A texas rigged creature bait is one of the most popular and widely used bass lures of all time. While some tackle shops consider craws and creature baits different categories, I personally think of them as the same category and in my case I typically prefer a beaver style bait like the one pictured above over a craw. Don’t get me wrong craws can still be very effective (and I still like to use them on the back of my jigs), but if I’m throwing a lure on a ewg hook with a bullet weight like you see above I almost always go with a creature bait over a craw and it’s really just a matter of personal preference.
At this point you might be asking yourself what the difference is between this and a punch rig. Generally speaking this is something I’d use if I’m not punching through a mat or throwing the lure into heavy cover and I typically like to fish this on bottom when I want a slightly bigger presentation. As a result I just use a 1/8 or 3/16oz bullet weight and the same 20lb braided line with a 12lb fluorocarbon leader that I use with texas rigged worms, which makes it easy to swap back and forth quickly if I want to. Having said that there are a lot of other ways you can throw a texas rig like this one, but this is usually what I’m doing when I throw this lure. You could also throw this lure on a baitcaster (and a lot of people prefer to do so) but in my case I use this setup with a spinning rod and save the baitcaster for the larger version of a texas rig that I use.
Lure Summary – Texas Rig Creature
Suggested Rod Length: 6’10” – 7’3″
Suggested Rod Power: Medium or Medium Heavy
Suggested Rod Action: Fast or Moderate Fast
Suggested Reel Type: Spinning Reel
Suggested Reel Size: 3000
Lure Weight (est.): .48oz
Tackle Required
- 4/0 Gamakatsu SuperLine Offset EWG Hook
- 1/8 or 3/16oz bullet weight
- 20lb Sufix 832 Braided Line
- 12lb Sunline FC Fluorocarbon Leader
Suggested Soft Plastic Baits
- 4″ Strike King Rage Bug