Weedless fishing

When fishing brush or vegetation, you are most likely to get strikes when the bait is fished weedless. Fishing the bait weedless allows you to work the bait in the cover where the bass are without getting hung up. The most weedless baits are soft plastics, like worms, lizards, craws and jigs rigged with the hook point stuck back into the plastic body. The point is not exposed so it won't snag on the cover. To rig this bait, I use a High Performance Hook. I insert the hook in the center of the head of the bait, come out about a quarter of an inch down, and slide the plastic all the way around the hook until it covers the eye, (be sure the clip is open). Then hold the line and see how the bait hangs straight, and observe how the hook would be placed in the bait to keep that natural look. The punch the hook tip through the bait at a spot where it would go through to keep it straight. Go straight through the bait and out through the other side. This will leave the hook point and barb exposed on the top of the bait. Then pinch the bait by the hook point, slide it forward towards the eye, and then insert the hook point into the plastic. Slide the plastic back until the tip of the hook is covered. When this is done properly, the bait will be straight. Directions and diagrams for this weedless rigging can be found on the High Performance Hook packaging.