In 2024 Only One Bait Needed : The Damiki Rig

[ChrisD46]

If the recent bass tournaments are any indication , the small ball head jig with a small straight tail fluke (i.e. Damiki Rig) is about all anybody is fishing for bass these days (with forward facing sonar) ... Rates right up there with drop shot fishing while watching an electronic graph up front in the boat . *As they say : "Don't hate the player - hate the game" with forward facing sonar + the small Damiki Rigs / moping with small flukes - it's either adapt OR be out of the money while other pros finish above you ... Doesn't mean I have to enjoy it or follow suit as a recreational bass fisherman . *Time to revisit all of those still productive "old school" , underutilized bass fishing techniques WRB (Tom) could hold class on while everyone else fills up their tackle boxes with the same Damiki Rig set up (lol !)

[casts_by_fly]

While that may be true this time of year in the late winter/prespawn, that will change as the season goes on.  The tournament trail is poised to exploit that pattern though so you'll continue to see it there.  The first and last two will be FFS dominated for sure.  I suspect Murray, Wheeler, and Smith will also as that will be shad spawn and summer pattern fish.  Grand and the florida lakes?  Who's to say.

 

Feb. 22-25, Many, La., Toledo Bend Reservoir
Feb. 29-March 3, Yantis, Texas, Lake Fork
March 22-24, Bassmaster Classic, Tulsa, Okla., Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees
April 11-14, Leesburg, Fla., Harris Chain of Lakes
April 18-21, Palatka, Fla., St. Johns River
May 9-12, Columbia, S.C., Lake Murray
June 13-16, Decatur, Ala., Wheeler Lake
June 27-30, Cullman, Ala., Smith Lake
Aug. 8-11, Plattsburgh, N.Y., Lake Champlain
Aug. 15-18, Waddington, N.Y., St. Lawrence River

[Catt]

 

[Big_Easy_Bassin]

I grew up inshore fishing for speckled trout in the South Louisiana marsh. I hated paying for live shrimp, so I focused on catching them strictly using artificial lures. I learned two techniques when I was younger and tried to get as good as I could at them. One was a popping cork with a paddle tail swimbait on a 1/16 or 1/8oz jig head… I always preferred ball style jig heads. The other was basically a Damiki rig. I normally use a 1/4oz jig head on 20# or 30# braid with a FC leader. I started out using 20# FC bc that was what everyone was using inshore, but after I started bass fishing I realized how much line test mattered for lure action and presentation. I don’t target trout much anymore, but I’ll use anything from 10-15# for my leader depending on the situation. I find it kind of amusing hearing about all these pros using this technique… I was throwing the Damiki rig before it was even called the Damiki rig 😂😂😂

[JediAmoeba]

11 minutes ago, Big_Easy_Bassin said:

I grew up inshore fishing for speckled trout in the South Louisiana marsh. I hated paying for live shrimp, so I focused on catching them strictly using artificial lures. I learned two techniques when I was younger and tried to get as good as I could at them. One was a popping cork with a paddle tail swimbait on a 1/16 or 1/8oz jig head… I always preferred ball style jig heads. The other was basically a Damiki rig. I normally use a 1/4oz jig head on 20# or 30# braid with a FC leader. I started out using 20# FC bc that was what everyone was using inshore, but after I started bass fishing I realized how much line test mattered for lure action and presentation. I don’t target trout much anymore, but I’ll use anything from 10-15# for my leader depending on the situation. I find it kind of amusing hearing about all these pros using this technique… I was throwing the Damiki rig before it was even called the Damiki rig 😂😂😂

 

Bass guys think every technique they acquire is revolutionary!  Lol 

 

Other rigs will always be at play but will the next generation be fishing? I say the way my kids are and the way I see things, no. With less anglers the competition will get even worse with the feel for fishing dying away. It's sad and FFS is just a product of the times. It isn't just fishing - look what technology and analytics have done to baseball.

[Tennessee Boy]

There were 70 fish weighted by the ten anglers in the final round of yesterday's MLF tournament.  Let's look at what those 70 fish were caught on according to the stats on the MLF website.

 

17 fish  Soft Plastic - Wacky/Neko Rig 

15 fish  Soft Plastic - Jighead Minnow

11 fish  Jig - Bladed Swim Jig

 9 fish   Soft Plastic - Creature/Craw

 8 fish   Crankbait - Lipless Crankbait

 6 fish   Jig - Flipping/Pitching/Skipping Jig

 3 fish   Spinnerbait

 1 fish   Jig - Casting Jig

 

You can draw your own conclusions from these numbers.   Personally,  I'll be throwing more than one bait in 2024.  

 

[5by3]

2 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

There were 70 fish weighted by the ten anglers in the final round of yesterday's MLF tournament.  Let's look at what those 70 fish were caught on according to the stats on the MLF website.

 

17 fish  Soft Plastic - Wacky/Neko Rig 

15 fish  Soft Plastic - Jighead Minnow

11 fish  Jig - Bladed Swim Jig

 9 fish   Soft Plastic - Creature/Craw

 8 fish   Crankbait - Lipless Crankbait

 6 fish   Jig - Flipping/Pitching/Skipping Jig

 3 fish   Spinnerbait

 1 fish   Jig - Casting Jig

 

You can draw your own conclusions from these numbers.   Personally,  I'll be throwing more than one bait in 2024.  

 

Take a look at Toledo bend at tell me the same thing 😅😁

[detroit1]

I can't afford the electronics, so i will employ my "forward- facing dog technique.  😵

[JediAmoeba]

3 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

There were 70 fish weighted by the ten anglers in the final round of yesterday's MLF tournament.  Let's look at what those 70 fish were caught on according to the stats on the MLF website.

 

17 fish  Soft Plastic - Wacky/Neko Rig 

15 fish  Soft Plastic - Jighead Minnow

11 fish  Jig - Bladed Swim Jig

 9 fish   Soft Plastic - Creature/Craw

 8 fish   Crankbait - Lipless Crankbait

 6 fish   Jig - Flipping/Pitching/Skipping Jig

 3 fish   Spinnerbait

 1 fish   Jig - Casting Jig

 

You can draw your own conclusions from these numbers.   Personally,  I'll be throwing more than one bait in 2024.  

 

Comparing the MLF to BASS is silly. Every fish counts and by God it's easier to catch 5, 2 pounders than 1, 5 pounder. And those young 2 pound fish are more apt to hit different baits. It's comparing apples to oranges.

[RRocket]

Too funny.

 

This has been used by walleye fisherman for eternity here. Good to see the bass fisherman catching on! LOL 😆 

 

I think in the walleye world this technique is called "moping".

[Tennessee Boy]

45 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

Comparing the MLF to BASS is silly. Every fish counts and by God it's easier to catch 5, 2 pounders than 1, 5 pounder. And those young 2 pound fish are more apt to hit different baits. It's comparing apples to oranges.

I’m not comparing tournaments,  I’m responding to a suggestion that one bait is all that’s needed for all tournaments in 2024 by pointing out that it isn’t even true for one tournament 2024.

[gim]

A damiki rig falls along a similar line to me as a drop shot. If that’s how I have to fish any particular day to catch fish, I’m going home and coming back another day. It’s my least favorite way to fish.

 

I’m not in any tournaments. My opinion might change if I had to catch fish in competition.

[Fishin Dad]

I totally agree that it is going to be an interesting year to see how things play out.  I don’t have FFS and don’t ever plan to get it.   Not really enjoying watching it either.  
I really enjoy drop shotting and won money with it last year.  I fish it more like a Texas rig I guess. I cast it out and work it back.  My wife and daughter hammer fish with it as well.  But I get it!  It is definitely not frog or jig fishing, which are my favorite!!

[Big_Easy_Bassin]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

I’m not in any tournaments. My opinion might change if I had to catch fish in competition.

My thoughts exactly! I fish bc I enjoy it. I posted a report from this past weekend about trying to force a reaction bite for a whole 12 hour day of fishing. I was just fishing for fun and that’s how I prefer to fish. I fish small local tournaments occasionally, but I it’s not how I make my living. If I fished tournaments to put food on the table, I would probably have a spinning rod in my hand staring at a screen like everyone else. 
 

Also, I’ve heard that guys use it in shallow water, but I can’t imagine FFS would be much help in South Louisiana, especially the areas I fish. It’s mostly 2-4ft bayous, but I guess it would work in turns and bends. Those get up to around maybe 10ft lol. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Man this technique gets so many names it's crazy

 

Mopping, Damiki Rigging, Strolling...bottom, mid.    

 

Mopping and Damiki are the same to me, the technique that won TB this weekend was mid strolling a minnow not Damiki Rigging which is a vertical presentation imho.  

 

Strolling was first used in Japan IIrc to fish very shallow water on Lake Biwa.   So the technique has evolved as well.  

[Catt]

6 hours ago, 5by3 said:

Take a look at Toledo bend at tell me the same thing 😅😁

 

You are aware there was 100s of other anglers on Toledo Bend at the same & the vast majority were not throwing a Damiki Rig. Quite a few were every bit a successful.

 

6 hours ago, detroit1 said:

I can't afford the electronics, so i will employ my "forward- facing dog technique.  😵

 

I read Fujita electronics cost $50,000!

[TnRiver46]

Yall have seen my posts , 1/8 oz ball head jig is my ride or die. Put a fluke or worm on it and they will bite it more than most everything else I try 

 

I don’t have sonar on the front of my boat but it still works 

[Tennessee Boy]

5 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Yall have seen my posts , 1/8 oz ball head jig is my ride or die. Put a fluke or worm on it and they will bite it more than most everything else I try  

If I’m not mistaken the Damiki rig originated in East Tennessee.  Not the technique,  that goes back to the cavemen,  but the name Damiki Rig.

[GoneFishingLTN]

10 hours ago, Catt said:

 

You are aware there was 100s of other anglers on Toledo Bend at the same & the vast majority were not throwing a Damiki Rig. Quite a few were every bit a successful.

 

 

I read Fujita electronics cost $50,000!

Interesting, I didn’t see any of the top 20 using other baits do you have any examples. ( when I say that I mean they was throwing the damiki 80 percent of the time) 

 

I’m curious because I sorta think this is the way the tournament game is played now. 

[Catt]

32 minutes ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

do you have any examples.

 

Here's one, no FFS, & not on a Damiki Rig. 13.67#

 

[Texas Flood]

I thought this was an interesting read considering the hot topic.

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/vexus-buckle.html

 

Also, the MLF tournament top 10 baits had a good mix of baits. Not just Damiki.

https://majorleaguefishing.com/bass-pro-tour/bpt-top-baits-santee-cooper/

 

[ChrisD46]

20 hours ago, 5by3 said:

Take a look at Toledo bend at tell me the same thing 😅😁

I predict you will see a greater amount of that forward sonar,  mid-water zone moping / damiki technique being incorporated as guys using FF sonar won't even make a cast unless they see fish first on their screen !

[cyclops2]

   Another group of the .... Only fish in a barrel of hungry fish ?

[5by3]

20 hours ago, Catt said:

 

You are aware there was 100s of other anglers on Toledo Bend at the same & the vast majority were not throwing a Damiki Rig. Quite a few were every bit a successful.

 

 

I read Fujita electronics cost $50,000!

All 10 anglers who finished in the top 10 at Toledo Bend threw the jighead minnow, Damiki rig, hover jiggle, mid stroll minnow, whatever you want to call it according to bassmaster top baits article. A few mixed in a jerkbait. 
 

The guys who failed to adapt were left behind for the most part. 

 

[5by3]

6 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

I predict you will see a greater amount of that forward sonar,  mid-water zone moping / damiki technique being incorporated as guys using FF sonar won't even make a cast unless they see fish first on their screen !

I agree 100%. It’s dominating the game just like the A-rig did when it was introduced. 
 

It’s not like it’s a brand new technique, but FFS just made it that more powerful.