Weedless Options for Saltwater Anglers texas saltwater fishing, texas fishing, wadefishing, wading, bay fishing, speckled trout, redfish, snook, tarpon, texas redfish, texas speckled trout Grass is a bay fisherman's greatest time robber in late summer. Whether it be mowing his lawn, which prevents him from getting on the water, or plucking from his lure, which prevents him from making casts in rapid succession, grass certainly slows the fish finding process in July and August. Though little can be done to reduce lawn maintenance, today's inshore anglers have plenty of options to help them avoid the grass that covers the bay floor during late summer. Additionally, some of today's weedless baits allow anglers to probe inside of our inshore grass beds and find the fish which seek refuge there. Although many of these weedless options were originally invented to help their bass fishing counterparts, innovative inshore anglers have learned to take advantage of the existing technology in recent years. “Of course, you've probably heard this a million times, but you can hardly go wrong with a weedless gold spoon when fishing heavy grass,” said Rockport guide and FLW Redfish Tour angler Capt. Darrell Walter. “But, you can also do real good with a worm rigged Texas-style, although hook setting becomes a bit of an issue, since you have to punch the hook through the plastic. One other thing I like throwing when it gets real weedy is that (Stanley) Ribbit Frog. You wouldn't think to throw that, but if you're around semi-aggressive fish, they'll come up and blast it. Buzzin' that frog across the top can be a lot of fun.” Anglers throwing a Texas-rigged soft-plastic during late summer can rig these baits weightless or with various sizes of bullet sinkers. A relatively new twist to add weight to a weedless soft-plastic is the DOA Pinch Weight. This small sliver of lead is designed to attach to the shank of a weedless worm hook, adding the necessary weight while allowing the bait to descend in a horizontal fashion, instead of `head first.' Anglers looking to fish their soft-plastics on jig heads also have more weedless options than before. Among the best options available are the TitleSHot Jig from Fin-tech Tackle and Stanley Lures' Frog Hook. Of the two, the Title SHot more closely imitate the action of a bait pinned to a traditional jig head and should be the choice for anglers wanting to impart an up-and-down `jigging action.' However, the Frog Hook's unique “planing weight” gives it an advantage in other situations.  “Because of the way the weight is designed, the bait tends to swim to the surface when you reel it,” said lure designer Lonnie Stanley. “But, you can also use it like a standup jig and, if you retrieve it real slow, you can drag it along the bottom through the grass.” Even hard-core topwater pluggers have weedless options today. DOA Lures' Chug Head is a soft-plastic head designed to be paired with a soft-plastic tail and rigged on a weedless worm hook. Not only does this system give anglers countless color options, but it allows fishermen a chance to use a surface offering at times when a typical multi-treble-hooked “bay rake” is rendered useless. “The neat thing about this bait is you can rig it as a popper, or flip the head over and make it a diver,” said Capt. Rolando Gonzalez. “It also lands quiet and gives you a chance to fish a topwater right through the grass.”