Tweaking Soft-Plastic Rigs

ANGLERS HAVE A REPUTATION for not leaving well enough alone. Elite Series pro John Crews is no different. He is constantly toying with how to make baits perform at a higher level by simple and slight modifications. Here are a few of his favorites.

Wacky Shot

The Salem, Va., angler calls this twist on the drop shot a wacky shot. “It’s kind of like a wacky-rigged drop-shot getup with a superlong leader,” says Crews. He lets the bait descend close to the bottom, then lifts it up to eliminate slack. But the key to strikes is allowing the bait to flutter slowly downward without the line restricting the bait.

“I prefer to fish a wacky-rigged worm up near the surface,” says the 12-time Classic qualifier, “but this approach allows