Texas Rig Weight Size Guide: Match Sinkers to Fall, Depth and Cover

For a large worm dragged along bottom, Gettys Brannon’s guide uses 3/8 to 1/2 ounce to maintain contact.¹

Dense matted vegetation is a different job that calls for enough weight to penetrate the canopy.¹

Choose by the fall and bottom contact

• For a slow, horizontal stickbait glide, Gettys Brannon gives 1/32 to 1/8 ounce as a light-sinker starting range.¹
• A heavier sinker can defeat the horizontal glide of a Texas-rigged stickbait and make it sink more directly.¹
• For a worm stroked off hard bottom as a reaction presentation, Brannon describes 1/2 to 3/4 ounce as a likely choice.¹
• His weight decisions account for fall rate, fish depth, cover density and wind.¹

Depth examples from one guide

• Brannon lists 1/8 ounce at five feet or less in his depth examples.¹
• Around 20 feet, his examples run from 1/4 to 3/8 ounce depending on precise depth and fish position.¹
• Beyond 20 feet, he gives 1/2 ounce when fish are tight to bottom.¹

Cover and wind

• Brannon gives about 1/2 ounce for sparse pads.¹
• For dense grass mats, his example rises to 1 to 2 ounces.¹
• Strong wind working against the line can change the bait’s fall, castability and bite detection, so Brannon calls for a heavier-than-normal weight in that condition.¹
• When fish respond to a different fall rate, Brannon advises experimenting with sinker weight.¹

A separate shallow reaction example

In a separate postspawn reaction setup in eight feet or less with roughly 12 to 14 inches or more visibility, Edwin Evers uses 1/2 or 3/4 ounce to speed the fall.²