Texas Rigs are one of my favorite rigs, They are super versatile and easy to rig and use. First, how to rig one. There are a number of recources on YouTube to show you how to rig one, but is a bullet weight, and a hook. Thats it. You can choose what hook you want based on how you are gonna fish and what plastic you wanna use. For what you are targeting (Smallies) and the kind of fishing you do around here (no mat punching)... i recommend a smaller hook...2/0 Extra Wide Gap (EWG) hook. Same for the bullet weight, you arent punching mats, and you are gonna target smallies so you can stay on teh light end of the spectrum.. say 1/4 oz or less. Simply slide line through bullet weight and tie to hook using your favorite knot. Then Texpose your plastic of choice. For smallies, I would stick to 4-7 inch worms or my favorite when river fishing... a smallie beaver.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NpndQeBhnU
http://www.bassfishin.com/videos/video.php?v=15
Now comes the fishing part. This thing can be reeled in at a steady pace like a swim bait, hopped along teh bottom, or simply dragged. I like a slow drag. Simply cast past a desired target, then let it sink to the bottom. Reel out the slack with your rod straight out at a 9oclock position. Slowly raise the rod to an 11 oclock position and pay attention to what you feel through the rod. You will feel the bait dragging bottom, hitting rocks and branches other stuff. If you get to a rock that it sticks on... Pop it off that rock and let it fall and sit there. If you come over a branch, same thing... let it fall and sit a second before dragging some more.
When you hit the 11 oclock position, lower the rod tip as you reel out the slack. Always keep slack out of the line so you can feel when a fish hits it. This is the hardest part to learn in my opinion. Knowing the difference of a fish hitting the lure and when you have bumped a rock hard. But once you have actually hooked a few fish you will start telling teh difference. When you feel a bump you think is a fish, lower teh rod tip immediately to allow slack in the line. Reel in that slack with your rod pointed straight at the fish... and set the hook. Until you learn to tell teh difference in a rock and a fish you will set the hook on nothing quite often.
Later you can start changing your retrieve. Sometimes fish want a fast drag, sometimes they want short hops. Sometimes they want it to soak a bit...drag a few inches and let it sit til you cant stand it no more. Just experiment. As with any new technique, leave everything else at home and take just your T-Rig fishing til you get proficient with it. It can be a killer way to catch fish.
For me, when fish arent hitting cranks and spinners, The T-Rig is my go to slow down bait. I like it better than Jigs or C-Rigs by a country mile.