When to Peg A Texas Rig

Hank Parker's Fishing Tips

 When should you peg a Texas rigged bait? When shouldn't you?  Hank Parker reveals his system for deciding when to peg a Texas rig.

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Transcript:

Glenn: Hey, folks, Glenn May here with BassResource.com, and welcome to another edition of "Hank Parker's Fishing Tips". This week's question, Hank, it comes from Lindsey Smith from San Antonio, Texas, and she wants to know what determines when you peg a Texas Rig plastic at the hook, above the hook, or when do you let it just slide free.

Hank: Lindsey, that is an absolute fabulous question. I peg my sinker at the hook when I'm flipping heavy cover because I don't want my plastic worm or my creature bait, whatever it is that I'm flipping, I don't want it to stick up here, and my lead slide down the line and bump that bass in the nose. I want that lead to keep...or that tungsten, whichever weight I'm using, I want that to stay with my bait, and take the bait to the fish and not bump him in the nose.

So if I'm fishing heavy cover, I prefer to peg that lead. If I'm pitching or flipping, I wanna peg that lead. The reason I don't peg that lead all the time is, I miss more fish with a lead peg than I do with it sliding free. So that is the reason that I don't peg all the time. Some people tell me, "I peg all the time, I don't miss fish," but I've found, personally, I miss more fish with a pegged lead than I do sliding free.

Now, if I peg that lead up above my hook, I call that a split shot rig. Some people call that a Carolina rig, and it is a form of both. So if I want my weight, my worm, to float free from the bottom of my creature bait or my lizard, or whatever I may be fishing, then I will peg that weight. And I usually don't peg it. I usually tie a swivel on to stop my lead because I like the freedom. If a fish hits it and your lead's attached, he feels that. If you drop your line, he still feels it. But if you get a bite with a Carolina rig with a lead that slides free and a swivel to stop it, you can let him take it and he doesn't feel that lead. He just pulls that line.

So that is the methods that I use, and I think that you'll find that when you fish that heavy cover, a pegged leg...lead - pegged lead, not a peg-leg, that's a pirate, keep that in mind - a pegged lead will work more effective in heavy cover, and a free lead will get you more hook-ups on a percentage basis in more open water.

Glenn: Lindsey, thanks for the question.

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