Great Alternative To The Texas Rig For Smallmouth Safety

[Stoneroller]

Most of you have probably seen the 'new' broken back/jointed jigs by now. (it's not what you might be thinking) I want to say that Larew came out with that Biffle Hardhead jig first, but I'm not trying to debate who was first to market, just trying to give examples. Stanley makes a Wedge head jig made for punching, that has a triangular weight dangling from the hook's eye. Which is great for heavy weeds and mats.

Jointed jigs are basically a hook with the weight hanging from a split ring from the hooks eye. Different types of weight shapes are used for different types of bottom composition. Round for muddy/sand, Teardrop for 'normal lake bottom' conditions, and cigar or tube shaped for rocky areas.

Enter Owner and their Jig Rig. Clearly you can make these yourself with some drop shot weights, a hook and a split ring. Owner ups the ante by adding a solid ring to the hook to tie off to. leaving the split ring to suspend the weight. They also come in tungsten.

How is this better than texas rig? well pretty much everyone pegs a T rig now anyway, otherwise it's just a carolina rig with no leader. This eliminates the need to peg your weight. It also give you much better feel of your bait when the fish picks it up, greatly reducing the chances of gut hooking a Smallmouth.

The weight shape needed in typical ozark rivers is the cigar shape. Making one yourself is simple but you'll need to source dropshot weights with strong enough attachement points that they don't rip off when you are dragging this rig around on gravel. Tacklewarehouse.com has a stunning array of weights if you can't seem to find what you want in your local store.

The benefit other than less chance of deep hooking a fish is that your bouyant softbait will now swivel around in the current and waver and shimmy in a much more realistic way. This rig is a great blend of dropshotting, jigging, and texas rig. I think it's even better than the stand up jig heads I've been using as you aren't dragging your line across every rock due to your bait being slightly suspended. Great for dragging and hopping.