How to Rig a Lizard for Bass Fishing

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Some lures are not discussed as frequently as others, and soft-plastic lizards are one of them. This artificial lure can give anglers success and if they know how to rig a lizard for bass fishing, they will want to use it every time.

How to Rig a Lizard for Bass Fishing

A plastic lizard may not appear to be as detailed, or flashy as other lures. You may think that it is better to use a lure that has rattles, and is shiny with chrome finish or detailed paint that makes it look like real fish. However, lizard lures are equally efficient and many anglers do not know about this!

If anglers learn how to rig a lizard to catch bass, it can prove to be quite useful. The primary rigs used for this type of artificial bait include

  • Texas Rig
  • Weightless Rig
  • Jighead miniature lizard
  • Carolina Rig

Each of these rigs will prove beneficial and can get you some big catches within a short time. A few decades back lizards were a popular bait and anglers used them frequently to cash in on the hungry bass that came into shallow waters looking for food.

A man with a white and black stripe long sleeves is sitting next to a boy wearing a blue long sleeves shirt while holding a gray fishing rod sitting near the lake

Texas Rig

Presenting a soft-plastic lizard with this rig is most effective and easy for most anglers. Using the Texas Rig with a plastic lizard, a small weight, and a worm hook will be good enough for any day! You can cast, pitch, flip and drag it around rocky ridges and lake spots with timber or plantation will be easy.

You can use the following tackle with this rig to present the lure in all grassy banks and shoreline with grass and vegetation.

  • Gap hook of size 3/0 or 4/0
  • A 3/16 tungsten sinker

The Texas Rig is most popular when it comes to tying the hook and lure to the line. However, the reason behind the efficiency of this rig is that it allows the plastic to move freely with the water.

Weightless

Anglers can use the soft plastic lizard without weight and let it stay near the surface to move with the water. When fish are in shallow spots in lakes or reservoirs, they will come rushing in for a bite of the lizard. You will have to keep twitching the line to make the lizard move and entice the fish enough to come near.

Without weight, the lizard acts like a top water lure and can be used in all kinds of fishing techniques. If you are using a spinning rod, fly fishing rod, or even a bait casting rod; this lure will work for all kinds of settings.

This presentation is great during the spawn period when bass is roaming the rocky shallow areas to find the perfect spot to set up the spawning bed. When the bass are hungry, they have to eat and they will come to bite any edible creature. Lizards are a wholesome meal at a time when the bass is hungry so it works in a shorter period.

Miniature Lizard and Jighead

The Texas Rig and weightless presentation usually use a big lizard approximately six inches long. However, a miniature lizard can also have the same effect if used with a jighead to give it the movement that is attractive for bass swimming near rocky areas, and big rocks under which bass find a cooler spot in shallow waters.

Using lizards as bait is an old-fashioned idea, however, it has not lost its efficiency. Anglers may have moved to more real-looking and noisier, and brighter lures. If you use a small lizard with a shaking jig, it will be effective in brush piles and wood cover.

Carolina Rig

Carolina rig works best for offshore bass fishing where the waters are sandy and anglers do not need the extra buoyancy as the lure moves with the water current. The Carolina Rig will need the same tackle as a Texas Rig, which includes a gap hook and a tungsten weight.

The steady and upward movement of the lizard will be effective in sandy waters. Moreover, if you use a darker color, it will be more helpful because the low visibility of sandy waters would require a dark object to get bass attention.

Why Do Rigs Matter?

When fishing for an energetic and aggressive fish as bass, anglers need to pay attention to the various types of rigs they can use because every situation calls for a different way of attaching the lure.

For example, Carolina Rig is most suited for sandy waters and will be a better choice for offshore anglers. The weightless Texas Rig will be a good choice for anglers who are looking for fish in shallow waters with rocky sides and floors.

The Best Color Lizard for Bass

Since the newer lures are brighter and flashier, what color lizard is best for bass? This is a common question, and the answer is to stay close to nature. A light green or watermelon colored belly on a plastic lure will look natural and many bass will be coming in without suspecting a trap!

A person wearing a hoodie is sitting on a brown chair holding fishing on a wooden dock near a body of water

Moreover, bigger lizards in dark colors such as brown, purple and blue will work when the water is clear and the light is dim. You can find glittered red and green lizards as well. However, if you use a light green or a red lizard in clear water during the day, it can be too translucent for bass to think it is real.

The most natural color in plastic lizards from the pioneer manufacturer Zoom is Pumpkin Green. This color works better than others because it is the closest to reality. If you use a Pumpkin Green lizard with any of the rigs that are best for this lure, you will believe that these lures are one of the most underrated.

When Is a Lizard Rig Most Effective?

All anglers have to follow nature to ensure that the fish falls for their technique. Lizards are a great lure for the spring and summer seasons. In spring, the fish species is hungry after a long winter, and in summer they spawn so they look for food desperately before they go deep in the water, or in hidden areas in shallow waters.

Lizards are not active in winter, therefore if you cast a soft-plastic lizard in the cold season, bass might not find it very attractive! Moreover, the fish will not be convinced if a tiny lizard is floating on water during the fall months.

Where to Use Lizard for Bass?

Lizards are bigger than the jig heads, crankbaits, crawdad, and minnows that you find at tackle shops. These soft plastic lures work well in areas where there are rocks, ridges, timber, or vegetation covers. If the water has a rocky floor and the shallow areas are muddy, this bait will still be able to get you a big catch.

Whether you are fishing in lakes or at the shore, these small plastic lures shaped like lizards, are a good choice if you choose the right color according to the lighting and water clarity. Since lizards are larger than the bait fish-shaped lures, they are more prominent.

The Most Effective Way to Rig a Lizard

Out of all the rigs explained, the Texas Rig and weightless lure presentation work better. While the other two rigs will also work, the most effective way will be when these plastic baits move according to the water and their movement is not altered with different fishing methods.

Conclusion

Anglers who know how to rig a lizard for bass fishing say that this conventional and rather old bait has not lost its charm. The soft plastic lizard was the bait of choice before the fancy jig heads and crankbaits, or swim baits were made. You will find these lures to be quite useful.