Wacky Rigs

[Long Mike]

Another question from a newbie.  When hooking up a Wacky Rig, do you simply run the hook midway through the body of the worm perpendicular to the axis of the worm, or is some other method used?  They say tere are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.  In this case, I think "they" are wrong.

Mike

[nboucher]

Sounds like you've got it right. Here's a photo:

[Long Mike]

Thanks.  A picture is worth a thousand words.

[Raul]

You can insert the hook right in the middle like the pic shows, the other way is to rig it on the first third of the bait ( so it 's off center ), that gives the bait a completely different type of movement, the bait darts sideways when twitched and helicopter as it sinks, lethal presentation when the rest of the guys are fishing conventional wacky rigged baits. If your rate of fall is too slow you can add a split shot to accelerate the fall.

Other baits that can be rigged wacky style are shad like jerkbaits like shaddicks or flukes.

[Chris]

You can also take a "J" hook and just stick the point in the bait and have the shank of the hook run parallel to the bait it makes it weedless and also gives you a sliding side action if you mess with it.

*Raul a shad..what? :-? "jerkbaits like shaddicks or flukes."

[Raul]

Sorry Chris, it 's Shadick, don 't know why doubled "d" when I typed.

Shadick:

[CyBasser]

An issue when attacking stickbaits wacky style is that the worm gets quickly torn apart if you get a fish, quite often if you only get a bite. This can become a serious problem if you have a limited number of worms with you, especially if you are using a soft worm variety like the original senkos.

This can be rectified easily if you insert a split ring that fits snuggly around the position of the worm (halfway or through 1/3rd) that you intend to pass the hook. By carefully passing the point of the hook between the worm and the inside part of the split ring the worm can take much more beating before tearing apart.

An even better solution I discovered is a sort of clear elastic o-ring that is used by carp anglers in Europe for attaching boilies to the hook. I run accross these neat rings in a local store. They come in various diameters and a set of 12 o-rings costs about $2. I got the smallest size I could find (remember, they are elastic) and they worked wonders. They are completely invisible once attached around the worm, they hold the hook between the worm and the elastic very well, and they are not causing any damage to the worm...

[Chris]

You can also take a finishing nail that you can buy at a hardware store and place it in the middle of the worm then hook the lure as you would normally for a wacky rig and the nail will prevent the hook from ripping through the worm. You can also use a flat head shingle nail (or Florida rig weight) and put it in the head and fish it like a shakeyhead on the bottom or just use the same finishing nail in the head and rig it with the J hook weedless and it will really slide backwards works great around docks and such. You can also put a splitshot up the line to keep it deep while using a regular wacky rig. wacky rigged lures also works great on a dropshot or a floating worm on a short Carolina rig with the lure suspended up off the bottom just a wiggling away each time you shake it.

[Bass Mekanik]

The method I use when wacky rigging stickbaits is get some o-rings or dental rubberbands and roll them onto plastic in the middle. Then hook the o-ring not the plastic and u got yourself a wacky rig that you can reuse more than once.

[Long Mike]

Great responses guys!  I feel like an information sponge.  Gawd, I love this site!

[Craw]

Here's a tip I heard about. I haven't tried this myself but I'll put it out there for what it's worth. Use electrical tape and wrap it a couple of times around the middle of the senko. Push the hook through the tape and senko. This is supposed to last, fish after fish. It was also recommended to try different color electrical tape for a unique contrast if desired. Black is my favorite color for a senko so I figure a little black tape would blend right in. I plan on trying it the next time I'm on a strong senko bite. I've been using the o-rings with an octopus hook and that works pretty well. No need to jerk with the circle/octopus type hooks, just a gentle sweep of the rod while reeling will stick them really well. Those hooks are amazing!

[Siebert Outdoors]

great topic now I can fish a wacky rig and prove to fivebasslimit I can.  LOL

Thanks for the great info.  Now if I can get rid of the ice.

[Guest avid]

Based on a large number of replies to this post, it sounds like my next tackle buying trip should be to home depot instead of BPS