How To Rig The Split Shot (Mojo) Rig

Hey folks, Glenn May here at BassResource.com, and today I want to talk to you about the split shot rig, or as some people call it, the Mojo rig. What that is, is, a couple decades ago, what we used were split shots, a little round ball, lead head, that was opened up. What you did, you put it on the line, you crimped it with a pair of pliers, and you used that as weight, about 18 to 24 inches ahead of your hook.

That was a great finesse technique, and today it still works. The only difference is now people are using cylindrical type weight. The first company that came out with it, was a company called Mojo, so it caught on that name, so sometimes you hear people call it the Mojo rig, but it's the split shot rig. Really, all it is, is just, again, a weight, right in front of the hook about 18 to 24 inches.

I use a variety of different sizes, as a matter of fact, here's a cylindrical weight right here. Look at this, look at the difference. You've got a really light one here, versus, this one weighs about 3/4 ounce. Depending on the application that you're using, boy, you can fish it in heavy current, you can fish it in real light, shallow water, or super super deep. It's very, very versatile. You can use it in tannic water, stained water, really muddy water or super super clear water. I've fished it in water where you can see the bottom at 40 feet of water. Trust me, it's really clear water, but the split shot works really well in those situations.

Typically what I'm doing, is I'm using it on spinning gear because I'm using the lighter weights, and using a 6 to 10 lb test line, monofilament, I don't use braid for this application. Six to ten monofilament, or copolymer line. I'm using a medium light action 7 foot spinning rod. Now, you want that light action because the hook you're going to put at the end of it is typically for a smaller baits, like a 3" bait, maybe a 4" bait. So you're using a 1/0, maybe a 2/0 hook, but mostly a 1/0 or a 1, or even a size 2 hook.

So it's real small, thin wired hooks, and you don't want that heavy duty line and the strong rod because you may end up straightening that hook. So, a medium light action, 7 foot rod, 6 to 10 lb test line.

Now, how you rig that up? What you do with this little cylinder here is instead of pinching it on a line, you use something called a Peg-It. That's the brand name, you can use any other brand, but, basically what it is, it's a little piece of rubber like this. It's thicker on one side than it is on the other, and, what you do is, you slide it right inside the weight, put your line in there, put inside the weight, and it works just like that.

Then you've got this big tag end, and all you do is you just cut off that tag end here, and you're ready to go. It looks like this, when you're all set and done. Here's the rig. I've got this about 24" in front of the bait, right here. The cool thing about it is, now you can move this up and down the line as much as you want. All you have to do is just, wet the line, and you can move it really easily. It doesn't damage your line or anything like that.

That's a key thing. Make sure when you buy these weights, don't go the cheapest you can get. Because the real cheap ones tend to have unfinished edges and burrs on them and they'll nick your line and you can end up cutting a line or breaking off that way. The difference between the least expensive and the most expensive is only a few bucks. You don't have to get the most expensive out there, just don't go the cheapest, because you're going to be disappointed. That's how it's been in my experience. Just spend a couple extra bucks and get a better quality weight.

That's about it. That's the split shot rig, real subtle approach, really good when the bite is tough, post front conditions, that sort of thing. You're going to get bit with these things, and you're going to catch a lot of fish. Hope that helps. For more tips and tricks like this, visit, BassResource.com.