Weightless

This technique is so simple yet so powerful in the right circumstances. Embed a worm hook, point hidden, in any piece of plastic bait. A bulky or fat worm is heavy enough to cast. Popular choices are Senko, lizard, Fluke, fat-bodied worms, etc. Toss it to a good-looking spot and let it sink slowly, tantalizingly.

Wacky rig

Slide a tight-fitting rubber O-ring onto the middle of a plastic worm (there’s a handy tool for that). Run a hook through the O-ring without catching much of the plastic bait. The O-ring keeps the hook in place. The plastic worm doesn’t tear when a fish bites because the hook isn’t buried into the plastic, so it lasts for multiple bites. The wacky rig wiggles and pulses as it falls, triggering lethargic fish into biting.

Split Shot

It’s such a simple method that hardly anyone remembers to use it anymore for bass. Rig a 6-inch thin worm (or other plastic bait) on a light 1/0 thin-wire worm hook. Pinch a split shot weight about 12 to 14 inches up the line. Now, start catching. This technique is super-effective in shallow to medium depths and clear water.

Shaky head/Ned rig 

A “shaky head” is a mostly flat-bottomed jig head. As it rests on the bottom, the hook stands upright. There are many variations of this concept. Choose one with sharp, premium hooks. Anglers like to use 6- to 8-inch buoyant plastic worms so the worm stands upright. The closely related Ned rig also has a standup head style, but it’s often tinier and used with smaller plastic baits in the 2.5- to 4-inch range. With both styles, once the rig is on the bottom, gently shake or hop it to attract attention.

Slider head

The pro slider jig head is a small finesse jig head that glides along the bottom. Many plastic baits work here, too; anglers prefer 4- to 6-inch plastic worms, rigged weedless. The slider head is best for slowly moving (dragging/gliding) along the bottom, and it goes through sparse vegetation pretty well. Use the slider head as a “search” bait — you can drift along, not having to recast, keeping the bait down where the fish are for a long time.

Drop Shot

Sometimes fish don’t hug the bottom; try a vertical presentation that sits at their eye level. A drop shot weight rests on the bottom, but the hook and bait are 1 to 3 feet up. The bottom weight should be as light as possible, depending on wind and fish depth. It’s effective down to 40 feet or more. Small plastic worms and shad-shaped plastic minnows are widely used on finesse-style drop-shot hooks.

Neko Rig

Many popular finesse techniques have been developed in Japan, where fishing is crowded and the fish are wary. The Neko rig, inspired by Japanese anglers, is an effective, ingenious way to present a 5- to 8- inch straight-tail plastic worm. A thin-diameter worm hook goes in the tail-end of the worm about a third of the way down, rigged with the hook pointed toward the tail. A small cylindrical “nail” weight is pushed into the nose of the bait. The bait settles down nose first, so it stands upright, with the hook facing the fish.