Forget about brand names and look at softbaits as profiles, sluggos, jerkshads, flickbiats are all stick baits, No in built action and require AIA (angler induced action) to shake their wobbly bits. Shads, pogys, and paddle tails all have inbuilt tail actions that are created thru hydrodynamics. Saltwater fly fishermen usually relate to this very easily. Baits like stick baits have slender profiles that get down quick with a minimal amount of weight, which is always benificial. Shads and pogys usually require a little more weight and time to get them down to where you want them. These types of baits work extremly well in discoloured water as the produce a lot more vibration than stick baits. As far as rigging them is concerned, Texas rigging is a not the most effecient way to rig a soft bait. It creates a belly in the line reducing the feedback to the angler and also reduces hook ups by slowing down hooksetting speeds by the rod having to pull the belly out of the line first. Most baits will have a better action and relay more information back to the angler when they are weighted on the front of the bait. The only time you would consider a rig like this is if you were trying to extract fish from heavy cover, even in that situation you would use an all terrain jighead that is basically a worm hook  with weight built onto the front of it. These are available from many differant manufactures. Like I said Soft bait fishing is very similar to fly fishing, choose a profile, deliver it, get the bight. Forget about brand names, all of these things catch fish and you will catch fish rigging on worm hooks, but its far from the most effeciant way of presenting a soft bait. If it was the best way every angler in the ABT and AFC would be using them and believe me they dont.

Hell yeah, now I want to see that episode on the ITM show .

it'd be fun alright Moocha......

good on ya Mahiman...nice fish this morning mate!!...

I am constantly suprised at the number of icecream freezers that have swapped from jigheads to worm hooks since being shown that they 1) do work very well 2) increase longevity of the baits themselves 3) provide versatility and options 4) are cost effective....

even as recently as yesterday one of my learned collegues was persevering with jigheads, true enough he was hooking fish at about the same rate as the others on the boat that were using the TEXAS rig but Daryl (name has been changed to protect his identity) was losing them due to the "gay pink plucken line" breaking(?)...anyhoo...after he'd run out of his 2oz jigheads at whatever they are worth per unit ? he resorted to using a 1oz jighead with a 1oz ball sinker on top....hahahahaha.....after a few drifts and no fish a slighty wary and beaten man turns to me and says..."this thing looks just plain plucken wrong no snapper in their right mind would chew on this....so Kez!? where your worm hooks at bro and while I'm in here might just grab a few of those LUNKERCITY FIN-S shads" and after that ol' Daryl never looked back....I'm not sure if it was the rig but his fortunes changed....TRUE STORY!

and yes I have indeed seen the Texas Sinkers and thought about getting a few samples in to try out, but the supplier that I found only had 1oz plus the cost of shipping lead around the globe made it a little prohibitive....righteo....off to find a 1 & 2oz texas sinker mould!

stay tuned as i reckon they'd be the ducks danglies!

Come along with us Russ - it's easier to soak it all up that way and you'll see all manner of technique ( some good and some just atrocious ) and how and why.

I guess it will be easier to show you on Wednesday the complete setup, but my preference is an EGG style sinker.....ahhhh...just typed out a bunch of stuff that was going no where quickly...so will attempt to show you what works for me on Wednesday.

re: bait sliding up the shank?



this occurs more often than not on the bite.....

we were slaying rat kingies at the cape on the mackerel imitations

and i was glad i had an overhead/baitcast reel instead of a eggbeater, found the kingies heaps easier to control compared to my bro's sp set up

AC - Has to be done my friend. What part of jafaland are u?

Top man! Gee that is a bit of a tow to omaha from there.