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This is Gene Jensen with BassResource.com. What I want to talk to you today about is
one of my favorite finesse rigs. Not only is it finesse rig, but it is a big fish rig.
When it gets real hot in the summertime and the fish get real lethargic, and I'm fishing
grass or I'm fishing some nice heavy stuff. Hold on. Let me get this fish in the boat.
What I always go with, or what I like to go with is, like a said, one of my favorite rigs.
It's called a Mojo rig. Let's talk about it.
Now, basically what a Mojo rig is, is a finesse Carolina rig. It consists of a little light
wired hook. I've got a number one offset work hook, with a little cylindrical weight. Let
me move a little closer, see if you guys can see this. It's a little cylindrical weight.
This is a 16th ounce, I think. And, it's pegged on the line using some material off one of
my jig skirts. A little bit later I'll show you guys how to rig it, but right now let's
just talk about how to fish it. I've got it on 10 pound test fluorocarbon leader, that's
tied onto some, I think, 10 pound or 12 pound test, red Power Pro braid. It's on a Dobyns
681SF, which is a medium light spinning rod. It's their drop-shot rod. Anything with a
good flexible tip works.
Now, if you guys go back and watch how I set the hook on the last fish, you set the hook
just like a Carolina rig, just not as hard. It's more or less, you just tighten down.
You've got that nice little light wire hook that does the job for you. You don't have
to really hammer the hook set home to get that light wire hook in the bass.
All right. The soft plastics that I like to use on a Mojo rig are straight tail worms,
your trick worms, your finesse worms, things like that. But, other soft plastics work too.
A small little lizard, I fished a tournament with one, with a little lizard several years
ago. It did pretty well in the tournament. We didn't win, but I was catching some good
fish off of the grass. Like I said, you can use any soft plastic.
Where this rig really shines is when you're fishing submerged grass. You guys, I hear
this a lot on the forums. People talk about what is the best way to fish grass, because
their lure and everything get hung up in the grass. This thing is phenomenal in the grass,
because instead of it burying itself because of a heavy weight, it stays on top. So, you
fish it just like a Carolina rig, but it glides over top of the grass. And, when it gets hung
in a little bit of grass, just a little tug, a little pop in the line, it comes right out.
So, you let it sink to the bottom.
It's just a matter of just slowly lifting your rod tip up or setting a hook on the fish.
Now, did you see how I set the hook? It's a sweeping hook set to the side. Just like
I said in my other videos, if the weight is up the line from the hook a bit, you always
want to do a sweeping hookset. Make sure you keep your line as straight as you possibly
can to get the best hookset possible. That's kind of what it does. Man, when they're on
this rig, you can't beat it. It's a four and a half, maybe five pounder, pretty good little
bass.
You let it sink to the bottom or let it sink to the top of the grass, and you just drag
it, over top of the grass very slowly. You'll feel it snagging onto the grass, and pulling
itself through. When you get it hung on some grass and you can't pull it through, just
a little pop of the rod will bring that little cylindrical weight through the grass real
easy, and that straight tail worm with that nice pointed nose will come through the grass,
as well. That is why this thing shines in that submerged grass. It's a matter of just
dragging. Dragging and let it set.
You know, it's in the heat of the summer. Yesterday we had, what? 102 degree weather.
The water temperature at the end of the day was 89, 90 degree water temperature. These
fish are getting into their summer lulls. You kind of compare the summer to the winter.
In the winter they became pretty lethargic, the summer they pretty much do too. They get
down into the creek channel, and they don't eat much, they don't do much, they just kind
of hang out. They don't want to do much because it's so stressful for them. Especially when
the water temperature gets as hot as it has been.
All right. Let's talk about how to rig this Mojo rig. The soft plastic that you're using
is going to determine what hook you use. Now, I always go with a light wire hook. The reason
is, is because I'm using light line, a medium light rod. I'm not going to have the backbone
I need to set the hook on a heavy wire, or set it on a heavy wire hook. And so, the hooks
I go for are number one, or 1/0 offset worm hooks, it's my number one choice. If I'm using
a fat soft plastic, like an Old Monster, or a Mag Two, or anything a little bit wider
than a trick worm, I'll go up to an extra wide gap 1/0, but I'm not going to go any
higher than that. You're still going to get a good hook set, I promise. What you're going
to gain is better action on your soft plastics.
So, the components this rig requires is a hook, one of those little cylindrical weights.
Now, you can buy these from the Mojo weight company. They make them. I make mine myself,
just because I enjoy making my own tackle anyway. Just for the record, I use a Do-It
Lure body mold. It's the same mold that they use to do the inline spinner weights, and
things like that. That's what I use. And, the reason I love it is, because the ones
that get out of the lure body mold are a little bit more pointed and they come through the
grass a little bit easier than a Mojo weight will. A Mojo weight has this little bitty
ridge that's around the end of it that will catch grass every once in a while. And, it's
just my personal preference. It'll come through the grass, but I am the way that I am.
So, the other thing that you're going to need in order to tie this rig, you're going to
need a little piece of fishing line. This one is about 10 or 8 inches long. And, two
or three strands of jig skirt material, the silicon off a jig skirt. OK. You can use these.
This is what you use to peg it, or you can use these little pieces of pegging rubber.
I can't remember the company that makes them, but you can buy them from Bass Pro Shops.
You can use these, but I like using the jig skirts.
Alright, the first thing you do, take your little weight and thread it on the line. Then,
you take your little hook and you tie it on the line. The two knots that I use to tie
a hook on a line are an improved clinch knot, or Palomar knot. I like an improved clinch
knot, just because I can tie it fast. I'm using fluorocarbon line, so I want to make
sure the line is nice and wet before I cinch it down.
Then, here's the little trick on how to peg a weight on your fishing line. The thing you
worry about when you peg a weight on, is that you don't want your line to be damaged so
those people who use toothpicks, and stuff like that, that will damage your line, or
has the chance to damage your line. I used to use toothpicks until somebody taught me
this trick.
You take your 10 inch piece of fishing line, you put it down through the hole of your weight.
You take the other end of that 10 inch line and put it down through the same direction.
So, what you've created is a loop, with that line. I hope you guys can see that. Just like
that. And, you take your two or three strands of jig skirt material and put it through that
loop. Then, grab your two tag ends and slowly pull it through, just like that. OK. Then,
you just cut off all your skirt material, being careful not to cut your fishing line.
I speak from experience. I've done it a dozen times, I bet, and you have to do this all
over again. OK. Just like that.
And, it's pretty pegged down there, but it will slide up and down the line. And, it does
while you cast too. You just have to make sure you keep it in about the right spot.
Where I like to keep it is between six and ten inches in front of the line. Sometimes
I'll fish at a 12 inch leader, but not much longer than that. And, that's how you rig
it. Texas rig your worm. Throw it out there. Fish it. And that's it, the Mojo rig.
Alright. Now, watch this hook set. Just tighten down, sweep to the right, sweep to the left,
whatever. I was just dragging it through the grass.
Now, it's all about the fight. Heavy drag set right. Let the fish wear itself down a
bit. Just keep your line tight, that's why you have this nice medium light rod. Don't
horse him. You're using a light wire hook. You're using light line. Just try to keep
him up out of the grass. That's all you've got to do. And there you go. Not a huge one.
The hook did the trick. The line did the trick. Nice little fish. That about does it for a
Mojo rig.
Like I always say, visit BassResource.com for the answers to all your questions about
bass fishing. Have a great day.