Casting plastics with no weight

[PikeTipper]

I'm a walleye guy but trying to do more and more bass fishing. I have really only used spinning gear with light line so much of this is foreign to me.

Watching a fishing show I see these guys casting a plastic worm or frog with no weight and heavy line. Is this something you need a special rod/reel combo to do?

The lake I fish has very clear water so the weeds or tall and thick. I would like to try some kind of weightless combo to pull through the weeds but on my spinning gear if I get caught up in the weeds I have a heck of a time trying to get it back. Right now I usually just cast cranks over the weeds but I love jigging so I would like to try something different.

Can anyone recommend some gear or tactics to try?

[bassmann77]

Try a senko worm on a 2/0 or 3/0 hook. The plastic worm is heavy enough to use without weight and it will fish well in the clarity of water and weed conditions you are fishing with. Depending on the size of bass you catch, you might have to back the boat over to where the bass as buried you in the weeds. This is the technique I started with when I transitioned from walleye to bass a while ago before buying my casting arsenal.

[Craigums]

using a senko is a good idea, If you plan on using this spinning reel you may want to spool with some braided line when your fishing those weeds so you dont get stuck. Otherwise I find wider diameter lines like 15lb flouro and 14lb mono seem to handle better on a baitcasting set up and a MH rod. Alot of it is personal preferance however

[mainbutter]

There's nothing special for casting plastics that don't have any lead weight to 'em, the plastics already have enough weight. A 5'' or 6'' senko (stick worm) will cast just about as far as most of my rapalas. They are negatively buoyant, so they are pretty darn dense and have great weight to them already. I have yet to try out my frogs that I make, but they seem to have good weight to them. You don't even need heavy hooks to cast them, I actually use a pretty small hook on senkos (maybe a size 4? I'd have to double check, as I usually just eyeball them), I find the big ones screw up the action when wacky-rigged. If you try to rig like a texas rig with no weight, then yeah I'd go with a 1/0 to 3/0 offset hook.

I just use a spinning reel. From personal experience, they cast great whether you use 6lb-17lb mono, or 20-50lb braid. I personally like 20 or 30lb braid, lets me give big hooksets without fear of breaking off, and the no stretch helps detect bites that occured during a drop with slack line.

I'm expecting the frogs to perform just as well on the cast, they weigh about the same but have more volume so they float.

[Comit 2]

Most of the plastics for Bass fishing are weighted with salt or something so they cast well with medium weight Bass gear. There is no reason why you can't throw them with spinning gear. I just find it easier to cast at docks and such with casting gear because I can use my thumb to stop the line when I think I have cast to far. Plus when throwing heavy stuff with spinning gear I need to tape my casting finger.

[Hula_Grub]

With your spinning gear you might consider an unweighted Culprit worm. Any color, as long as it is black. You should have no problems pulling it through the weeds. Throw it on top of the pads and let it dangle in the holes between 'em, too. Use at least a medium action rod with 10-12 lb test line.

[gunning]

Get some braid on one of your reels, if its real clear water learn how to tie a back to back uni knot (youtube it) then you can tie a Mono or Floro leader to the braid and still cast it through your guides, If you are worried about the fish seeing the line. Rig your worms Texas when you are in the weeds and you should be fine.

[Nick Kuhn]

With braid you can zing 5" senko's on a spinning rod pretty good. When I go weightless though I always seem to get a lot of bluegills hitting the 5" baits though, and they are next to impossible to hook with the EWG's I use...