Wacky Rig Fishing is EXPENSIVE

[Bird]

26 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

I like zman's eltaztech products because of their durability, however, they are buoyant.  My primary use of a senko is weightless with just a hook and o-ring.  It has a nice slow sink rate.  I did buy a pack of zinkerz to try but I think they are going to be too buyoant for just a hook and o-ring.  I have a wacky jig I might try to make it sink though.

 

I don't go through a lot because I use the o-ring which prevents "hooking" the actual plastic, but as some have mentioned, on occasion they still do come off for one reason or another.

I believe you'll find the ZinkerZ to be very effective throwing them weightless with 4.0 - 5.0 hook.

My observation is there not that buoyant with hook but yet stand up like a Neko rig on the bottom.

Good fall rate - stands up = double whammy. 

5" ZinkerZ in PB&J has been killer here.Edit: you may be correct about being to buoyant with small wacky hook. 

[gim]

3 hours ago, Bird said:

Edit: you may be correct about being to buoyant with small wacky hook. 

I usually use a vmc neko hook and rig it wacky. I’ll report back with some results when I try it.

[ChrisD46]

4 hours ago, Bird said:

I believe you'll find the ZinkerZ to be very effective throwing them weightless with 4.0 - 5.0 hook.

My observation is there not that buoyant with hook but yet stand up like a Neko rig on the bottom.

Good fall rate - stands up = double whammy. 

5" ZinkerZ in PB&J has been killer here.Edit: you may be correct about being to buoyant with small wacky hook. 

*Yes , with a 5" Zinkerz / SK Zero you would need a thick gauge , made for braid Super Line  EWG 4/0 hook to get a good sink rate . With a standard EWG 4/0 you could peg a small 1/8th oz. tungsten bullet weight or even a EWG 4/0 hook with a built in keel weight (like used on a swim bait) to get the elaztec stick worm down .

[WRB]

On 5/15/2021 at 9:52 AM, WRB said:

You are right a broad brush. 

90+% of all my wacky rigged soft plastic Senko, Sluggo, Nail/Neko worms get bit on the initial fall. When I hook a bass it’s very common to see another bass following the fight. When the soft plastic get tossed the chances of it hitting bottom without being eaten is very low.

It’s the nature of the beast to strike a wounded struggling prey.

Everyone talks about following up a moving lure with a soft stick bait. Try following up a stick bait with another stick bait after catch a bass and double your success.

Tom

Add nose nail/Neko weight and wacky rig the Z-Man Giant TRD.

 

[ironbjorn]

This reminds me of the guys who won't cast into high snag risk areas for fear of losing the lure. If you want to consistently catch fish, it's going to cost you some money.

[gim]

12 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

This reminds me of the guys who won't cast into high snag risk areas for fear of losing the lure.

 

I don't disagree with that, but when you're fishing around docks, lifts, pontoons, etc that is private property.  Obviously you can fish the water around it and underneath it, but as soon as you get hung up on something, that's trespassing.  I'm not a lake shore owner but I try to keep this in mind because if I saw someone plant a jig into something on my dock, I'd be furious.

 

I think its simply best to avoid docks that have people on or around them to avoid any potential confrontation.

[Deephaven]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

 

I don't disagree with that, but when you're fishing around docks, lifts, pontoons, etc that is private property.  Obviously you can fish the water around it and underneath it, but as soon as you get hung up on something, that's trespassing.  I'm not a lake shore owner but I try to keep this in mind because if I saw someone plant a jig into something on my dock, I'd be furious.

 

I think its simply best to avoid docks that have people on or around them to avoid any potential confrontation.

Ha, we have a killer dock for fishing under.  Of course when I am down at the beach and someone comes by I have my boys trained to run out onto the dock, make a ton of noise, and ask them how the fishing is.  My experience is that all the noise on the dock and commotion shuts off the bite and makes the anglers move on.  Not super nice on my end, but I try to keep my little guys fishing hole setup for them.

 

[ironbjorn]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

I don't disagree with that, but when you're fishing around docks, lifts, pontoons, etc that is private property.  Obviously you can fish the water around it and underneath it, but as soon as you get hung up on something, that's trespassing.  I'm not a lake shore owner but I try to keep this in mind because if I saw someone plant a jig into something on my dock, I'd be furious.

 

I think its simply best to avoid docks that have people on or around them to avoid any potential confrontation.

That wasn't really what I was getting at.

 

I'm talking about the people who fear snagging in the rocks, fishing brush piles, stumps, trying to get under overhanging trees, etc; people who are so scared of losing a lure that they'll only fish safe, open water, rather than where the fish are actually located.

 

Of course one should take extra care when fishing around the belongings of others around docks. If you're not skilled enough to trust that you won't dent a boat, break a window, or snag a 5 year old, it's best to move on.

 

Just like with Senko fishing. We all know it's one Senko, one fish most of the time. It gets costly. But just like we know that fishing snaggy areas is where the bass are, we also know that nothing in the stick bait variety is better than a Senko and that a Senko will catch fish. It costs money to catch them consistently. There's nothing wrong with the knockoff route, just like it's one's prerogative to fish safe water, but just know you're leaving fish behind. 

 

[TnRiver46]

Some of us don’t like the idea of leaving a whole bunch of worms in the water either 

[Boomstick]

The only times I wacky rig a senko is when that's all I brought.

 

I usually wacky rig something like a 6" roboworm or a X-Zone lures deception worm instead. They have better action wacky rigged. The thing about the senkos is the way they fall, so I just T-Rig it.

[jgordon]

On 5/15/2021 at 10:31 AM, WRB said:

TBass can’t digest soft plastics. Nearly every Senko that gets back into the water without a hook is going to be eaten.

Use o-rings, tubing, harness or something reduce the bass shaking the soft plastic off the hook. 

Just try to keep soft plastic on the hook.

Tom

I have pulled what was left of Senko out of the old poop shoot once im sure the fish felt better haha. I didnt

On 5/15/2021 at 10:31 AM, WRB said:

 

 

35 minutes ago, ironbjorn said:

That wasn't really what I was getting at.

 

I'm talking about the people who fear snagging in the rocks, fishing brush piles, stumps, trying to get under overhanging trees, etc; people who are so scared of losing a lure that they'll only fish safe, open water, rather than where the fish are actually located.

 

Of course one should take extra care when fishing around the belongings of others around docks. If you're not skilled enough to trust that you won't dent a boat, break a window, or snag a 5 year old, it's best to move on.

 

Just like with Senko fishing. We all know it's one Senko, one fish most of the time. It gets costly. But just like we know that fishing snaggy areas is where the bass are, we also know that nothing in the stick bait variety is better than a Senko and that a Senko will catch fish. It costs money to catch them consistently. There's nothing wrong with the knockoff route, just like it's one's prerogative to fish safe water, but just know you're leaving fish behind. 

 

 

We have had people at local lake complain and I listened could have been blowing smoke but the mentioned grandkids and kids play off the dock and didn't want a hook stuck in something cutting them open.  They do have a slide on both sides of the dock so I respected it and moved on.  That lake has tons of docks to fish so I let it be. 

[uglyasheck]

I know I am a little late to this topic but I use Heat Shrink in the clear color. You can buy a kit off of Amazon that has multimule sizes. Find the size that fits your bait cut the size piece you want an hook it. Works better than o rings in my oppinion and its cheap. I fish wacky almost all the time. I use VMC neko hooks.

[WRB]

DThe Z-Man Giant TRD is nearly indestructible with a simple wacky rig using Owner Jungle weedless wacky hook. I fish 1 TRD for a week and it’s still in 1 piece after several bass.

Yamamoto Senko’s are good but 1 fish or less per bait isn’t good, too much unintentional discarded plastic in the  bass to eat. 

Tom

PS, you need a nail weigh to sink 3/32-1/8 oz, otherwise the TRD floats. 

 

 

[moguy1973]

Check out the Savage Gear Armor Tube Worms.  They are a stick worm with a nylon mesh middle section you put the hook through and helps the worm stay on the line.

 

Savage Gear Armor Tube Worm - Tackle Warehouse

[ATA]

I use electric tape for that and it is really working, I get my tape water and weather proof from amazon.

[Luke Barnes]

I cant remember the brand but one has an I ring built right into it. I'll look on tackle warehouse for it. I thought it was cool they molded the stock bait right around the o ring.

[ThrowinPlugs]

Stop using senkos. Theyre sooo brittle compared to other brands nowadays with similar characteristics. I use BPS Stick-os and yum dingers now. Also, Zman are incredibly durable. I've used the same zman TRD for 3 trips now lol

On 7/12/2021 at 3:03 PM, moguy1973 said:

Check out the Savage Gear Armor Tube Worms.  They are a stick worm with a nylon mesh middle section you put the hook through and helps the worm stay on the line.

 

Savage Gear Armor Tube Worm - Tackle Warehouse

Those are pretty sweet, didn't know they existed. Ill have to try them.

[NYWayfarer]

On 5/17/2021 at 1:17 PM, 5/0 said:

Try placing two o rings side by side on the Senko. Then gently cross the rings to form an X, place the hook through the X just barely skinning the worm. Got to be careful crossing the rings, but it does work. I usually rig a few worms at home before I go out.

That’s my method with my wacky worm of choice,  Berkley Max Scent, the General. I can get more than a half dozen fish before I repurpose the worm by cutting it in half and make 2 Ned baits. 
 

[Tatsu Dave]

On 5/16/2021 at 9:34 PM, Bird said:

Any time you go weightless or wacky , expect paramount damage to worm, I've found. 

Expect success but buy in bulk.

Exactly, I buy sticks in bulk and the biggest % of my fishing is weightless whether Texas or Wacky rigged. The softer the plastic the quicker the destruction.......BBB trick sticks last the best for me. Ocho's and Senko's catch the most with their better movement.