How to Fish a Hover Rig for Bass - And Why it Works

If you've spent any time watching bass fishing over the last few years, you've probably heard terms like hover strolling, hover rigging, mid-strolling or hover shotting.

Whatever name you've heard, the idea is pretty simple: keep a small soft plastic moving naturally through the water column without forcing it forward like a traditional jighead or swimbait.

That ability to stay in the strike zone is what makes the hover rig so effective—especially when bass are suspended and aren't interested in chasing something moving quickly.

What is Hover Strolling

Hover strolling is a finesse technique built around keeping a soft plastic minnow suspended and moving naturally through the water column. Instead of constantly pulling the bait forward, the goal is to let small movements of the rod and line bring the bait to life while keeping it around the depth where the fish are holding.

It really shines when bass are suspended around baitfish, points, drop-offs or other structure and don't want to chase something moving quickly. Electronics can make it easier to locate those fish and control your depth, but you don't need forward-facing sonar to fish a hover rig effectively. If you do use forward-facing sonar, we have a separate guide on using FFS with hover rigs and getting more out of that combination.

The biggest mistake is usually doing too much. Small twitches, slight changes in line tension and a slow retrieve can create plenty of movement. Let the bait do the work.

Why We Made The RIG

When I first started experimenting with hover strolling, I loved what the presentation could do. What I wanted was a way to take that presentation and make it ready to fish straight out of the package.

So I started experimenting.

My earliest prototypes were pretty crude. I used shrink tubing to hold an insert weight against the hook shank, suspended that homemade setup inside an open-pour fluke mold with a set of helping hands, and poured the soft plastic around it.

I made four prototypes and took them fishing.

They caught a ton of bass.

More importantly, those four baits held up well enough that I kept fishing them instead of constantly replacing them. That's when I realized the idea of a pre-rigged hover-strolling minnow was worth pursuing.

Those homemade prototypes eventually became The RIG—a soft plastic minnow molded around its internal weighted rigging system and ready to fish straight out of the package.

How to Fish a Hover Rig for Bass

Fishing a hover rig is less about making the bait travel and more about making it come alive. The key is a slow retrieve combined with small movements of the rod tip.

Cast beyond the area you're targeting and allow the bait to reach the depth where the fish are holding. Then begin a slow retrieve while lightly shaking or twitching the rod tip. You don't need big movements. Small inputs can make the bait roll, dart and change direction without pulling it quickly out of the strike zone.

If you're using forward-facing sonar, you can watch the bait approach a fish and adjust your retrieve based on how the bass reacts. If the fish follows without committing, slowing down, pausing or changing the cadence can sometimes trigger the bite.

But hover strolling isn't limited to anglers using electronics. Without forward-facing sonar, concentrate on places where suspended bass are likely to be feeding—points, bluff walls, brush piles, bridge pilings, standing timber and areas where baitfish are suspended over deeper water.

How Deep Should You Fish a Hover Rig?

There isn't one perfect depth for hover strolling. The important depth is wherever the bass are feeding.

In shallow water, that might mean keeping the bait only a few feet below the surface. Over deeper water, bass may be suspended well above the bottom. Instead of automatically letting the bait sink all the way down, think about the water column and where the fish are positioned.

A useful rule is to start slightly above the fish. Bass are often more willing to rise for a bait they can see than drop underneath themselves to chase one.

When is Hover Strolling Most Effective?

Hover strolling can catch bass throughout the year, but it really shines when fish are suspended, feeding on baitfish or reluctant to chase faster-moving lures.

Clear water is a natural fit because bass can see the subtle movement of the bait from a distance. A realistic profile and natural presentation can be especially important when fish have plenty of time to inspect what you're offering.

Fishing pressure is another situation where a hover rig can excel. Bass that have seen crankbaits, jerkbaits and other aggressive presentations all day may still respond to a small soft plastic moving slowly through the strike zone.

Cold fronts and colder water can also make slowing down important. When bass aren't willing to chase, keeping a bait near them longer gives the fish more opportunity to commit.

And whenever bass are suspended around schools of baitfish, a hover rig gives you something many bottom-oriented techniques can't: the ability to target the depth the fish are actually using instead of fishing underneath them.

Choosing the Right Hover Rig Color

Start by matching the water clarity and the forage bass are feeding on rather than searching for one “perfect” hover rig color.

In clear water, natural baitfish colors are usually a good starting point. Shad, minnow, pearl, smoke and other subtle combinations can imitate the forage bass commonly see in open water.

As visibility decreases, adding contrast can make the bait easier for bass to locate. Darker backs, stronger color differences, brighter accents and additional flash can all have a place depending on the conditions.

Don't be afraid to change colors when you're around fish but aren't getting bites. Sometimes a small change in contrast, flash or transparency is enough to get a different reaction.

A Different Approach to the Hover Rig

When I developed The RIG, the goal wasn't to reinvent hover strolling. I wanted to take a presentation that worked and make it simpler—by building the entire setup into a soft plastic minnow that was ready to fish straight out of the package.

The RIG is molded around a balanced internal weighted system, so there's no insert weight to install and no bait to rig before you make your first cast. Tie it on and fish it.

But there was another part of the design that became important: the internal jig could be reused.

When the soft plastic eventually gets torn up, the jig doesn't have to go in the trash with it. Remove it from the damaged bait, slide it into a fresh RIG Reload, and you're ready to fish again.

That's the idea behind the system:

RIG. RELOAD. REPEAT

You Don't Have to Fish it One Way

One of the things I like about The RIG is that hover strolling isn't the only way to fish it.

You can work it through the water column with small twitches and a slow retrieve, let it fall and work it closer to the bottom, or experiment with the retrieve until you find what the fish want that day.

And the Reloads aren't limited to the RIG system. They're soft plastic minnows, so they can also be used as trailers on bladed jigs and spinnerbaits.

That's something I believe strongly about fishing: don't let the name of a technique tell you how you're allowed to fish a bait.

If the fish want it different, fish different.

GET BENT - STAY BENT