Wacky Hooks

[MicahB]

Heading to toledo this weekend. I will have a finesse wacky setup, medium light tsunami with 10lb. Fluoro. Was wondering about what you guys think of choosing the correct wacky hook for weightless wackying. I have gamaktau finnese (I believe 2/0) in red and some owner drop shot hooks inm size 2. How small of a hook can i use for m large bass? I ask this because I want my presentation to be as light and undetectable as possible. Will larger wacky hooks.spook fish or kill presentation? Will my hooks work and which ones should i seek out to buy?

Also, this setup is not for senkos. I have a seperate baitcaster for that setup. This setup is for trick worms and chompers wackys.

[papajoe222]

Welcome to the board.  Be sure to visit the introduction board and tell us a little about yourself.

 

Use the thickness of the plastic you're fishing and the way you're hooking it to determine the size hook to use.  If you'll be hooking through the body of the bait, you'll need a wider gap hook than if you're using a collar like an 'O' ring. 

Larger hooks shouldn't kill the presentation other than increasing the fall rate and sometimes that can make a big difference.  Smaller hooks may keep you from getting a good hook-set, especially if you're hooking through the worm.

[The Fisher]

I use an owner wacky hook with no weed guard 1/0 and have not lost a fish once it takes the worm.

[bigbill]

I use weedless hooks in all my wacky rigs and plastiss were I can.

[tbone1993]

ive used gama weedless wacky and their finesse hooks. Theyre pretty strong.

[bassinKS]

i like the trokar wacky hooks they are an amazing hook and extremely sharp

[Grizzn N Bassin]

I just use a nornally wide gap 2/0 or 3/0. Have tried the wacky hooks but i like the bornally ones better. I rarely loose fish on it

[live4ever]

Thanks so much for the info. I dont normally fish wacky from my local lakes so im trying to adjust for this weekend. How about the Owner need point hooks in 2/0?
http://www.***.com/Owner_SSW_Needle_Point_Hooks/descpage-OSSH.html

I have a pack of these and am thinking of using them for my weightless setup. Also, has anyone had any luck on the weighted wacky hooks? (The ones with tiny jigheads attached)

[Crestliner2008]

You really need to start looking at circle hooks for this type of finesse presentation. Just make sure it's an INLINE circle hook and not the off-set version. The off-set versions will probably give you a higher hookset ratio, but at a cost of more gut hooking. If you are strictly a CPR fisherman, then the inline is the way to go. A very high percentage of lip hooked fish will be your reward.

 

BTW, why not fish a Chompers or a Trick Worm, wacky rigged? The circle works wonders with this presentation too.

[WRB]

Weedless wacky hooks by Gamakatsu, Owner and VMC all work very well. The size doesn't need to be larger than size 2 for 1/4" diameter worms, size 2/0 for Senko's.

Also look into wacky style jigs in 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8 oz for wacky worms. Jackall makes a premium tungsten wacky jig along with Gamakatsu and Owner that have a weedless style that are excellent.

Tom.

[BigMoneyGrip]

Weedless wacky hooks by Gamakatsu, Owner and VMC all work very well. The size doesn't need to be larger than size 2 for 1/4" diameter worms, size 2/0 for Senko's.

Also look into wacky style jigs in 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8 oz for wacky worms. Jackall makes a premium tungsten wacky jig along with Gamakatsu and Owner that have a weedless style that are excellent.

Tom.

The VMC Ike weedless wacky hooks are horrible. The weed guard is so stiff, it could be used as a leafspring on a dump truck. Gamakatsu has a wierguard worm hook that works really good and the wide gap finesse hook weedless is also great.

 

[Darren.]

Heading to toledo this weekend. I will have a finesse wacky setup, medium light tsunami with 10lb. Fluoro. Was wondering about what you guys think of choosing the correct wacky hook for weightless wackying. I have gamaktau finnese (I believe 2/0) in red and some owner drop shot hooks inm size 2. How small of a hook can i use for m large bass? I ask this because I want my presentation to be as light and undetectable as possible. Will larger wacky hooks.spook fish or kill presentation? Will my hooks work and which ones should i seek out to buy?

Also, this setup is not for senkos. I have a seperate baitcaster for that setup. This setup is for trick worms and chompers wackys.

 

Welcome to the forums!

 

I fish wacky rigs from a small size 4 Gamakatsu Wide-Gap Finesse hook, up to a 2/0. I've used a #4 on a 4" Senko, and caught nice bass. It can be done.

 

By and large, on average, I probably use size 1 and 1/0 the most. I use these with 5" Senkos with no problem whatever on hookups. Caught my PB in thick slop (7.5 lbs) on a size 1 hook with a 10lb leader on 10lb Fireline.

 

Just my experience. Oh, and I second BigMoneyGrip's post above that VMC's weedless hooks are awful. The wire guard is unbelievably stiff. Gave up on them after two missed hits. Never had that problem with Gammy's weedless variety.

 

And I'll also second WRB's suggestion of wacky jigs. I'll add the Buckeye brand to the list. They use Gamakatsu hooks, and a football head jig. Love these probably the most of all the weedless varieties I've used.

 

Again, all my .02.

[live4ever]

(I am MicahB. I'm on my old account at work)

Wow.. great info. While im at it, I have created a finnesse setup and have only tried it in ponds. It works great but i have not tried it in heavy cover yet. It is a tsunami air wave spinning 7'6 medium light with 10lb. fireline original and a 10 lb. red label seaguar fluoro leader. The rod is actually a surf fishing rod but has unbelievable sensitivity. I am afraid of the medium light power though around stumps and thick vegetation. 
I considered that this setup would be used when the bite was tough, and thus sensitivity would be more critical. Should i stick with this medium light rod or move to a heavy/medium heavy, albeit reduce casting ability? 

 

[jtmavs]

Great info here! Do you all prfer hooing straight thru the plastic or an O ring?

[michang5]

DarrenM and several others have help me settle on these two setups.

Wacky setup #1: medium-fast rod > 10# braid > 6# fluoro leader > Gamakatsu size 1 drop shot/split shot hook or Mustad size 2 drop shot hook > wacky zoom finesse worms. Biggest fish was 5.0#, and it required the excellent drag of my Stradic -- and prayer -- to get it in the canoe.

Wacky setup #2: medium moderate rod > 20# braid > 10# fluoro leader > Owner 1/0 weedless wacky hook > o-rings > 4" or 5" senkos. Biggest fish was just under 6#.

I'm going to consolidate to 15# braid for both setups soon. I am also evaluating whether I need the weedless hooks (cost-benefit analysis). But otherwise I'm happy with the components.

[Darren.]

Great info here! Do you all prfer hooing straight thru the plastic or an O ring?

 

I don't use O rings, others do and like them a lot.

 

Rather than O rings, I'll use shrink wrap in small sections that slide over a worm snugly (so various sizes).

 

Most of the time I just hook straight thru the worm w/o anything.

[Darren.]

DarrenM and several others have help me settle on these two setups.

Wacky setup #1: medium-fast rod > 10# braid > 6# fluoro leader > Gamakatsu size 1 drop shot/split shot hook or Mustad size 2 drop shot hook > wacky zoom finesse worms. Biggest fish was 5.0#, and it required the excellent drag of my Stradic -- and prayer -- to get it in the canoe.

Wacky setup #2: medium moderate rod > 20# braid > 10# fluoro leader > Owner 1/0 weedless wacky hook > o-rings > 4" or 5" senkos. Biggest fish was just under 6#.

I'm going to consolidate to 15# braid for both setups soon. I am also evaluating whether I need the weedless hooks (cost-benefit analysis). But otherwise I'm happy with the components.

 

Nice, and thanks for the shout-out!

 

As a FWIW, I have also been running the cost-benefit of buying pre-rigged weedless wacky. I will buy them on sale now, but I've also experimented making my own. I've had to settle on 1/0 and 2/0 Wide Gap finesse hooks for this purpose (I'd go smaller if I had a fly tying vise and tools).

 

I use 20lb Malin coated wire (bought at BPS), cut a section fold it in half, then bend the fold down so as to place that along the hook shank.

 

Then, and here's the experiment, I've used braid and super glue to wrap the tie; and I've used a straight, very thin marine shrink wrap (with the glue inside) as the securing mechanism.

 

The 20lb Malin bends best, and provides enough feedback when coming thru cover to avoid hanging most of the time.

 

What I've not liked is either method to secure the weedless wire to the shank. I've caught fish, none of them have come apart yet, but they're a bit bulkier than I was shooting for. Again, I'm probably trying to pound a nail with a kiddie hammer here. Right tools would make the job and result easier/better.

[Bk4]

I use owner mosquito hook in size 1 using roboworm and zoom finesse work and hook up 1-4 lber with no problem I only have little trouble with setting the hook when using the beefy senko in 5-6inch