I'm just learning wacky rigging, and I've seen multiple times WayneP post his weedless rig, so I thought I'd give it a try. I got 5 bites in a short span this morning, but I didn't hook a single one of them. I must be doing something wrong. Please help!
I start with 1/4" heat shrink tubing and cut about a 3/4" strip.
I slide it up over the tail of a Zoom trick worm and position the front edge of my tubing at the back edge of the egg sac.
I take a size 1 wacky hook (no weedguard) and insert the hook just past the barb into the front edge of the tubing (the part closest to the egg sac), where my finger is pointing in the first picture.
I only take a small bite down into the worm, just enough to get the barb into the tubing, and immediately bring the hook back up through the back edge of the tubing. This distance ends up being about 1/4".
I pull and turn the hook point, and pull the eye of the hook through the front hole I made, but NOT through the second hole. The eye of the hook ends up 'trapped' under the heat shrink tubing.
I pull the eye of the hook up to but not through the second hole, and then measure up what distance/angle I need to re-insert the hook so it lays straight in the trick worm.
I threw this on a Medium Light baitcaster on a BPS PQ1 with 20# braid and 10# yo-zuri leader.
Like I said, I got 5 bites in short order, and was unable to hook any of them. I could believe maybe 1 or two of them were sunfish, but the last fish held on long enough for me to see it was a bass, but it was not hooked.
My hook ends up looking like the last picture. I can see teeth marks all up and down the trick worm, including on the heat shrink tubing.
** So what am I doing wrong?
Is my rod/reel/line incorrect? I find it difficult to cast a trick worm with my PQ1 and medium light rod, so I'll probably try it with my Medium spinning rod next time.
Am I hooking the worm incorrectly? Is the eye of the hook not supposed to be left under the heat shrink tubing? Is it supposed to come out of the second/back hole?
- I can see that if I pull on the main line, as if setting a hook, the eye of the hook pulls back towards the front hole, but is unable to come back up through the front hole -- is this preventing the hook from traveling far enough to hook the fish?
Am I not traveling far enough when I go in and then come back out of the heat shrink tubing? I feel like if I use any significantly longer stretch of tubing, it's going to create an unnaturally long/straight portion in the middle of the trick worm.
Am I using too small of a hook? I just fish small ponds -- fish are on average 2.5#.
Am I setting the hook wrong? I usually just reel-set with an exposed wacky, but with this weedless rig I was setting the hook over my left shoulder (LH reel). Not a huge hookset like a jig or texas rig, but certainly more than a reel-set. Am I supposed to just set the hook straight up?
Any input would be appreciated. My waters don't necessarily mandate a weedless presentation, but I'd like to learn how to use it effectively.
