Wacky Rig?!

[Buckboy]

Okay so i was recently introduced to the wacky rig and i was wanting to know when the best time to use them are and if i can use them when the ice is melting cuz here right now it is -4 and next week it will be 50s so i wanna get a move on if i can fish it up. I went out and baught the strike king stick o's i think they are called and i have vmc weedless wacky rig hooks. Is there anything else i should get? Are they good in creeks and streams? let me know.  

[MarksHooked]

Welcome to Bass Resource!

 

Most folks around here will most likely want to know more about where you are fishing, and what gear you are using, to help give you the best advice possible! From my very little experience, I think that as the ice melts, and bass are in 'pre spawn' you may have a tough time getting them to attack a wacky rigged worm.  Try downsizing to a 4" Stick type worm for creeks and streams, and you may have to just 'deadstick' and work painfully slow, and also don't neglect Jerkbaits, I have been doing a lot of research on them and they sound like an excellent bait to use once the ice has melted and those bass are still very lethargic.  Good luck!

[Buckboy]

Thanks and I will definetly try the jerkbait and i saw a video of kvd on youtube that he said that lipless crankbaits and other cranks will work in the colder months

[1Boy1Girl]

I use a wacky rig all year and it can be deadly on bass.  Around the Hoosier state most fish are going to be in the deeper stages of "pre spawn" and a weightless wacky rig may not be the best choice.  I like to drag a jig and pig very slowly to tempt those deep bruisers into my boat. Keep that wacky rig tied on because once those fish start to move up.....that rig can be lights out!!!  Be sure you throw that on spinning tackle too with line matched to where and to what your casting to.  So you've got lure, hook, line and pole that should do it.  Good luck and pray for those 50's!!!

[Buckboy]

Yeah I am soo ready for it to be warmer and we are gettin hit hard with storm after storm and with all this snow all i can do is icefish...i mean dont get me wrong ice fishing is fun but would like to be able to get new diawa aird and cast a crank into a lake and pull in a monster

[Fishes in trees]

I try a wacky rig every time I go - spring, summer, fall, it don't matter.  The wacky jigs, wacky hooks, weighted wacky hooks, weedless wacky hooks, they all have a time & place.

  For me, most of the time my wacky fishing is done with a real senko, a 1/16 oz weighted weedless k-wacky hook (a falcon product) and 15 lb fluorocarbon line, bait casting gear.

 

For me, the key of a wacky rig is to not throw it randomly here and there.  It is a great bait to check out "spots" as opposed to "areas"  I want to always be throwing it next to something, i.e.  next to a deep weed edge, next to the shady side of a sunken bush, next to a stump on a point, next to vertical structure (trees). You get the idea.  Once you get on a pattern of where the fish are, it is easy to repeat.  If you get fish suspended in trees, it might be the best way to get fish out of suspended trees, just depends.

 

But anyway, with the wacky rig, always be thinking next to something.   Like, here is item X, in a perfect world, ms. fish should be positioned just so in relation to item X and you want to throw just right in front of where you thing the fish should be positioned.  In clearer water (secchi disc reading of 6 or more)  being within a couple of feet is ok, closer is better.  Murky water (secchi reading of 2 to 4) you want to be within inches.  Always try to account for the drop.  If your perceived sweet spot is 6 or 10 feet down, or maybe further,  try to feed the bait line so that it drops as near vertical as possible.  This is where a weighted weedless wacky hook helps.

 

If you have a secchi disc reading of less than 2, I'd probably try a different technique, because I haven't done very well wacky rigging in very murky/muddy water.

 

Hope this helps to channel your thinking on how & when to try wacky rigs.

[WIGuide]

One other thing you'll want to get is Eco Pro Tungsten's Pro Wacky Weights. They'll help you to fish it a bit deeper, as well as impart more action as well as make your worm last longer. Check them out at http://www.ecoprotungsten.com/pro-wacky-weight/

[Jar11591]

Wacky-rigged 5" senkos are my most used bait. I use it throughout the year during morning, day and night hours, it doesn't matter. When I'm fishing heavy cover or thick weeds I always use a weedless hook. And when I'm going for smallmouth I'll usually downsize to a 4" senko. And for night fishing, nothing beats a black senko.

[Buckboy]

Okay sounds good...thanks for all the good info

[Darren.]

Okay so i was recently introduced to the wacky rig and i was wanting to know when the best time to use them are and if i can use them when the ice is melting cuz here right now it is -4 and next week it will be 50s so i wanna get a move on if i can fish it up. I went out and baught the strike king stick o's i think they are called and i have vmc weedless wacky rig hooks. Is there anything else i should get? Are they good in creeks and streams? let me know.  

Just be patient as the worm sinks. Don't fish too fast, and don't fish as if it were a crank or such.

Do your VMC hooks have the metal weed guard? If so, I tried them and dumped them almost immediately after missing two hook sets. I found the metal way too stiff. Much prefer Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse hooks.

[Arv]

I fish a wacky rig almost interchangeably with a texas rigged weightless senko. I'll start out with which ever tickles my fancy and switch to the other if I need to. If those don't work it's time to go home.

[plumworm]

You might want to checkout the wacky O ring tool. Cabela's has. Using a "O" ring will keep you from ripping up the senko. Just insert the hook through the ring instead of the bait. I've been using it for a few years and it really works.  

[Buckboy]

Okay so myhooks do have the metal weedguard and i will probably try those out and if  they dont work ill go to the gamakastu ones...and i have seen the o ring tool but have been warry on getting it or not i will probably go get that tool  soon and get some of the hooks too