Lizard and rigs 2025

scott000 reply :

what rig do you use for a lizard to catch bass? what colors? what brand? What else can you catch on a lizard?

im cheap i use the storm 10 piece pumpkin color and some weighted jigs. caugh one bass on it but i hear lizards are good so i want to hear some opinions

GAMEOVER reply :

I dont use them but have seen them fished many many ways, weightless, splitshot, t-rig'd, etc

Hawgin reply :

You can fish lizards pretty much any way you would fish a soft plastic. I like to use them a lot on Carolina Rigs. I also will use them T-rigged with a 1/8 or 1/4 bullet sinker. I also will pitch lizards during the spawn and drag them right through the middle of the beds. They are a pretty versatile bait, and are a good alternative to worms/senkos when fishing a highly pressured area because they are just something different.

scott000 reply :

thank you

and are lizards fishable year round?

flechero reply :

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thank you
and are lizards fishable year round?

Yes, 365 days a year... at least in the south.

Other. reply :

The lizzards are best fished in the spring scince the salamanders spawn in the spring. C-rigged in a weed bed is like calling the bass for a free dinner. To bad its not spring right now. I would not fish them up north in the fall time though.

jiangtao reply :

I have had really good luck with the chaurtreuse colors in the dead of Summer and recently, after throwing everything I can imagine to get Bass I pulled in 3 off one yesterday.

Chris reply :

what rig do you use for a lizard to catch bass?

weightless, Texas rig, Carolina rig, dropshot

what colors?

pumpkinseed, watermelon, black/blue, tequila, greenpumpkin,

what brand?

zoom

What else can you catch on a lizard?

frogs, snakes, catfish, bluegills, turtles,

scott000 reply :

that was very helpful. I now have pumpkin and chart tail zoom on a texas rig. and the same thing with a carolina rig.

what about beads? is it true the clink of the bead and weight hiting dings fish over? i heard that was true and worked with my T-rig worm

GAMEOVER reply :

If you dont have those types of live prey near you in your area, as a rule of thumb, you shouldnt use them. Like here in Michigan we have no lizards etc, but we have small rats and stuff they fish do and will eat.

Other. reply :

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that was very helpful. I now have pumpkin and chart tail zoom on a texas rig. and the same thing with a carolina rig.
what about beads? is it true the clink of the bead and weight hiting dings fish over? i heard that was true and worked with my T-rig worm

Correct

scott000 reply :

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If you dont have those types of live prey near you in your area, as a rule of thumb, you shouldnt use them. Like here in Michigan we have no lizards etc, but we have small rats and stuff they fish do and will eat.

thats odd i heard even if they dont live their bass still hit them. why is that? it looks like salamanders in the north

Vyron reply :

I dont c worms crawling along the bottom but we still catch bass on plastic worms

scott000 reply :

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I dont c worms crawling along the bottom but we still catch bass on plastic worms

thats true

BassFishingMachine reply :

The lakes/ponds I fish do not have salamanders living in them. So should I just not bother with using salamanders then? I figure if the bass never seen a salamander then it would be a dumb bait to try. But maybe im wrong. Give me your opinion

SPEEDBEAD. reply :

I think exactly the opposite. If a bass in your home waters has yet to see a lizard, then you should be throwing that sucker for all its worth. Its very rare to find a bass that hasnt seen a particular type of lure. Take the chatterbait for example. It combines different characteristics of common baits to give bass something they had not seen before earlier this year.

Give the lizards a try, you might just be surprised.

Great comment on the plastic worms by the way, I have never seen worms crawling, hopping, with a chartreuse tail or blue flecks in them either.

Wayne

Banor reply :

While I agree with the theme of the worm comment.... I dont throw a senko to mimic a worm

Back on topic, a lizard is one of my no confidence baits but I know a couple of guys who have great success with them even up here in michigan where "we dont have lizards.". Mostly during the spawn on beds lightly T-rigged and shakey head. C-rig I've heard works really well.

scott000 reply :

same with yamamoto creatures. my dad catches big bass on them. so i see your guys points

Banor reply :

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If you dont have those types of live prey near you in your area, as a rule of thumb, you shouldnt use them. Like here in Michigan we have no lizards etc, but we have small rats and stuff they fish do and will eat.

Remind me in the spring to introduce you to a couple of my buddies up here in Michigan who kick my butt on the beds tossing a lizard.

I need to give up my pride and succomb to the peer pressure. Bait monkey will visit me in the spring with a couple of bags of lizards in his hand, I can see it now.

scott000 reply :

so can you catch pretty big bass on lizards?

Banor reply :

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so can you catch pretty big bass on lizards?

Is there a big bass in the area you are casting? Is that big bass hungry? Is he fooled/annoyed by your presentation?

These have to be answered before an accurate answer can be given to your question.

scott000 reply :

Quote

Quote
so can you catch pretty big bass on lizards?

Is there a big bass in the area you are casting? Is that big bass hungry? Is he fooled/annoyed by your presentation?

These have to be answered before an accurate answer can be given to your question.

B

1) pretty big 5 lb

2) i dont know

3) ive gotten bites by them but never set the hook so i get them

lubina reply :

My lure of the Fall so far, Gambler Loco Lizard, explosive action. Thanks Brad_Covert for the tip

scott000 reply :

whats the minumum size bass you can catch on a lizard? even the big ones , i cant seem to set the hook. i caught one good footer on a 6in zoom. usually bass inhale plastics then you set the hook. seems like just the tail on mine is getting bit up so they are short strikers? solutions anyone?

bubbler reply :

Can be fished all year round.

use them on c-rig/ t-rig and dropshot.

fish c-rig around stumps and you will learn the bottom habita of the lake and catch fish no matter what time of the year.

bass109 reply :

which is better lizards or creatures?

what is the best time to fish a lizard?

BassFishingMachine reply :

Ya im starting to think bass will hit the lizard even if they don't live near the lake or the bass has never seen it before. The reason I say this is because creature baits work, and they look pretty weird, so why shouldn't a lizard work.

Valascus reply :

Ok...here we go. Lizards.

You should definitely be trying it fish lizards in the body of water you have described, especially if it is a bait that they have rarely seen. It does not matter that the lizard is not native to your area. Bass do not look at ANY bait and think to themselves, "Hmmmm...lizards don't live this far north? Better not touch it." As long as it appears to be prey for them and can fit in their mouth, they will strike at it. How you fish them will determine it's effectiveness. This time of the year, lizards aren't the most effective bait. This time of year I usually reach for tubes, jigs, hard jerkbaits, jigging spoons (which I hate), and stickworms with slow fall rates, a.k.a. senkos. However, the lizard is a HUGELY effective bait come spring time, just a little before and during the bass spawn. They are especially tools for bed fishing for bass. The bass has many natural enemies that will pilfer their eggs, but the biggest three are crayfish (crawdads), bluegills, and lizards. Bass will remove these creatures from the beds very quickly and very aggressively due to their natural instinct to protect their eggs from these predators. Lizards are also effective fished in the summer and fall. During the summer, I like to fish them shallow early, next to your usual suspects as far as cover goes. As the day wears on, I will begin fishing shallows that are closer to deeper water or fishing the deeper water itself. During the fall, the lizard will start to play second fiddle to many baits, namely shad and crayfish imitations, but is still an effective bait. I fish it much the same way in the fall as I do in the summer time, except I spend more time shallow.

Now, as far as rigging goes, I will fish my lizards t-rigged with as light a weight as I can get away (sometimes weightless) with in the given conditions and a Gamakatsu EWG hook ranging anywhere from 1/0 to 5/0 depending on the size of the lizard. I may use a bead for my t-rigs depending on water clarity. If the water is clear I will not use one. Normally clear water bass are easier to spook than stained or muddy water bass. The extra noise from the bead may spook them. Clear water bass normally hunt more using sight than sound or vibration detection. If I am fishing beds, brushpiles, or heavy vegetation I will peg the weight. A pegged t-rigged lizard on a bed appears to be nose down on the basses bed, perfectly mimicking a lizard foraging for bass eggs. For brushpiles and heavier vegetation, a pegged weight will come through the cover better than an un-pegged one.

I will also Carolina Rig (c-rig) them, though rarely, since I am not a big fan of the rig. I will use the same hooks and size ranges for the t-rig. However, I will use much larger weights. I usually rig it likewise: first I will thread a bead, a brass c-rig weight (about 1/2oz or heavier if I am fishing deeper depths), and another bead onto the line. Next I will tie on a smaller sized barrel swivel. I will then take a length of line ranging from as short as 12" to as long as 48" (I usually opt for about 24"-30" for easier casting) and tie it onto the other end of the swivel. At the end of that length of line I will tie my hook on and then rig the lizard the same way as you would t-rig it.

The last way I will deploy the lizard is another good one for bed fishing. That's the dropshot rig (which I am not a big fan of either). When using the dropshot rig I will cast the bait PAST the bed I am targeting and then slowly drag the rig back onto the bed. Then I will just leave it there until the bass gets aggravated enough to strike it. The way I rig a dropshot is: First I will tie on a larger dropshot style hook of your choice (I recommend Stand-Out hooks or Owner Mosquito Hooks). I use a #4 or #6 sized hook. Make sure when you tie on the hook you leave about 12" of the tag end of the line so that you can attach your weight to it. I will use a ball shaped dropshot weight at about a 1/4 oz. To attach the weight, simply thread the line through the guide on the weight, tie a simple overhand knot in the line, and then pull the line back through the guide sliding the line through the skinnier part of the guide. The overhand knot will catch and hold the weight in place. To attach the bait to the hook simply run the hook through the nose of the bait and leave the point exposed. If it doesn't look like you have enough hook to hook the bass, use a larger size hook.

Colors and sizes of lizards. I chose my colors and sizes depending on the conditions I am fishing. I will fish lizards ranging from 4" (for dropshots) all the way to as big as 8" to 10" (for t-rigs and c-rigs).

Clear water: Use natural colors - watermelon, pumpkin seed, pumpkin, and green pumpkin. If the bass are easily spooked I will use smaller sized baits, usually 5". If they are not I'll opt for the bigger lizards.

Stained water: Use darker natural colors or natural colors with a little more "pop" - Chartreuse pumpkin, Pumpkin/Chartreuse, watermelonseed, watermelon candy, green pumpkin, kudzu, watermelon/ chartreuse tail, and watermelon red flake, Plum. Use whatever size lizard you wish here.

Muddy water: Use dark colors - black with red or blue glitter, Plum, Junebug, Black. Use whatever size lizard you wish here as well, but I recommend larger lizards since they displace more water and will be easier to detect in poor visibility situations.

Bed Fishing colors: When I am bedfishing or sightfishing I will use the colors listed above, but will sometimes use high visibility colors such as white, pink, electric blue, etc. to help see when the fish has taken the lizard into their mouth.

There you have it, the lizard...as know it anyway. Good luck!

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Lizard and rigs 2025

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