The Texas Rig is more common for largemouth bass, but it can be very effective for catching smallmouth bass as well. The Texas Rig is great for fishing a soft plastic worm in and around many different types of cover, over deep water and in the shallows if you go with a lighter weight. Most anglers won’t go with the Texas rig because you usually don’t have to use a weedless rigged bait when fishing for smallmouth bass. Also, for many of the finesse-sized soft plastic baits that anglers use for smallmouth bass, the baits tend to look better on a regular jighead, shaky head jig or a drop shot rig.
Peg Your Weight or Use a Florida Rig
To prevent your weight from moving up the line, either peg the weight or use a weight that connects to the worm. The corkscrew weight that connects to the worm is known as a Florida rig when you attach it to the bait.
Best Baits on a Texas Rig for Smallmouth Bass
Soft Plastic Worms
You can fish any soft plastic worms on a Texas rig, however, the 7″ and larger worms are usually the worms that most bass anglers will fish on a Texas rig. With most of the smaller worms looking better on a standup jighead, the bigger worms are usually the go to worms for a Texas rig.
Lizards
Lizards look great on a Texas rig, especially when you upsize to some of those bigger lizards in the 7 to 8 inch range.
Creature Baits
The thicker, larger creature baits work great on a Texas rig. You can use the smaller creature baits on a Texas rig too, but most of them look better on a standup jighead.
Crayfish Baits
Most of the crayfish baits look much better on a standup jighead, but you can definitely use them on a Texas rig as well. For many anglers, they will go to a Texas rig when fishing with some of the bigger crayfish baits or if they need to use a heavier weight to punch through vegetation.
Tubes
Tubes are actually very easy to use with a Texas rig. Most anglers will peg the weight since a Florida rig isn’t an option for most of the tubes because of how they are made.
