Wacky rig and hookup percentage

[plawren53202]

I'm in a major love/hate with the wacky rig right now. On the one hand, it's been super successful for me since mid-spring. I fish a lot of places (bank fishing) that are heavily pressured and dink city, so the wacky rig has been perfect for these settings. I have caught a lot of fish on a wacky rig this year … but ...

 

It seems like my hookup percentage is worse on a wacky rig than any other bait I throw, by a fair margin. I've caught a bunch on it, but I've missed a bunch too. For a while I was using the VMC Ike Approved Weedless Wacky hooks. Recently switched to the wide gap weedless wacky hooks by Mustad, thinking the wide gap might help. It didn't seem to. 

 

But...I don't know if it has anything to do with the hook, either. It seems like a lot of my misses are fish that are grabbing the ends of the worm, where obviously there is no hook. Maybe these are all dinks and bluegill that I couldn't hook in any case. But it seems like I get more of this than if I'm throwing the exact same 4" Yum Dinger except rigged weightless T rigged rather than weightless wacky.

 

Also, for whatever reason I've not tried the O ring option. Does this help with hookup percentage, or is it primarily to keep from losing as many worms? Obviously the hook sits in a slightly different place in relation to the worm when using the O ring, so I could picture that it might help...or I could picture that it has no effect at all, especially again if fish are just grabbing the ends of the worm.

 

Just wondering what other people's experience with this is. In any case I'm going to keep throwing the wacky rig, it has absolutely become my go-to finesse option. Just as good as it's been to me this year, I would love to convert some more of those nibbles into landed fish.

[BrianMDTX]

I have seen zero difference in hookups between O ring and non- O ring rigs. Major difference in longevity of the bait-especially with Senkos.  

 

I use Gamakatsu 1/0 octopus hooks. I do not set the hook at all. When my line starts running out after a bass picks it up, I simply raise the rod and reel in the slack until the line is tight and the rod bends and the hook is set. I missed a few trying to set the hook, but that’s on me, not the hook. 

 

Ive had some bluegills hit the bait after I start working it back, but it’s way more of a “tap-tap” than sucking it in and swimming off with it and stripping line. 

 

I get a lot of weeds and algae. If I do, I pull it off. I think weedless hooks on soft pick-ups cost fish. And if you are setting the hook like on a TR, stop. That will cost you fish for sure. Just reel in until tight and that hook will drive home. 

[Teal]

Could be pan fish hitting you.  Could be short strikes.  Dont really have to cross their eyes on hook set. Reel into it and lean on him. Only time I miss them alot is if I get lazy and just use the existing 3/0 ewg hook for wacky and not switch hooks.  

[Hammer 4]

27 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

I have seen zero difference in hookups between O ring and non- O ring rigs. Major difference in longevity of the bait-especially with Senkos.  

 

I use Gamakatsu 1/0 octopus hooks. I do not set the hook at all. When my line starts running out after a bass picks it up, I simply raise the rod and reel in the slack until the line is tight and the rod bends and the hook is set. I missed a few trying to set the hook, but that’s on me, not the hook. 

 

Ive had some bluegills hit the bait after I start working it back, but it’s way more of a “tap-tap” than sucking it in and swimming off with it and stripping line. 

 

I get a lot of weeds and algae. If I do, I pull it off. I think weedless hooks on soft pick-ups cost fish. And if you are setting the hook like on a TR, stop. That will cost you fish for sure. Just reel in until tight and that hook will drive home. 

Use Octopus or circle hooks, as said above. Use a sweeping hook set, don't try and jack the fish.

[bholtzinger14]

1/0. Just reel into a hook set.

[NHBull]

A lot of dinks aren’t actually taking the hook.  A lot of smaller fish will hit ends of the bait.  Add a nail weight and fish it NEKO and your ratio should go back up

[Mbirdsley]

Ever since I have switched to an actual wacky rig hook my hook up rate is dang near 100%.  I’ve been Buying the owner #2 wacky rig hooks.  With or with out weed guard.  I can set the hook like normal.  9 times out of ten it sticks them in the roof of the mouth or upper lip.  I even nailed some dinks to day.  

with an o ring I was able to milk my last berkly general for 6 fish.  Usually the worm worse case scenario will just slide up the line. if you hook it through the worm under the oring 

 

maybe your fish arnt in a eating mood and they are just nibbling it  

[plawren53202]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I think from the sounds of it my main issue is dinks in all the places I have been fishing a wacky rig. Don't know if I said something in original post that sounded otherwise, but I'm using a sweep or reel into them "hook set," definitely not like a T rig or jig. Sounds like the O ring is (as I suspected) mainly for worm preservation and wouldn't increase hookset. The VMC Ike Approved hook is a circle hook, with a thin wire weedguard. The Mustads I have been using are more of a wide gap but still supposed to be for wacky rigs. I think I'm going back to the VMCs for a while. But I think most of my misses have been little guys grabbing the ends of the worm.

[BrianMDTX]

I’m no expert, but except for one miss that was all on me (setting the hook), every catch has been when a bass takes the bait and runs off with it, while the other “misses” are small fish like bluegills that are likely hitting the worm but not running off with it. 

 

Are you missing fish fish when your slack line starts running out, or just when you feel small strikes but the line basically stays put? 

[plawren53202]

4 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

Are you missing fish fish when your slack line starts running out, or just when you feel small strikes but the line basically stays put? 

More so missing on taps. But also some on line moving-- this morning I was mainly relying on line watching, the "bites" were more often line starting to move sideways or sudden slack during the fall. I had a few that I connected with on those enough to feel solid weight or even see the flash of the fish (clear water in this morning's pond) but then they would let go or come off, which is the main thing that had me thinking about hook type.

[Bluebasser86]

I use a 2/0 Gamakatsu wide gap finesse. 10lb braid to an 8lb leader with a M/F rod, reel and lift on the hookset. Those weedless hooks are terrible for hookup % IMO. Wacky rigs aren't for fishing in heavy cover and the hook point naturally rides up, so they'll come over most sparse cover as is, I have no use for them.

[PhishLI]

9 hours ago, plawren53202 said:

I was using the VMC Ike Approved Weedless Wacky hooks

I have no choice but to use weedless wacky hooks in most places I fish and have tried every one that I could find. The VMC will come through the junk better than anything I've used so far, including the Mustads with the wire weed guard. However, due to the fact that it's a heavy wire hook with a stiff weed guard, I throw them on either MH rods or stiffer MF rods to get penetration. Not really finesse-y at all, but my hookup percentage is pretty good when the wacky bite is on in or near the thick stuff.

[ww2farmer]

If weedless is a must, use something like the Gamakatsu G-finesse, or Owner Jungle Wacky hook with a wire guard that doesn't attach to the hook point and needs to "spring" open and out of the way. Hook up % with these is as good as non-weedless hooks.

[FryDog62]

Use the VMC Neko hooks for wacky-rigging, hook up percentage is as good as it gets.  

[MGF]

I've used the 1 or 1/0 mosquito, drop shot and even circle hooks. Hook-up percentage is about perfect.

 

I bought some of those 1/0 VMC weedless wacky hooks and I think I lost just about every single fish that ever hit it. The two packs I have are sitting right here on the end table where I tossed them 2 or 3 years back. I'll never use them again.

 

If the cover is too heavy for an exposed hook I just go to a different presentation.

[plawren53202]

3 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

Use the VMC Neko hooks for wacky-rigging, hook up percentage is as good as it gets.  

Rats...I thought I remembered hearing this before, and last night I was at the store and almost bought a pack. 

[Shimano_1]

I don't like any wacky hooks that have the metal weed guard. They work better at being weedless but i too missed a lot of fish because of the stiff weedguard. I switched to the trokar weedless hooks and never looked back. Id say a lot of what ur thinking ur missing is small fish and bluegill.  Ive never had a big problem missing fish with any hook. 

[Tizi]

I’ve been tearing em up via Whacky Rigged Senko: Green/White Laminate. I use a non-weedless VMC Necko 1/0 hook. I got bit 4 times Friday, caught 4 (all keepers with biggest being 2.5 lbs). Skipping docks. The farther under the dock the skip, the better.

 

 

[Glaucus]

Gammy Octopus Circle in 1/0, 99% hookup and land rate

[Lobocito]

I can almost never hook a fish with the weedless wacky hooks. IMO, any wire "brush guard" is a way more effective "fish guard." 

[The Bassman]

Even though it seems a bit large for wacky rigging I'm finding that a Kahle hook is getting me higher % hookups. A side benefit is that they don't seem to gut hook.

[Allen Der]

most likely you are getting a lot of bluegill bites.  a rapid tap-tap-tap is usually gills and sometimes a bigger one will even get it in its mouth and start swimming with it.  I switched from wacky to neko hooks last year and hookup percentage is nearly 100% now.  I've used the VMC and Trokar weedless Neko hooks in size 1 and both are equally good.  just reel into the fish until you feel pressure then give them an easy hookset.  these are light wire hooks on light line with a medium/fast rod, no need to hammer them to set the hook 

[Black Hawk Basser]

I don't have any hookup issues.  I use the Berkley Fusion hooks with a mono/fluoro weedguard.  I often send a wacky rig 30 or so feet from the back of the boat as I stroll along flipping the bank.  Most of the time, the fish that bite the wacky rig hook themselves as the boat is moving away from them.  To get the same effect while holding the rod, you'd just need to raise the rod tip and reel in.  That's usually enough for me to get them pinned.

[plawren53202]

Last trip to BPS I picked up a pack of the VMC Neko hooks, size 1, no weedguard. I'll give those a try. I am hoping to be able to go weedguard free but as a bank fisherman I have to throw it through a lot of nasty stuff. I'll report back.

[optimator]

Do you keep your hook sharpened?