By Brandon Rowan
Is it weird that I had to travel over 2,000 miles, to California of all places, to reacquaint myself with Texas rigged plastics? Yeah, I think so too.
I’m no stranger to fishing weedless plastics. As a kid, I pitched many a Texas rigged lizard or worm into the weedy lairs of hidden pond bass. But the bullet weights, plastic beads and worm hooks fell by the wayside when I discovered flounder, trout and redfish.
I was able to do some jetty fishing on the northern California coast this summer. In anticipation of my trip, I searched the internet high and low and learned as much as I could about how the locals pull rockfish, cabezon and lingcod from their rocky homes. Interestingly enough, Texas rigged flukes seemed to be the preferred method of catching fish without snagging the jetty. Tungsten bullet weights, half the size of lead and much more expensive, keep a lure’s profile small and less likely to get hung up.
Black Rockfish
I brought a whole bag of Gulp!® Jerk Shads to the Humboldt Bay south jetty but only needed one. I caught ten black rockfish in an hour, without a single snag, in what turned out to be a beautiful day on the water.
Short shank lead head jigs are often the norm for saltwater soft plastics here in Texas but I’m going to get back to my roots and toss something Texas rigged the next time I’m confronted with a jetty. This set up allows you to fish closer to structure, like rocks or shell, without fear of losing your lure. Give the Texas rig a try next time you’re on the water and remember to really set the hook!
