Texas Rig

• 1). Thread onto the end of the fishing line a bullet sinker heavy enough to carry the Brush Hog to the bottom and keep it there. Tie a size 2/0 or 3/0 hook to the fishing line via a Palomar knot.
  
  
• 2). Hold the Brush Hog so its appendages hang to the side. Slide the point of the hook into the top of the bait and push it in 1/4 inch. Push the hook so the point comes out the side of the bait, and then push the Brush Hog up the hook shank. When the head of the soft plastic is just below the eye of the hook, rotate the hook 180 degrees. Push the point of the hook into the Brush Hog. Stop pushing when the point of the hook is just below the surface on the other side of the bait.
  
  
• 3). Cast the rig into heavy vegetation, timber or other cover. Allow it to sink to the bottom. Retrieve the lure by bumping it slowly along the bottom. If the cover is too heavy and prevents such a retrieve, allow the lure to sink to the bottom and then wiggle your rod tip. Doing so will cause the appendages of the bait to move seductively and could trigger a bite.
  
  
• 4). Set the hook with a firm, upward motion of the fishing rod when you feel a bite.
  
  

Carolina Rig

• 1). Thread a barrel sinker on the line; the sinker must be heavy enough to carry the rig to the bottom and keep it there. Slide three to four glass beads on the line, and then attach a barrel swivel using a Palomar knot. Tie a 30-inch piece of fishing line to the other end of the swivel, and then tie a size 2/0 hook to the end of the fishing line.
  
  
• 2). Hold the Brush Hog so its appendages hang to the side. Slide the point of the hook into the top of the bait and push it in 1/4 inch. Push the hook so the point comes out the side of the bait, and then push the Brush Hog up the hook shank. When the head of the soft plastic is just below the eye of the hook, rotate the hook 180 degrees. Push the point of the hook into the Brush Hog. Stop pushing when the point of the hook protrudes slightly from the other side of the lure.
  
  
• 3). Cast the Brush Hog on the outside or inside edges of weed lines and along drop-offs where the bottom is made of a hard or semi-hard substrate like sand or rocks. Retrieve the rig along the bottom, but use your reel and rod tip to vary the speed at which the rig moves along the bottom.
  
  
• 4). Sweep your rod tip when you feel a bite.