those wacky bass

[Raider Nation Fisher]

I was fishing one of my after work ponds yesterday evening, and had a awakening if you will. The fish had stopped hitting my t-rigged lizards, ten in. worms, and jerk baits a couple of days ago. Same with my hard jerk baits and spinners. I'd been able to avoid getting skunked with some scum frogs, but that's another story for later. In shear desperation to find something to catch these fish I tried a technique that I've never used before, wacky rigging a worm. It was like I started a bass frenzy. Fish were hitting on almost every cast. I caught fourteen in an hour and a half. However I missed twelve or thirteen.  :-[ Which brings me too my quesrion. What are yalls prefered hooks for wacky rigging? I had decent luck with some Mustad Demon Circle hooks that I use for red fish. Yet I was still was missing most of them, except the bigguns. I also tried using a 5/0 offset worm hook with limited sucess.

Also I had another first yesterday. I was throwing a crank along the bank near the weeds. I tossed it right next to tree on the weed line and a 6lber slammed it the second it hit the water. I've never had a fish take my crank off the top like that. Coolest thing I've had happen while fishing in a while.

[Fishmaster10]

I'm really surprised you've never used a wacky rig before that's definitely one of my favorites ;D When I fish a wacky rig I usually use a 4/0 gamakatsu worm hook, and when I'm having trouble hooking the fish I hook the bait through once instead of twice. Hope this helps.

[central.PA.bass]

I'm really surprised you've never used a wacky rig before that's definitely one of my favorites ;D When I fish a wacky rig I usually use a 4/0 gamakatsu worm hook, and when I'm having trouble hooking the fish I hook the bait through once instead of twice. Hope this helps.

  Can you explain that?

[gotarheelz14]

I was having the same problem you were having and I thought the answer to my problems was to step it up to a bigger hook. While this might certainly work, it changes the action of the worm, and you lose the possibility of effectively using the wacky presentation as a finesse technique, which I quite often do. Not implying that it is a "finesse" technique by nature.

I don't know how you are setting the hook, bu the hook-set actually happened to be my biggest downfall. I was giving it a moderate, texas rig swing. I then realized that you don't really need that. The hook is exposed so you only need to reel up until you feel pressure and then gently snap your wrist upward to set the hook. Alternately, you can also reel in some slack and gently sweep your body sideways.

Gentle, is the key word. Remember to gently reel up, gently sweep or snap the wrist. Keep pressure and your rod tip pointed up. And for god's sake play the fish!!! It's a small hook so you can't wrangle them back towards you. Take your time and enjoy the fight.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

I was having the same problem you were having and I thought the answer to my problems was to step it up to a bigger hook. While this might certainly work, it changes the action of the worm, and you lose the possibility of effectively using the wacky presentation as a finesse technique, which I quite often do. Not implying that it is a "finesse" technique by nature.

I don't know how you are setting the hook, bu the hook-set actually happened to be my biggest downfall. I was giving it a moderate, texas rig swing. I then realized that you don't really need that. The hook is exposed so you only need to reel up until you feel pressure and then gently snap your wrist upward to set the hook. Alternately, you can also reel in some slack and gently sweep your body sideways.

Gentle, is the key word. Remember to gently reel up, gently sweep or snap the wrist. Keep pressure and your rod tip pointed up. And for god's sake play the fish!!! It's a small hook so you can't wrangle them back towards you. Take your time and enjoy the fight.

That very well may solve the problem I've been having. I seem to be losing alot of them at the hookset. I just have to try an ease up on the hook set. Definately makes sense. Excellent advice on not trying to power reel the fish in too. I've lost a good few doing that also. Finesse and gentle are new concepts to me. Its like one of my old formen told one of our engineers. "These guys are welders and industrial construction electricians they don't do gentle. ;D

[Fishmaster10]

@ central P.A. bass: I'm not sure exactly why this works. My best guess is that it gives the worm more action and more of the hook is exposed.

[Wayne P.]

Well you tried to not catch many using a Circle hook. Any open gap hook will work, but I use the Gamakatsu Octopus hook. Its short like the Circle hook so it resists bending like longer shank hooks do. I use the 2/0 #02412 for finesse worms, the 3/0 #02413 for Trick worms, and 4/0 #02414 for Senkos.

I catch over 2,000 bass each year wacky rigging, mostly rigging it weedless.

Check my avatar.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

@ Wayne P. I got those hooks you wrote about last night. They seem like they will work alot better than the circle hooks that I have. Also what is the black stuff in the picture on your avatar? And also what retrieves do you find usually work well? I've been using a sink and jerk retrieve. Kind of like hopping a jig, but slower. Anyway thanks for the advice on the hooks. I hope to try them out today or tommorow. 

[fishingkidPA]

i like to give them twitches untill they are about 2 feet from the surface, im only fishing around 6 ft though. then let it sink and repeat to boat

[BlackBass19]

I like to use Octopus style hooks w/ Wacky Rigged worms. You can basically have the stick bait sit on the inside curve of the hook. Once you have a feel for a committed bass you'll nail them in the corner of the mouth everytime.

Bass tend to tap and test the bait before they commit w/ Wacky Worms. So when you watch your line you'll see it briefly pull, but yet it stays kind of slack. When the line starts tightening again as it starts moving away from you the bass has committed. Do not set the hook on this semi-slack line, instead reel the slack out and then give the rod tip a good snap upward to set the hook.

You'll get a feel for it quickly and it will become part of your fishing repetoire.