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Charted WatersCoastal Virginia
Sheet 20 of 28

intermediate rig

Lure presentation

Wacky rig

About as simple to rig as soft-plastic fishing gets: hook the bait through the middle, cast, and let it sink on a slack or semi-slack line

Water
lakerivermarsh
Wacky rig schematicTop to bottom: main line, hook, bait.

Schematic, not to scale. Hover, tap, or tab through the parts; the drawing isolates each one.

Terms usedMain lineHook sizes

Components

As listed in the rig record, top to bottom.

  1. Main line or leader tied to a hook
  2. A soft-plastic stick bait hooked through its middle rather than nose-first, so both ends hang down and flutter

Setup

Hook
A small, light-wire hook sized to the bait, sometimes weedless, pierced through the center of the bait's body.
Weight
Usually unweighted, or very lightly weighted depending on how slow a fall you want — a small nail weight inserted into one end is the typical way to add just a little.

How to fish it

About as simple to rig as soft-plastic fishing gets: hook the bait through the middle, cast, and let it sink on a slack or semi-slack line — the bait's own flutter as both ends fall is the entire presentation.

When to use it

  • Dock pilings, cypress knees, and shallow cover in spring
  • Calm, clear water where a slow fall draws a look
  • Bedding bass and fish that have seen every lure

Common mistakes

  • Retrieving too actively — like the Ned rig, the wacky rig's appeal is almost entirely in the natural fall, not an active retrieve

Variations

Freshwater finesse rigs: the same idea, adjusted

Rigs drawn from the same schematic family — heavier, lighter, or with one part changed for a different fish or water.

All lure rigs

Where to use it

Water this rig is documented for

Spots marked “species match” document a fish this rig is for and the way it is fished — a place to try it, not a report that it has been fished there.

All fishing spots