Coble's unique rig is one secret worth uncovering

There are so many different techniques to catch fish it literally can make your head spin. Everyone has got their go-to bait and presentation that really gives them confidence. The fishing industry is also full of fads that are hot for a season or two, and then they disappear from the radar.

So when I received a little booklet in the mail that came along with my Bassmaster subscription I was quite skeptical. The title of the supplement is “51 Best Kept Secrets.” I threw it on the counter, and there it sat for several days.

One morning, as I was eating breakfast, I was looking for something to read. I happened across this little book I had forgotten about. I thought to myself, I might as well glance it over and see if there is anything worth learning. As you can tell, I was sure there was nothing new in this book that I hadn’t tried, seen or heard about somewhere.

When I finally reached page 10 my interest was piqued. The heading at the top of the page said, “Tip 15. Build a Bungee Jumper Rig.” The accompanying picture show a plastic worm rigged from the middle, not one of the ends. I started to read the text that went with the picture.

As it turns out, this rig was created by a gentleman by the name of Jeff Coble. He most notably won the Bassmaster Weekend Series championship. This is quite a feat considering the quality of competition that usually partakes in these events. This event he won was in 2005 and padded his wallet with a cool $100,000 in cash.

The blurb goes on to talk about how Coble had always dreamed of fishing with all of the biggest names in the industry but didn’t have the tools and the competitive knowledge to do so. After he developed this rig, he started to win events and possess the tools necessary to compete at the highest level, although he no longer had that desire.

Therefore, he thought he would share this setup with all of us.

In a nutshell, you take a Zoom Trick Work and snip off about one quarter-inch from the large end. Then take a crappie jig head of the weight you desire and cut off the line tie and the hook, leaving only the shank and lead weight. Insert this into the end of the worm you just trimmed. Next, take either a 3/0 or a 4/0 hook and Texas rig it backwards in the middle of the worm.

I quickly did just as described and headed down to my dock to see how this looked in the water. I could tell by looking at it that the worm should stand straight up and down. I flipped it into my beach area where the water was clearest. The worm did just that — stood straight up. In fact, it looked a lot like some sort of aquatic creature rooting around and foraging.

As I was playing with this new presentation, a largemouth bass shot out of the depths, stopped about six inches from this thing and just stared at it. Its fins were moving rapidly and I could tell that the fish was excited by this strange looking creature.

I twitched the rod once, which immediately imparted that foraging action I described earlier. The bass engulfed that lure and took off. Literally 10 seconds after I put this bait in the water I had caught a fish on it. Coincidence? Partly.

But I saw enough to know that this rig would excel at getting finicky fish to strike. This setup allows an angler to keep the lure in one place and impart action onto it to make it look quite alive. The next day I tried it again on a different body of water and once again caught a nice fish within a few minutes.

Anyone that fishes knows that there is not one “super” lure or technique that will work all of the time. But there are techniques that allow us to present old baits in new ways. Good anglers know when they have something pressured fish have not seen before the odds of success go way up. The Bungee Jumper Rig falls into the later category.

Good luck this week, and I hope that you too can try this out and reap the rewards.