The 6 Best Bass Fishing Rigs with Setup Instructions

Whether you’re a beginner bass fisherman or a professional angler with experience of catching trophy-sized bass. Finding and learning new bass fishing rigs and techniques is always a great way to level up your bass game and catch more.

Rigging for bass increases your chances of catching lots of bass. Both quality and quantity will improve impressively as the fishing rig techniques concentrate on both factors.

Im going to show you my 6 of my favorite rigs to use, which will make your fishing trip a lot more successful.

My Favorite Rigs For Bass Fishing

There are lots of effective and efficient bass fishing rigs that you can try out. Let’s dive into more detail about different fishing rigs. Here are some of my best bass rigs.

Drop Shot Rig

What is Drop Shot Rig?

The Drop Shot Rig is amongst the very popular bass fishing rigs, especially among professional anglers but it’s easy enough to learn if you’re a beginner.

This Rig is commonly used for deepwater bass fishing. It has lots of similarities with the Carolina Rig in this matter.

The Drop Shot Rig is one of the most effective rigging techniques for catching trophy-sized bass.

When & Where to use Drop Shot Rig?

The Drop Shot Rig can be used anywhere. It’s most effective in weed beds and tall grass. Feel free to test it everywhere you want, but don’t miss the hotspots.

Drop Shot Rig is also productive when the water is cold. Even when nothing else seems to be working, the Drop Shot Rig will definitely do its job.

How to Make Drop Shot Rig? Setup Guide

• Put the loop through the bottom part of the hook.
• Tie an overhand knot and pull the hook through the loop.
• Tighten the knot.
• Face the hook upwards.
• Tie a sinker weight on the line.

Make sure to leave at least 4 feet / 1.2 meters of the line at the end of the hook.

Don’t think too much when choosing bait for your rig. Most baits are suitable for Drop Shot Rigs, especially common ones are Plastic Worms.

The color of the bait is not particularly vital at this moment but it’s recommended to use bright colors such as white, bright green, yellow, bright blue. Just make sure the lure creates a good contrast with the water and keep in mind that you’re most likely to fish in deep water or covers.

How to Fish for Bass with Drop Shot Rig?

Control the weight of your rig. If you’re bass fishing in deeper waters use slightly heavier weights. The most common sinker bullets weigh about ⅛ oz - ¼ oz / 3.5 g - 7g.

Move the rig very slowly and calmly, don’t shake and move it too fast. Give the bass some time to notice the rig and attack it.

Carolina Rig

What is Carolina Rig?

A Carolina Rig is one of the best rigs you can use for bass fishing, as it’s completely versatile and super easy to use. It’s simple enough for a beginner bass fisher and challenging enough for an experienced angler.

But how does it work? It covers a large area of water in relatively less time. So, it does your usual job of interminably searching for bass much faster. Carolina rig enables you to keep the perfect position very close to the bottom.

If you want an in depth guide to the Carolina Rig I have wrote one here

When & Where to use Carolina Rig?

The Carolina rig is almost as simple as the Texas Rig. With this bass fishing rig you are able to present your lure near the bottom of your favorite fishing spot in nearly weightless fashion.

Carolina rig is a completely versatile rig, that can be used really anywhere. So, you don’t have to think too much if it’s a good fit for different seasons, locations, and time of the day as it’s always effective.

You can use the Carolina Rig while fishing on a boat, shore, dock, or any other location of your choice.

How to Make Carolina Rig? Setup Guide

You can always buy a Carolina Rig Kit but it’s very useful to know how to tie it yourself, plus it’s super easy. Let’s go through the steps:

• Thread the line through the bullet sinker.
• Slide the bead on the line into the sinker.
• Tie your swivel on the line.
• Don’t shorten the lead too much. Try to have a 20 in / 50 cm lead.
• Choose a bait and attach it to the rig. You can choose any bait of your choice. The most popular ones are soft Plastic Worms, Carolina Worms, Flukes, different Creature Baits.

Make sure to keep the weight and bait away from each other so that the bass will clearly see what they’re looking for.

How to Fish for Bass with Carolina Rig?

Using the Carolina Rig is quite simple and is often recommended for beginners for this reason. You just throw it in the water and let it go to the very bottom, then after some time reel it in. 

You only need to regulate the speed, length of the lead, and weight of the rig. 

Adjust your speed to the covers and surroundings. You’ll feel if there is any kind of hurdle or thick cover and will slow down, not to get tangled in them.

Control the weight of your rig depending on the depth of the water body. Relatively deeper waters require about ½-1 ounce / 14-28 g of weight.

You can shorten the length of the lead if you’re bass fishing in relatively shallow waters to about 10-16 inches / 25-41 cm.

Wacky Rig

What is Wacky Rig?

The Wacky Rig is the best rig you can use in open waters. The technique of using the Wacky Rig is very attractive to bass, the vertical movements and wiggling of the bait is irresistible for any size of bass.

Using a Wacky Rig is easy enough for beginners and interesting enough for professionals. So, you can start using it at any point of your fishing experience.

When & Where to use Wacky Rig?

When choosing the location to fish for bass with a Wacky Rig you need to be careful and pay attention to the surroundings. Wacky Rig is not weedless so it’s not the best choice for fishing in heavy vegetations, thick covers, stumps, and tall grass. 

It will most likely come back to you with more grass than bass. It might also get stuck in different thick covers. 

It’s better to use a Texas Rig in vegetation and covers. Wacky Rig is the best choice when fishing for bass in open waters.

How to Make Wacky Rig? Setup Guide

Tying a Wacky Rig is very simple and knowing how to set the rig up will help you a lot. Let’s go through the process step by step:

• Insert the line into the line and then pull it back out.
• Take the double line and make an overhand knot.
• Slip the tied loop over the hook.
• Attach a bait of your choice. It can be any bait that you would usually use while bass fishing, nothing special.
• Tighten the loop and cut the extra line left after tying a knot.

How to Fish for Bass with Wacky Rig?

Fishing with a Wacky Rig is very easy. You just throw the rig in the water, let it sink, wait a little until it reaches the bottom, and pull out vertically. Move it up and down like that until you feel the bite.

Go as slow as you can, make the presentation look convincing, and give the bass some time to notice your bait.

Ned Rig

What is Ned Rig?

Neg Rig is one of the easiest bass fishing rigs that are highly recommended for beginner bass fishers but is also popular among professional fishers.

The Ned Rig easily floats off the bottom of the lake making natural movements that attract bass.

When & Where to use Ned Rig?

The Ned Rig was invented in 1852 by a fisherman called Ned Kehde.

You can use the Ned Rig on any season, weather, and time of the day, but it’s most commonly used in winter or just when the water is relatively cold. When other techniques fail to amaze in colder seasons, Ned Rig is always there to do its job of catching all sizes of bass.

Ned Rig is best used in shallow waters, as it’s the place where bass go when the temperature drops at night, in winter, fall, or bad weather. That’s where you’ll find it handier than any other rig.

How to Make Ned Rig? Setup Guide

The Ned Rig is not only easy to use but also super easy to set up. Let’s quickly look at the steps of making the Ned Rig:

• Insert the jig hook in the top part of your plastic bait. You can take the bait of your choice.
• Push the hook inwards to the middle part of the bait and let it stick out.
• Attach a leader and a line to it and you’re ready to go.

Don’t use hooks that are too large, keep it small and simple. One of the main reasons a Ned Rig works great is its ability to float well in the water and choosing a relatively larger hook will hinder its buoyancy.

How to Fish for Bass with Ned Rig?

Ned Rig movements are close to Wacky Rig technique. You should throw it in the water, let it sink, and move it up and down very slowly.

Moving slowly is the key to successful bass fishing when using a Ned Rig.

Texas Rig

What is Texas Rig?

Texas Rig is one of my favorite rigs for bass fishing. It’s the ideal bass rig for heavily vegetated areas and thick covers, where bass spend most of their day hunting in the hideouts. You’ll be able to pull out bass without getting stuck in the vegetation or pulling too much of it on your boat.

Most fishing techniques and rigs aren’t suitable for thick covers but the Texas Rig enables us to go after the huge bass that are commonly found in heavily vegetated areas.

When & Where to use Texas Rig?

You can use the Texas Rig anywhere you want, especially in vegetations and places where typically it’s relatively harder to fish. 

Texas rigs are more commonly used in shallow areas, as they are lighter. You can fish from a boat, shore, or dock. Any place is suitable for the Texas rig, clear bottoms, shallow waters, and thick covers.

Bass fishing with a Texas rig is great in any season and time of the day. Thick covers are always crowded with bass.

How to Make Texas Rig? Setup Guide

You can either buy a Texas Rig Kit or its parts and make it yourself. It’s recommended to know how to tie it. It’s very simple, let’s go through the process step by step:

• Insert the hook into the nose of the bait.
• Exit from the tip of the nose about ¼ inch / 6 mm.
• Pull the hook into the body, rotate it, and insert the point in the soft plastic bait. 
• Embed the point right under or through the bait surface at an angle that keeps the bait straight.
• Position the bullet weight to the line.

How to Fish for Bass with Texas Rig?

Make sure to insert the point at the position to keep the bait straight. If the hook is sticking its head out, you’re highly likely to get stuck in thick covers.

I cover more about the Texas rig in my Texas Rig fishing guide

You can use any bait of your choice as long as you attach it properly.

Shaky Head

What is Shaky Head Rig?

The Shaky Head is very much like the Ned Rig. It’s super easy to use and is effective even when other strategies tend to fail.

The Shaky Head Rig has an attractive presentation for bass fishing, it imitates the movement of a worm very naturally, catching the attention of bass. Its realistic presentation is because of its light mass and buoyancy.

When & Where to use Shaky Head Rig?

You can use the Shaky Head Rig on any season, time of the day, weather conditions, and location. It’s especially useful when everything else is unable to help you fish for bass successfully. 

The Shaky Head Rig is weedless, so you can freely use it even in heavy vegetations and thick covers. It won’t get stuck in the covers and won’t come back with more grass than fish.

How to Make Shaky Head Rig? Setup Guide

The setup steps are simpler than one could imagine. Let’s have a look at it:

• Choose any bait you like. The most commonly used baits for a Shaky Head Rig are Shaky Head Worms and different soft plastic worms.
• Insert the jig head into the bait and wrap the hook around to stick the bottom through the bait. This way it won’t stick out and get stuck in thick covers.

How to Fish for Bass with Shaky Head Rig?

Using the Shaky Head Rig is super simple, as you might have guessed already. Throw the rig in the water, let it go to the bottom, pull it up, and then again to the bottom. You can even bounce it a little in the way but don’t shake it too much. Move it slowly and make it look natural, presentation is important.

What is the best rig for bass fishing?

Although all of the fishing rigs have their own benefits, my favorite has to be the Texas rig.

It's one of the bass rigs that's an amazing all rounder. It's my go to bass fishing rig setup if all the other rigs fail, and it never disappoints.

Ready to Use Your Bass Rigs?

No matter what season, weather, and time of the day it is, the rigs that we’ve just discussed will always have your back. 

Choose the rig depending on your location and aim. Pay attention to the depth of the water, the vegetation, and the thickness of the covers. Now that you’ve read all the functions and features of different rigs, you’ll easily identify the perfect rig for you.

Don’t hesitate to change up your usual strategy of fishing and try out different rigs. 

Enjoy your fishing experience 🙂