Pro's Quick Tip: For Finesse Edge, Try Scroggins' Eggshot Rig

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor


In an age when pros try their hardest to keep their most effective tackle tricks and tips under wraps for as long as possible, Terry Scroggins is always willing to share something that he thinks will help others improve their game.

He’s known to give other Elite Series anglers baits on the water during competition if he’s dialed in and they’re struggling.

Hailing from Florida, Scroggins is well-versed in the big-bass culture and the big-rod, big-line mindset that is sometimes needed to get brutish bass in the boat. He’s also very adept at knowing when to apply a finesse touch. Maybe he’s on a heavily-pressured lake where fish have been educated to a wide range of baits and presentations. Maybe he knows he’s fishing behind other competitors and needs to show the fish something out of the ordinary to trigger one more bite.

When he gets into those situations, one of the finesse techniques he has a lot of confidence in is what he calls the eggshot rig. Some may also call it the split shot rig, but Scroggins uses an egg-shaped clam-style sinker, hence the eggshot reference.

He’s sure it’s been widely used elsewhere, so he’s not claiming ownership of the idea. He just knows it’s a different sort of finesse presentation that’s helped him put a few more fish in the boat.

At the Toledo Bend Elite Series in April, Scroggins had to dig into his bag of tricks to generate a few bites. Fishing at the massive reservoir along the Texas-Louisiana border had been challenging and he resorted to the finesse tactic when fishing around shallow cover.

It’s also a great tool for covering a lot of water, especially around shallow cover. It's easy to skip around docks and under overhanging branches and limbs. Best of all, it's weedless, so it can be fished quickly.

It excels in clear water, preferably in areas where the water is 6 feet deep or less, Scroggins says.

“It’s good for fishing shallow targets like laydowns or stickups,” Scroggins said. “I’ll put my trolling motor or 40 or 50 percent and go down the bank and just throw at everything I see. Once it hits bottom, I’ll crank it in and fire at another target.”

Simple Components

The ingredients for the eggshot rig are easily found at most tackle shops and big-box retailers. Here’s your shopping list:

> Zoom Trick Worm or Finesse Worm or comparable soft plastic worm

> 4/0 straight shank worm hook

> #7 egg sinker

Rigging is fairly simple. Scroggins will Texas-rig the worm on the hook, threading it on so the hook point is buried roughly halfway down the worm. He’ll then clamp an egg sinker around the line right above the nose of the worm. That’s all there is to it.

“I’ll throw it in the same spots I might throw a Senko,” he said. “On pressured lakes, it’s a great technique because it has more of a gliding movement than a shimmy. It’s just a different look.”

When rigged properly, the worm will glide through the water nose down at about a 45-degree angle. Letting it fall on slack line is crucial to the presentation, Scroggins added.

He favors a 6-foot, 10-inch medium-action Duckett Fishing spinning rod and 10- to 12-pound braided line as a main line linked to a 10- to 12-pound fluorocarbon leader, depending on the situation.

Check out the below video to see Scroggins in action with the eggshot rig: