As a guide, I am always trying to develop ways to make fishing more enjoyable and successful for my clients.  Saltwater light tackle fishing along the Mid-Atlantic is still in the Dark Ages of lure rigging compared to freshwater tournament angling.  While the old lead head jig standby of saltwater fisherman will still produce fish, there are many situations where the exposed hook causes problems.  The majority of my fishing on the Chesapeake Bay is done around structure like eel grass flats, pier pilings and rock piles to name just a few.  Structure acts as a fish magnet by concentrating the fish in a small area.  The problem that arises is presenting the lure to the fish in these conditions without getting hung in the structure.   Here is where "going snag free" by hiding the hook point is the key to success.  Many experienced saltwater anglers are initially worried that they will be unable to set the hook on a fish since the hook point is not exposed, but I find no difference in hook up ratio.  The benefits of "going snag free" are many.  First you don't lose lures that are caught in structure.  This means you will spend your time fishing instead of re-rigging.  I've had young children cast snagless baits into a the middle of rock piles and let the lure lay in the rocks for minutes before starting their retrieve without ever getting hung - try that with an exposed hook.  Even accomplished anglers benefit because they can work a lure directly through snags without the fear of fouling or losing their bait.  Try "going snag free" for yourself and you will be casting to fishy areas that you once thought were unfishable!

There are numerous hook and rigging variations that allow you to go snag free.  The three above are my favorites.  The top one is a Title Shot Jig by FinTech (www.jigfish.com).  I use the Title Shot for just about all of my snag free rigging because it is effective, easy to use and available in a variety of weights ranging from 1/16 to 3/4 ounce.  The middle hook pictured above is the Mustad Power Lock Plus hook.  The advantage of this design is that the 1/16 or 1/8 ounce weight can be slid up or down the hook shank to impart different actions to the lure.  Both the Title Shot Jig and Power Lock Plus have a flexible plastic pin that holds the lure in place even after a fish strikes.  The bottom set up in the picture is of the standard Texas rig.  The weight is run through the fishing line and then pegged in place by inserting the rubber stop which is trimmed.  The advantage of the Texas rig over the other two is that it can be rigged with the hook farther back toward the tail of the bait for short striking fish.

The Mustad Power Lock design is also available without a weight for weightless rigging.  The plastic bait in the top right picture is of a Spike It 5" jerkbait.  This bait has an erratic topwater action and casts a long ways on a medium light spinning rod.  The plastic bait in the bottom right is a Senko.  The Senko inundated the freshwater largemouth bass scene recently, but it is also effect in the salt.  The plastic of the Senko is filled with heavy crystals making it sink and cast with easy.  At first glance it looks like a "do nothing" lure but it actually has an erratic subsurface action when fished slowly with twitches of the rod tip.

These are my favorite soft plastics to rig on the Title Shot Jig.  The top lure is a 4" Zoom Super Fluke Jr., the middle is a 6" Gambler Flapp'n Shad and the bottom is a 4" Saltwater Assassin Sea Shad.