the best/your favorite

[Craigums]

Just drag it along the bottom like a Carolina rig, or are you using different retrieves?

[Juan Grande]

There was a feature article in last month's Bassmasters mag about this rig. The guy called it a "Carolina lite rig" or something. He runs his main line through a small lead bullet sinker and then ties it to a clear fluoro swivel (can't remember the company who makes them) and then runs a 10-12" leader from that to a t-rigged creature bait. He said the Berkley Havoc Pitboss is his fave.

[Juan Grande]

This guy made it sounds like he fished it above the weed tops or right through the weeds and fished it pretty aggressively.

[JP Z]

Generally a lift and pause style of retrieve, as with having your worm weightless it has a different flutter as it falls back. And when I use it with the Hyperworms they have a good pulsing take action that works well.

Juan, this is much like that except not using a slip sinker........or swivel.....So it's just like it but completely different

[RK]

Hmm. It varies by season, but day in and day out (for largemouths):

- jig and pig, either a Northland Jungle Jig, or a North Star knock-out jig

- a North Star swim jig (trailer varies)

- Some kind of crankbait, whether it's a squarebill like a KVD 1.5, or later a deep diver like a Strike King Series 5, Poe's, or DT

- A jigworm, usually a 7" Power Worm, sometimes a straight tailed worm, on a Northland jigworm head, usually a 3/32 oz.

- A Chigger Craw, beaver-type bait or Paca Craw on a Northland Jungle-loc jig or Titleshot jig

At other times of year that list might include a football head, a frog, jerkbait, or buzzbait.

Smallies would be an entirely different list.

Split shot/Stupid rigs are great. Sinker can be a rubber-core, split shot, bull shot, Mojo sinker...golf ball...it can be anything. I usually use a bull shot or Mojo sinker, and no swivel. I put a straight-tailed worm, sometimes a small lizard, or just a senko behind it. Sometimes putting a straight tailed worm on and rigging it with a kink in it so it spins, then just reeling it in slowly, can be silly good. Kind of like the old pre-rigged Touchdown worms or Westy's Worms, which are still awesomely effective sometimes.

I think of them as a way to get a bait in a fish's face in a very subtle, non-threatening way, but something you can still fish horizontally. Awesome for kids because they're fairly impossible to fish wrong.

[Deitz Dittrich]

First off, to the orig poster, I'm sorry for derailing your post..

Stupid Rig is something I have fished for about 20 years now. Since then I have seen it called a splitshot rig, its similar, a mojo rig, a lite carolina..

I use floro, usually 14 lb test. A 3/16 or 1/4 oz Bull Shot sinker that I crimp on the line about 10-15" up the line.. Then usually a tube or small brush hog, or just a 4" stick bait texas rigged or wacky rigged. Its a long cast, let it sink and see how painfully slow you can retrieve it. I dont lift and pause, I just drag, slowly.. did I mention slowly. fishing on weed edges, I do try to have it not fall through the canopy, but kinda trickle down through it.

The first time I ever used the rig when a friend and I kinda put it together we wacked them.. And I said this is just stupid.. and stupid rig just kinda stuck. Call it what you want.. it flat out catches fish... and you can fish it anywhere.. deep, shallow, anywhere.

[thatoneguy]

Deitz I've used something similar for dragging through big bulrush beds - and you're right, it sure does work!

[Shorelunch]

Smallies would be an entirely different list.

Great post and forum.

Rob, would you post your smallie go-to's? Anyone else feel free to chime in, too.

[bassfshin24]

Smallies-

Tube--Poor Boys tube. Like them because they are thick and can fit a Bite Me Big dude head in them. And they come in 20 packs.

Jighead/craw--Missle baits Missile Craw--love the low profile and man does it look good in the water

Jerkbait--X-rap, Lucky-E-Strike RC STX, Lucky Craft pointer

Spinnerbait--For smallies I love the War Eagle Screaming Eagle.

Lipless crank--Did well on the Spro Aruku shad last year

Grub--Either Zoom or Powerbait

[RK]

Shorelunch: Sure thing

- 4" and 5" grubs... Kalin's or Power Grubs Colors: smoke, sand, smoke, apple juice, smoke, clear salt/pepper, smoke, a shock color like school bus yellow, and smoke. Maybe a few more bags of smoke, just in case. I fish them on either Owner Ultra Head ballheads or, more recently since I discovered them, Shur Set biscuit head jigs with light wire Matzuo sickle hooks that are just about the nastiest hook ever invented.

- Tubes like ISG Dream Tubes in green pumpkin/copper (which I think is perchy-looking), Sandpiper, watermelon/gold flake, or Clapper's Magic. Also getting to like the Strike King Coffee Tubes. Usually fish tubes on either a Northland tube head (1/4 or 3/8 oz) or more commonly a Bite Me Big Boy tube head in 1/2 or occasionally 3/4 oz.

- Swimbaits like the Castaic Swimming J, Lunker City Swim Fish, Kaitech Swin Impact, etc., on either an Owner ball head, Shur Set, or a football head depending on what depth I'm in. In fall, the outfish grubs, which isn't easy to do.

- Drop shot - with a 3" or 4" senko-type bait (any color's fine as long as it's green pumpking/purple flake), Lunker City Ribster (getting to be a fan of these) or Persuader American minnow grubs which they quit making and dear God I think I'm going to run out of them by the end of this season.... I need to try a Panic Minnow because I think they're similar...

- Jerkbaits like a Lucky Craft Pointer in translucent colors like sunfish or ghost baby bluegill, which look way more like a perch than a sunfish or bluegill but whatever... This is mainly a spring and fall thing.

- Walk the dog topwaters like the Strike King KVD WTD bait, which I actually like a lot.

- Fluke-type minnow baits like Berkley Power Minnows, usually on a light jighead. Great fished like a jerkbait. Also very very good on a light football head like the Lunker City light wire football heads skittered along the bottom sometimes, especially around docks.

- Swim jigs for when they get around rushes, and big spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, mainly for fall...

[Superduty]

I like to play the smallmouth game!

Some of mine will surely be repeats from previous posters but it's what I throw.

Zara spook.

Swimming grub 4-5".

Dropshot rig with a 4" Cache Custom Lures Diamond worm or shad shape worm

Zoom fluke.

Suspending jerkbait-they all work at various times.

Mepps spinner.

Big chartreuse spinnerbait.

Wacky rig senko or ocho

Coffee tube.

Hair/feather jig. ( I wouldn't talk about this one for years but it has basically gone viral with Infisherman (and others) publications.

[Shorelunch]

Great stuff, fellas. I be hitting a couple stores this weekend and have a list made.

[Hawg]

Big Smallmouth? Big Redtails. Or is that not allowed here. Boy, I have some friends that get livid on using live bait. (I usually never do but I sure like irritating them.)They're the guys that don't carry anchors

[Juan Grande]

Yes Hawg, no live bait, landing nets or anchors for the die hard bass guys.

I have two anchors, a net and fish with sucker minnows from time to time. Then again, I bass fish out of a walleye boat

[JP Z]

It is hard to beat a lively redtail in the fall.....fishing weedlines......OH MY!

[bonebaby0]

I fish a fairly simple line-up ... here are my 5 go-to's year round

1. Jigs - Swim and Football, bluegill and crappie colors

2. Crankbaits - 6th Sense Lures - phenomenal crankbaits

3. Texas Rig - 3/16 - 1/2 oz Title Shot with D-Bomb, Z-Hog, etc

4. Jig Worm - 1/16 - 3/16 oz Ball Head Jig, Senko or Trick worm

5. Shakey Head - 1/8 3/16 oz Ball Head, Beaver or Biffle Bug

[RK]

I know a lot of bass guys look down their nose o live bait because you can't use them in tournaments, but... I don't fish tournaments so what do I care.

Most often a guy doesn't need it, but if I'm fishing with kids, or if the bite is brutal...bring on the bait. The idea is to catch them, and catching them with live bait is better than not catching them with artificials in my book at least. I don't have that much pride. A big mudflap leech on a split shot rig or under a slip bobber has saved more than a couple smallmouth trips for me. With kids, a stupid rig (just to bring the conversation full circle) with a circle hook and a chub or sucker can be awesome.

Late fall can be a good time for meat too. A Gopher Tackle twin spin with a big sucker minnow slow rolled over a weedbed can get hit so hard it makes your wrists hurt. Plus it's a multi-species deal. Catch bass, walleyes, and some big pike. Two of the biggest walleyes I've ever caught (30" and 31") were caught that way actually. A jig with the skirt trimmed back and a sucker can be good too.

[PurpleCatMan]

Funny, I learned how to fish for bass with a "stupid rig" (didn't know it was called that). My grandpa rigged me up with one of those soft plastic worms that had the hooks pre-rigged and and split shot 10" up the line. Used to catch a bunch of bass out of his farm pond on it (20 years ago).

Never fished that rig out of a bass boat. Might need to try it out this season (minus the pre-rigged worm!).

[Deitz Dittrich]

actually- those pre-rigged worms still catch fish..

[RK]

actually- those pre-rigged worms still catch fish..

Yes they do...

[Deitz Dittrich]

I make my own from a two hook almost like a walleye harness, Believe they call it a Florida swimming worm rig.. But could be wrong. My only hang up with pre-rigged worms is I dont often trust the line that is on them.