Shaky head versus Finesse jig

[GoneFishingLTN]

When would you know to choose one over the other? I know most the replies will be you’ll just have to see which one they want that day. There has to be a little more to that right?

[Darth-Baiter]

i kinda think jigs, shakeyheads, tex-rig...etc.  all of it can be compared to mexican food from Taco Bell.    you really think about it and pay attention to the taste...it is really all the same food in a different package.  

 

i'll never pretend to understand why a bass will not eat a jig, but eat a tex-rig crawbait.   its really all just a taco-bell-grande.  

[JHoss]

  On 3/24/2025 at 3:33 PM, Darth-Baiter said:

i kinda think jigs, shakeyheads, tex-rig...etc.  all of it can be compared to mexican food from Taco Bell.    you really think about it and pay attention to the taste...it is really all the same food in a different package.  

 

i'll never pretend to understand why a bass will not eat a jig, but eat a tex-rig crawbait.   its really all just a taco-bell-grande.  

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And this is the only way I'll explain it to people from now until the end of time. Thank you

[LrgmouthShad]

I don’t do much finesse jigging in TX, but I did a lot of it in Missouri. I think it’s a baitfish/craw size deal. I lean on a shaky head more in the spring and summer, while I will use a finesse jig year round. A finesse jig with the skirt flared at the head can be a better craw imitation than a standard full size jig. The flared skirt at the head looks like a tail. If I am using a finesse jig, I usually want my jig to closely replicate the local crawfish and I seldom use ‘flapping’ trailers with them. 

[Jig Man]

From post spawn to late fall I have both rigged up.  I throw a few casts then switch until I get bit.  For me it is mostly the terrain that seems to favor one over the other.

My shaky is usually a ZinkerZ and the jig is Pee Wee 3/16 oz with a trailer.  I use various head sizes for the shaky and several colors and trailers for the jig.

Generally the jig works best close to deep water while shaky shines in coves and shallow points.

[mcipinkie]

No.  There is no more to it than that.  Try one a while.  If it doesn't work try the other.

There are no internet shortcuts in fishing.  If I'm finesse fishing, I'll have both tied on.

[OkobojiEagle]

Just take one with you and the decision becomes easier.

 

oe

[GetFishorDieTryin]

 I generally always fish a shaky head with the lightest weight I can get away with.  In the spring ive found 1/16 to outfish heavier weights by a considerable margin.  I catch as many fish letting it pendulum back to me after casting it as I do when its on the bottom.  

Jig fishing around here is tough in general.  The bottoms are mostly soft and covered in the "black death."  For the jig bite to really take off the water needs to be clear and it really helps when the wind is hitting a point or cove.  That way the fish stack up and they arent as spooky.

[Columbia Craw]

A finesse jig is just a small jig.  It requires movement to create action.  A shakey head worm is still a worm but the head style helps the worm stay upright longer so the worm may have some movement even when the head is stationary and that subtle movement can be enough to trigger a response.  In fairness, a living rubber skirted jig has some movement even when stopped or paused.  I drag finesse jigs but not a shakey head.  I never order either at a drive thru.

[RRocket]

  On 3/26/2025 at 7:50 AM, Columbia Craw said:

A finesse jig is just a small jig.  It requires movement to create action.  A shakey head worm is still a worm but the head style helps the worm stay upright longer so the worm may have some movement even when the head is stationary and that subtle movement can be enough to trigger a response.  In fairness, a living rubber skirted jig has some movement even when stopped or paused.  I drag finesse jigs but not a shakey head.  I never order either at a drive thru.

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It's for these reasons that I have on occasion heard the Ned called a "mini Shakey".

 

On a Ned, you can get the same type of stationary movement using a small, buoyant bait with a bulbous tail. I use the Duo Realis Wriggle ND Slim to such an effect. Just the movement of the water is sufficient to have the bait moving. 

 

On lazy or tough days, this do nothing extra action is appreciated.

[Siebert Outdoors]

I always have both tied on.  IMO it is 2 different presentations.  One may work one day and the other the next. 

[FishTank]

I think of them as two different things, depending on how they are presented.  A shakey head to me looks a fish foraging on stuff on the bottom.  A finesse jig is a small bait fish or crawdad just moving around the bottom.  Also, a shakey head is great dead sticked and a finesse jig, depending on the trailer, can be swam in.

 

 

 

[Catt]

  On 3/26/2025 at 3:44 PM, FishTank said:

I think of them as two different things, depending on how they are presented.  A shakey head to me looks a fish foraging on stuff on the bottom.  A finesse jig is a small bait fish or crawdad just moving around the bottom.  Also, a shakey head is great dead sticked and a finesse jig, depending on the trailer, can be swam in.

 

 

 

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[FryDog62]

I’ll just offer one additional perspective… 

 

If there are rocks for either the shaky head or finesse jig head to get stuck in… I switch to a Neko. The flexible nose where the lead is buried is less likely to get wedged between rocks. 

[Bluebasser86]

I wish it was as easy as having defined differences and when to use both, but there just isn't. 

 

The powerplant lake I fish all winter, great shakyhead bite, I could count my finesse jig fish on both hands in all the years I've fished it and man I run my head into that wall every year, determined to make them eat it, and it never works.

 

The lake by my house, great finesse jig lake, I can't remember ever catching a shakyhead fish there. 

 

Why does one work at one and not the other? No idea, but I've discovered through trial and error that there is certainly a difference to the fish and that's all that really matters. 

[WRB]

Shaky head jig and worm the worm is the attraction. Select a worm that the floats or at minimum the tail floats upwards.Most shaky jigs are ball heads with a flat spot to help standup the worm. I prefer straight tail worms with chartreuse or orange tail tip. Basically a stationary presentation being shaken in a small target zone that limits covering a larger area.

Finesse jig is harder to define with multiple  designs. Started out as a Lyon collar design with skirt covering the jig head forward and short skirt covering the hook ; SkinnyBear and Left’s Puff Ball.

Finesse jigs can be used with or without a trailer, very versatile.

Tom 

 

[Pat Brown]

I think a finesse jig is still more of a power fishing presentation kinda thing. It's like a smaller but still bulky presentation that is gonna appeal more to bigger fish in dirtier water etc.

 

I think a shaky head is more of a finesse presentation through and through and works better in clearer water and appeals more to any fish that happens upon it.