Is This The Best Rigging For Soft Plastics In The Summer?
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
- Found In: Fishing Tips, Tackle & Gear, Artifical Lure Tips
As water temperatures rise, one of the biggest changes I see is fish holding deeper and tighter to structure.
Redfish, trout, snook, and flounder often position themselves around oysters, docks, grass edges, and other cover where food and protection are easy to find.
The problem?
Getting a lure down into those areas without constantly hanging up.
In this video, I’ll show you one of my favorite weedless jighead setups for fishing deeper structure, staying in the strike zone longer, and reducing snags.
Insiders, if you want to give this rigging a shot for yourself, June’s Tackle Tester is the Hoss Weedless Round Eye Jighead. Claim yours here.
Featured Gear
- Jighead: Hoss Weedless Round Eye 3/0 1/4 oz
- Lure 1: The 2.0 – Mullet
- Lures 2: Prawn JR USA – Natural
Free Rigging Guide Cheat Sheet
Depth control with soft plastic lures is extremely important, so we created a helpful single-page guide that shows you exactly which jighead to pair with the given lure for certain depth ranges.
Click here to see the Rigging Guide
Key Takeaways
Fish Often Hold Tighter To Structure As Water Warms
As temperatures rise, I often find fish positioning deeper and closer to structure.
That means it’s more important than ever to use a presentation that can get down to the fish without constantly getting snagged.
Time In The Strike Zone Matters
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that the anglers catching the most fish are often the ones keeping their lures in the strike zone the longest.
The less time you spend clearing snags, the more opportunities you’ll have to get bites.
A Weedless Presentation Helps You Fish More Efficiently
That’s why I like using the Hoss Weedless Round Eye Jighead.
It allows me to fish around oysters, hard structure, and other snag-prone areas while helping keep my lure where the fish are.
Proper Rigging Helps Keep The Bait In Place
When rigging this setup, I like to push the soft plastic fully onto the jighead rather than leaving it loose.
Not only does it create a cleaner presentation, but it also helps keep the lure secured so I can catch more fish per bait.
Skin-Hooking Adds Extra Weedless Protection
If I’m fishing through oysters or especially heavy structure, I’ll lightly skin-hook the point back into the lure.
That extra step makes the presentation even more weedless and helps prevent unnecessary snags.
Final Thoughts
As fish move deeper and closer to structure, getting your lure into the strike zone becomes increasingly important.
This simple weedless jighead setup allows me to fish around oysters, hard structure, and other snag-prone areas with confidence while keeping my lure where fish are most likely to be feeding.
Give it a try the next time you’re targeting fish around deeper structure and see how it works for you.
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STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
great helpful video
I always appreciate the learning tid bits even if they are just simple reminders, thank you
Thanks for making time to post the nice comment Derryk!
I need help!!! I cannot catch fish with artificials!! I catch plenty of fish with live shrimp but nothing with the Power Prawn, Slam Shady, etc.. I know I’m rigging them properly as per your videos. They swim in the water beautifully. I vary my retrieves and do what you guys do on the videos. Obviously, the artificials work well but I don’t understand why I can’t get them to work for me. I fish in the intracoastal in Palm Beach County, Florida. Please help!
Which species are you mostly catching with live bait? What rod, reel, and line are you most often using when trying lures?
Thank you Loke for these helpful hints. I appreciate the detail you cover and the listing of the items involved.
Our pleasure Lerouy!
Morning Luke do you recommend a loop knot or snug?
I recommend loop knots for all lures (unless the lure has a split ring on the front).
Great post, what color is that paddletail 2.0?
That color is called Mullet because it looks just like a mullet: https://fishstrong.com/products/slam-shady-paddletails-2-0?_pos=1&_psq=the+2.0&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=46539368431790
awesome, thank you!
Perfect presentation on rigging. 👍🏼
Thanks for making time to post the nice comment Jon!
Good morning! Do I need to use a loop knot with these jig heads? Thank you.
Any type of knot will work, but loop knots have the advantage since they allow for more freedom of motion.
Time for some hard structure fishing !!
Yea buddy!