weedless rigs

Question
i find that when iam fishing with a rubber worm or anything with a worm weight (bullett type) i tend to get a lot of grass and debris on the weight itself    what can i do to avoid this?

Answer
Derrick; I suspect that most of your problem is using too heavy a weight.  When I am fishing in goop I use the lightest weight I can get by with.  I have, at times taken the tiny 1/32oz bullet weight and cut it in half crossways and used only the little pointed end.
At other times I use no weight at all especially in shallow water where one finds most of the trash.  

When fishing shallow water, under 4 feet I seldom use a weight at all.  If I have to have weight to cast into a wind or a very light lure I often use what I call a modified Carolina rig.  I use a clamp on type bullet weight or peg the weight with a round toothpick about 18-24" above the lure.  The weight still catches some trash but the lure stays free behind the weight.
We have lots of hydrilla in my lake and sometimes this is about the only way you can fish it.

I have taken to using "senko" type worms with no weight.  They are heavy enough to cast pretty well with a casting outfit and cast really well with a spinning outfit.
I fish them by casting to a spot in the edge of a weed bed and just allowing the lure to settle.  This lure settles horizontally with a sort of shimmie and often bass take it on the way down.  One must watch the line where it enters the water.  If it jiggles or slides to one side take up slack and strike because the fish probably has the lure. If a fish doesn't hit the lure within 15-20seconds I jiggle the end of the rod just a bit to cause the lure to jiggle.  I never intentionally pull the lure like you would a worm. After a couple of jiggles I reel in and cast to another spot.  I have been having pretty good luck with this method at the edges of the weeds where the water drops off.

There is no such thing as a completely weedless or trashless rig so sometimes you just have to put up with it.  If you aren't getting some weeds you are probably fishing where the fish aint.

I hope this has been of some help.   I am sorry I was late.  We have been so busy dodging hurricanes down here the past week and still have two of them coming.
Good luck with your fishing.  If there is anything else that I can help you with please contact me, either through the All Experts site or by e-mail at [email protected].

Jack L. Gaither
Lake Seminole, GA.