~c~I love these 2 baits. You can do a lot with how you rig them.
Favorite way is to use a rubber bobber stop, trokar flippin hook in size 4 or even 5, and a tungsten 3/8 to 1/2 oz weight unless you are punching through matted weeds in which case, you may want to go up to 1 to 1 1/2 oz. Go as light as you can get away with and still feel the bottom get contacted- wind and weeds dictate, as well as the rate of fall the bass want. 3/8 is a good place to start for sparse weeds. I fish it on either 15-20 # Flouro or heavier braid for the slop and hydrilla. Wood is fine for either in MHO. Both have thier pros and cons. The way to work them flipping is to accurately flip into the holes of weeds or through the stalks and branches, elbows of trees laying in the water, rock formations, anything irregular in the cover, really. Let the bait fall on slack line, watching it for the line to stop before it should or watching it jump, move sideways etc. this indicates a fish has it.
Next, I let it sit for 5-10 seconds. Sometimes a fish saw it fall, and swims over to get it. If nothing, I dance it up using short pumps- like you would a verticle jig. Bang it into the roof of the weeds or the log 3 times, letting it fall between each bangging- all the way to the bottom or half way- mix it up. Repeat at the next target.
When I pitch them, I side arm, or roll cast so the bait is close to the water throughout the flight to the target. This is for targets too far to flip to. when I cast up at rocks, especially, with a nice 45 degree break in contour, I like to let the bait roll down like a barrel down a hill by barely dragging it enough to get it to move 1 inch at a time. Shaw Grigsby fishes tubes like this- crawling them like a crawfish moves- they don't hop, they crawl around rocks real stealth. Vision your bait creeping and trying to stay concealed- you really don't swim these baits with as much success as you have when you creep them along. I like to stick a rattle insert like you can stick into a worm- the glass kind pointed at one end. When you bump into a rock or branch on the bottom, just shake your rod by just putting tention on your line-not a dancing jig motion, but you can get the effect by pulling until your line is taught and holding it there while you repeatedly squeeze your rod handle like you are trying to break a ping pong ball in your hand. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze then pause on slack line for a few seconds. drag the bait over the structure and let it fall on the next side. They love it when it tumbles down something. It is a lot like dragging a football head jig with a craw trailer.
You can c rig these, also- dragging them with a sideways sweep a foot or less at a time, keeping contact with the bottom
You can T rig them as stated, with or without rattles. I like to fish the rage craw as a trailer to a jig if you pinch or bite off about 1 1/2 inches of it and just run the hook through about 3/8 inch from the butt end perpendicular- just straight through the belly out the back at a 90 degree. this lets the craw wave and flap all around. If you run it on like a grub, it stays really straight, is good for flipping, but looks lifeless on the hard bottoms and clay or sand.
The Larew hardhead jig is a good thing. I like them because they give it a great deal of realistic action for all situations. They rig just like you would a EWG worm hook, the head swivels around crazy-like. Very natural look. I put them on 1/4 or 3/8 depending on the factors I stated above. The 3/8 has a biggert hook, so I like that one for the Pit Bosses and Craws. Fish it the same way like you do your flipping set up (above). They hit this when it is just dancing in the current on the bottom, too. Slow slow retrieve. When it bumps into rocks or anything the hook and bait dance on thier own. I catch more fish while letting it lay on the bottom as I am getting a bottle of water out of the cooler than most any other way. You can't go wrong with them, really.
Good luck.
