The profile of a Texas-rigged tube is a proven bass catcher as it mimics an array of forage.
May 06, 2025
By Jim Edlund
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Heddon Moss Boss If you’re a fan of topwater or frog fishing, the Heddon Moss Boss definitely needs to be on your radar. I first started fishing it a kid in the 1980s and still sling it to this day. The nice thing about it? It slides over algae, lily pads, milfoil, wood – you name it – in a manner that’s a bit different than a topwater frog. You can fish it on a straight retrieve or pop it, depending on the situation – just make sure you get it up on plane after your cast ASAP as it will sink if you don’t start working it right away. For me, it’s one of those baits I pull out in the gnarliest stuff – and great for shore-fishing places with tons of vegetation and fish underneath that are hard to get at with other presentations. Available in four colors and 2.5- and 3-inch versions.
Johnson Silver Minnow Invented in 1923, my guess is the Johnson Silver Minnow has caught millions of fish over the past 100 years, many of them bass. If I had to put together a survival kit, I’d definitely include this bait. First, it’s weedless and can be fished pretty much anywhere snag free. It’s also a multi-species killer, but does a number on bass, especially when dressed with a curly-tail grub and fished over, in, and around lily pads, milfoil, cabbage, etc. Plus, it’s versatile; you can not only fish it near the surface, you can let it sink and slow roll through deeper vegetation and around brush and sunken wood. Comes in seven colors, six weights, and seven lengths – all with a 35-degree wobble -- for every scenario you can imagine.
Uncle Josh Pork Frog Years ago, we used to also dress out Johnson Silver Minnows with Uncle Josh Pork Frogs , pieces of real pork rind kept supple in some kind of formaldehyde in a small glass and metal bottle that would inevitably spill inside your tackle box, the cover leaving a ring of rust and stink to clean up. Then, when we started fishing bass jigs, the same Uncle Josh Pork Frog became a natural trailer to mimic either a frog or crawfish. Yes, lots of fish were caught with these combos but they fell by the wayside with the introduction of plastic craws and the like. But here’s the thing – they still work – and there’s just something about how they move and how they feel to the fish that can trump plastic trailers.
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A Texas-rigged ribbon-tail worm is another example of a bait that’s just as effective now as it was many years ago. And I’m not the only one who still breaks out pork frogs; rumor has it they’re a go-to in certain situations with tournament pros. Many say it has to do with water clarity – the more stained the water, the better they perform.
The other great thing about pork frogs? They last. Put one on your jig and it will stay on all day, no ripped rubber or having to swing on deck to put on a new trailer.
By the way, if you’re looking for something just a bit bigger to tip your jig or spinnerbait, try out this super-sized version of the Original Uncle Josh Pork Frog, too.
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Texas-Rigged Worm It’s hard to argue the efficacy of a wacky or Neko rigged worm but they’re not the only way to skin a cat. For decades, anglers won tournaments on Texas-rigged ribbon and curly-tail worms – and they still work today.
Years ago, I started fishing Texas-rigged worms with rubber like Producto and Mann’s Auger Tails. These days, with improvements in the world of scent, I’m a big fan of Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Kingtail worms and really think the formula catches more fish than without. The quality of hooks is also better these days with everyone from VMC to Owner to Eagle Claw to Gamakatsu putting out great, needle-sharp hooks. And tungsten weights help a lot, too, especially for reducing the size of the weight you need for the rate of fall you prefer, but also producing an audible “tic-tic” when it comes into contact with hard bottom.
Some of these “old school” baits have been forgotten about or overlooked, but they still put bass in the boat. From top right (clockwise): Johnson Silver Minnow, Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Kingtail, Uncle Josh Pork Frog, Heddon Moss Boxx, Strike King CoffeeTube. Tube Although other plastic profiles may be more popular, sometimes nothing beats Texas-rigging an old-school tube for more bites. A double-threat on both brown and green bass, a tube can replicate lots of different forage, from gobies to young-of-year panfish to crawfish – all things bass love to gobble. Easily punched, flipped, or fished in open water, a tube is just plain versatile.
One of my favorites? The Strike King 3.5-inch Coffee Tube , which is unique among tube-style baits due to its scent that comes from real coffee bean granules and coffee bean oil, which surprisingly creates a tremendous flavor profile for bass and camouflages any angler-introduced scents to the bait. Yes, bass apparently like coffee, too.
Also salt-impregnated, these tubes simply perform — and we’ve tried them all. One of our favorite tricks during the post-spawn period is to Texas rig the tube and run a medium-sized split-shot or bullet weight pegged 8 to 10 inches above the bait to produce a slow and deadly rate of fall, called a “Mojo Rig” by some. It’s an absolute bass weapon and should be in your arsenal.
