Wacky Rods

[Zeeter]

So I'm looking for a wacky rod. G. Loomis is my brand of choice. While I'm open to other brands, that door is only slightly ajar.

 

First, I cannot imagine being able to consistently cast a wacky rig on a casting rod as it looks like it would be way to light. Yet I should ask if people are able to consistently do this. If it is a possibility then great, as I wanted a 3rd casting rod for jigs/worms.

 

My suspicion is that I will have more success with a spinning outfit. What am I looking for as far as strength and action? And what size line? I'm thinking 8-10# fluorocarbon.  

[Darren.]

A M in either Fast or XFast will be nice. Never owned a Loomis

so can't comment there. Depending on your casting rig, you 

can do wacky quite well. May not be best in all situations but

it will work.

 

I like M/XF, personally. I do braid + leader for line management,

but plenty here go straight fluoro and can chime in with better

thoughts.

 

St. Croix would be my recommendation of other than Loomis.

Avid and up.

[fishballer06]

Obviously spinning gear is the popular choice, however I am more of a casting fan rather than a spinning fan, so I'll throw my wacky rigs on casting gear. I throw mine on a St. Croix LTB71MF rod with 12-14lb. fluoro. 

 

If you are a Loomis guy, you can go with the similar rated rod. I have an IMX 803 that would work well for the application. Perhaps the MBR 843 would be a good choice too.

[DogBone_384]

I throw wacky rigs with casting gear 90% of the time, specifically a 6' 6" M/F Abu Garcia Veritas with a 7.1:1 Diawa T3 Ballistic.

[Zeeter]

I just think that spinning gear would give me a bit more versatility for casting short, casting long, skipping, etc...

 

I'm good with casting gear, but probably not quite as good as you guys are.

[NYWayfarer]

1 minute ago, Zeeter said:

I just think that spinning gear would give me a bit more versatility for casting short, casting long, skipping, etc...

 

I'm good with casting gear, but probably not quite as good as you guys are.

 

Trust me I am no expert. I was just answering your question if it were possible.

 

I do most of my wacky rig fishing on spinning gear. A 6'6" medium fast rod with 8lb stren or 8lb Kastking flouroclear line.

[roadwarrior]

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G. Loomis Jig & Worm Casting Rod GLX 893C JWR
Length: 7'5" | Line: 12lb - 16lb | Lure: 3/16o.z - 5/8oz. | Power: Med-Heavy | Action: Extra Fast | Handle: C | MPN: 12541-01
2016G. Loomis Jig & Worm Casting Rod GLX 893C JWR an incredibly effective deep-water bass rod! It has enough tip to fish medium-sized jigs with total CONTROL and accuracy, yet it's powerful enough to drive the hook through a plastic worm and into a bass' jaw with authority. The extra length creates maximum tip-speed to increase casting distance, but more importantly, provides total CONTROL in deep-water situations. Additionally, that extra length makes it a great alternative for long-range pitching. GLX pushes the sensitivity meter to the max!   Custom build is another option:

[Dinger0306]

I use a 7' M Veritas and it's perfect for wacky rigs. I honestly don't see how people think Senko's are light.. a 5" Senko weighs 3/8oz. Anything 7' or over M or MH/F or XF works fine. I think a Loomis MH fishes closer to an Abu M so that's what my choice would be. 

[The Fisher]

I have an old Carbonlite (the black one) 7' MF with 30# Power Pro to a 10# Invizix leader and a Lews Tournament Pro. I have no problem with 5" GY Wacky Senkos For 4" I go to a spinning reel and rod

[Stasher1]

FWIW, a 5" Senko on a 3/0 ewg hook weighs about the same as a 7" Powerworm t-rigged on a 3/0 ewg with a 1/8 oz weight. Your typical wacky-rigged 5" Senko will weigh about the same. Well within the range of your average casting setup. 

[Zeeter]

I have a spare mag bass rod that is MH-F. It was kind of going to be my quick-change rod, keeping more or less the same thing on all my other rods and using this to switch out from crankbaits to swimbaits to whatever else I didn't already have rigged without unrigging my go-to baits. I'll try it out and see what's what with it. Fluorocarbon 12# ought to work. I'd prefer 8# but I don't happen to have any at the moment.

[Yudo1]

I use my nrx852c and alphas sv for wacky rigged 4"and 5" senkos.

[CTBassin860]

6'8" MXF St.Croix Mojo Bass spinning rod.

[LxVE Bassin]

I use a casting set up for wacky rigged senkos and i can cast them pretty far with ease. The rod is use is St Croix BXC68MXF. 

[fishwizzard]

I am just getting into wacky worms and I am loving them on a Loomis CR723.  I have a SV105 on there and it will fling a wacky senko further than I can set the hook, but I can still make short, accurate casts.  

 

I have only been really giving it a go for a few months, but almost every fish I have gotten on one has been right up tight to the bank, no more than 10' out, so so far I am happy with the short rod.  I am still very iffy on skipping them, but the short rod is going to be great for that too I suspect.  

[Angry John]

The size of the worm here is everything.  5 inch and larger casting no problem.  Even without a smaller reel.  4" worms is where I make the change.  I love me a 4" dean rojas cane thumper.  I can and do throw it in open water on a 2 power rod alphas and 6lb line.  If I am skipping that same worm a mlxf spinning rod is way easier.  I don't have any Loomis but the avs69mlxf avid x is great.

[Bluebasser86]

4 hours ago, MassBassin508 said:

6'8" MXF St.Croix Mojo Bass spinning rod.

Best wacky rig rod I've used. Mine is paired up with 20lb KastKing braid and a 35 size Supreme XT. 

[Fishes in trees]

Over the seasons I've used a variety of different bait casting rods to throw wacky seniors.  There isn't any other bait that I throw wacky style.  I started out using a relatively cheap All Star rod I got at Dicks.  I believe that it was  med action with a kinda fast tip.   I don't remember, that rod has been broken for a long time.  Then I got a Falcon Eakins Jig rod (which is on the lighter side of MH, with a fast tip) and I liked that better.  Then I got the same spec. rod in their Bucco line.  I like that better, primarily because of the split grip it was a little lighter.  Then those rods broke and I decided it was time for a change.

 

Currently I'm using a Fenwick HMG spinning rod MH with an XF tip.   With a 1000 size Spinning reel and a 20 lb braid/fluoro combo.  Right now I'm liking the spinning set up because it makes it easier to skip baits under branches and that spinning rod has much more backbone that the Falcon rods did.  Drag on the spinning reel is set pretty tight, but not all the way tight.

 

I think that touch & feel are important on a wacky rod, however I think I see more strikes prior to feeling them.

 

I've caught more keeper fish on the first cheap All Star rod than the other rods I employed for wacky fishing - however in hind sight I think that was a unique situation in that I was fishing a relatively new lake that was peaking and the wacky rig on 17 lb fluorocarbon was a unique way to reach what was basically an untapped population of fish suspended in the trees.

Botton line is that in my experiences, spinning or bait casting will work - well - currently I'm favoring spinning gear but that could change.  Best advice is to have a rig that will handle a big fish because big fish latch on to wacky senkos from time to time.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

A wacky rigged what? A 5" senko is well within casting tackle capabilities. A 4" finesse worm is possibly ML spinning tackle in open water. Basically whatever tackle you'd fish other similar weighted baits with will work fine. The fact that it's wacky rigged as opposed to t rig or anything else is irrelevant. 

[PECo]

I use spinning setups and my favorite for wacky-rigging five-inch Senkos is a Shimano Crucial paired with a Shimano Stradic FK 2500 spooled with 10 pound test Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon. I prefer seven-foot rods, but rod length is up to you.

 

I like this setup because it's light. The Crucial has a split grip, which I prefer, with the rod blank exposed on the reel seat. Even on slack line, I can feel the tick of every nibble on the Senko. I fish from both a bass boat and a kayak, and the weather-sealing on the Stradic is terrific when you're sitting really close to the water. As much as I like braid, straight fluoro sinks a little better and you don't have to use a leader.

 

That said, if your preference is for baitcasting reels, I don't see reason why you wouldn't stick with a baitcasting setup for wacky rigging. It'd work just fine.

[Lures'n'Liberty]

I see much great information, but no reminder that if you want a brand name, buy g Loomis but if you actually want a rod that Gary Loomis designed, you should look at Temple Fork Outfitters gear, which is the company that now employs Gary Loomis.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I'm pretty sure the TFO rods are just signature series and Gary had little to no input design wise. His new company is Northfork which makes blanks and had a rod line but may have recently quit rods. 

[Lures'n'Liberty]

Some TFO rods are mass produced, based similarly to a Gary Loomis design, some are designed by others, some of the higher end rods are all Gary. North Fork Outfitters relationship with Gary is similar and while I believe he has quite a bit of stock in the company, it is owned by Russian investors.

 

[Bronzeback Scuttler]

I use a NRX 852s with a Diawa Ballistic EX 2500 with 10lb Seaguar Invizx. The large spool diameter of the 2500 size minimizes line management issues with straight fluorocarbon. Where I fish we are always dealing with wind. Casting 5" and 4" senkos are no problem even in 20mph winds. If I have a senko rip in half on a cast at least I'm not picking at a backlash for 20 minutes. I would recommend a MXF 6-12lb line rating in the Jig and Worm series. 

Edited June 7, 2017 by Bronzeback Scuttler

[buzzed bait]

i use both spinning and casting.  if trying to skip more than cast, i'll opt for the spinning.

spinning is dobyns dx 703sf with plueger supreme xt 9530

casting is nrx 853c with core 51mg

 

i was using a nrx 852c but felt like it was just a little too light in some instances, the 853c seems to be a little better suited for me.