Spitting Shakey Heads

[Fishin Ethan]

Hello BR

I often see on this site the love for shakey heads and yesterday my friend and I used shakey heads for the first time. I now understand why they are so popular and effective. But both of us lost over 8 fish from the bass jumping and spitting out the shakey head. Has anyone had this problem? I understand that sometimes when bass jump you will lose them but it seems odd losing that many fish from spitting lures just on the shakey head.

[Choporoz]

It does sound odd.  My first thought would be that you're points aren't tack-sharp and you're not getting good penetration on hook-set.  With good hooks, you'll get the barb set and and shouldn't lose many.  I'd also caution about keeping the fish down.  It is fun as heck to watch them jump, but you'll land more if you keep that rod tip down and maintain control.

[00 mod]

Something else to add- Make sure your rod has enough backbone to set the hook.  With light wire hooks this shouldn't be a problem, but some of my Shakey Heads have Owner deep throat hooks, and with that gauge wire on a hook you need a bit stouter rod!

Jeff

[Nitrofreak]

3 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

It does sound odd.  My first thought would be that you're points aren't tack-sharp and you're not getting good penetration on hook-set.  With good hooks, you'll get the barb set and and shouldn't lose many.  I'd also caution about keeping the fish down.  It is fun as heck to watch them jump, but you'll land more if you keep that rod tip down and maintain control.

Good stuff Chop !

I would also add that if your fishing them deep or using a long cast, and or both, that you may need to check your rod strength and type of line you are using, too soft and you wont get the stout hooks to penetrate, I like to use a medium heavy action rod with fluorocarbon line. 

2 minutes ago, 00 mod said:

Something else to add- Make sure your rod has enough backbone to set the hook.  With light wire hooks this shouldn't be a problem, but some of my Shakey Heads have Owner deep throat hooks, and with that gauge wire on a hook you need a bit stouter rod!

Jeff

You beat me to it LOL , you can delete my post if you want.

[WRB]

The only reason for a bass to shake a skakey head jig is the hook point didn't penetrate the basses mouth. 

When you retrieved the jig after loosing the bass was the worm still covering the hook point? 

Tom

[Fishin Ethan]

2 hours ago, Choporoz said:

It does sound odd.  My first thought would be that you're points aren't tack-sharp and you're not getting good penetration on hook-set.  With good hooks, you'll get the barb set and and shouldn't lose many.  I'd also caution about keeping the fish down.  It is fun as heck to watch them jump, but you'll land more if you keep that rod tip down and maintain control.

Good point. I got the shakey heads from my friend who self makes shakey heads and I'm not sure the quailty. Any shakey heads companys you would recommend?

[Choporoz]

Siebert makes some with Mustad hooks that I like.  I also like MegaStrike Shake2 in the heavier sizes. 

 

And, you will never go wrong, IMO, if you have an Owner hook at the business end of your rig.  I've become a huge fan of Owner points.

[Raul]

The hook brand in the jighead means squat, you have to verify the hook is razor sharp all the time.

[Fishin Ethan]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

The only reason for a bass to shake a skakey head jig is the hook point didn't penetrate the basses mouth. 

When you retrieved the jig after loosing the bass was the worm still covering the hook point? 

Tom

I was using trick worms with the shakey head. But after the bass came off some had ripped the worm and some had kept the worm intact. 

[smalljaw67]

Just about every hook made anymore is chemically sharpened so a hook not being sharp isn't normally a problem anymore but it can be if the hook point was rolled. I'll bet it is a combination of hook, line, and rod being out of sync. You may be using a moderate action rod with light line on a heavy hook, that right there will cause you no to get a hook to fully penetrate. So what rod and line are you using and be specific.

[Fishin Ethan]

4 minutes ago, smalljaw67 said:

Just about every hook made anymore is chemically sharpened so a hook not being sharp isn't normally a problem anymore but it can be if the hook point was rolled. I'll bet it is a combination of hook, line, and rod being out of sync. You may be using a moderate action rod with light line on a heavy hook, that right there will cause you no to get a hook to fully penetrate. So what rod and line are you using and be specific.

I was using a Cabelas Torunment Rod which M but it feels like a ML. The line was 10lb braid (about 5 months old). I was using a heavy shakey head. Your senario you listed seems to fit mine.

[Senko lover]

^^ There's your problem. Try more of a medium + powered rod if you're using a heavy shakey head.

[Turkey sandwich]

4 hours ago, WRB said:

The only reason for a bass to shake a skakey head jig is the hook point didn't penetrate the basses mouth. 

When you retrieved the jig after loosing the bass was the worm still covering the hook point? 

Tom

 In addition to an underpowered rod /stretchy line preventing a good set, WRB's tip is really helpful.  With shakey heads, the shape of the head and angle of the line tie can make a big difference, too.  Here's a video that covers what I'm talking about:

 

[K_Mac]

I spent almost all of last week fishing shakeyheads. I used a variety of brands, sizes and weights. I probably had to touchup the points on half of them, either right out of the box or after using them for a while. Keeping a sharpener handy is something that most don't do anymore. I do not fish without a couple close at hand. I use light fluorocarbon, and razor sharp hooks are the difference in catching or losing fish.

[tbone1993]

Had the same issue when I went from using off the rack spot removes to more of a custom shake head with an ewg. The standard spot removers only required a standard hookset. With the heavier hook I had to bump up my rod and set the hook like a jig to ensure a solid hookup. Once that was done I rarely had an issue with fish spitting hooks.

[BigBasses]

Also make sure you keep your rod down so they won't jump and throw your lure.

[Dan_the_fisher]

With a bad shakey head design, you can actually stick the line tie in the top of the fishes mouth and have it for a second before it spits it out. You will notice this by your worm still being nicely rigged on your hook(I've landed fish on cheap jig heads this way). Also you have to have the right rod and a good strong upward hookset to get the bath to penetrate. I started off with a 6'6" medium rod with 3/16oz spot remover jig heads, if I get the barb in its mouth I rarely ever lose a fish. Spot removers are a little pricey but very easy to find, try some to rule that out before you go after a new rod.