
The most common way to rig a soft jerkbait and the easiest to work, rig the head the fits the conditions at hand and you are almost certain to attract a fishy situation.
Flutter Jig
The flutter jig hook is a jig with its weight on the shank of the hook. It keeps your jerkbait tracking straight and upright. It gives the jerkbait a bit more action and is weedless. The best choice if you are fishing shallow and around snags.
Deepwater Slide Boom Jerk
I’m sure I did not invent this rig – I came across this rig when I wanted to fish deeper water, but my jighead was not heavy enough.
Fishing with 20lb (10kg) braid around drops, I have caught some nice fish with this rig. A leader of about 1 meter is attached to a swivel, and your mainline is attached to the other end of the swivel after passing the mainline inside the tube. The spreader boom helps prevent tangles by separating your mainline and your leader. The jerkshad can also be changed to a normal curly tail and reeled in slow.
Heavy Hitch Hiker Rig
The hitch hiker rig has been around for some time and is one of the best rigs to use for pelagic species. The circle hook is optional, although I almost always use this rig with it.
The addition of a ball sinker makes it a long casting and fast sinking rig. For top water applications, take off the sinker and fish it with just the hook. This gives the jerkbait an insane action!
Adjustable Ninja Weight Rig
I honestly don’t know what the name of this rig is, I just thought of it one day (although I’m sure that someone thought of this way before I did).
The weight can be adjusted to suit your needs. It is nothing just soldering wire.
If you want your bait to sink straight down head first, put the weight near the eye of the hook.
Putting the weight centered on the shank will make it sink with a forward sliding motion – great for a slower presentation.
Here’s a closer look at the centre weight position.
Putting the weight near the bend of the hook gives the bait extreme darting action.
Give these rigging options a whirl and drop me a line on how you get on.
Till next tide change,
Kit
