Shakeyhead Tips

[Missouribassman95]

I want to start fishing the shakeyhead more this spring. Could you guys give me some tips on how to fish it? Wich brand is your favorite?

[Greed]

My favorite Shakey Head plastic is a straight tail worm such as a Roboworm and as back up I like to use Pace Chunks for a ultra finesse approach. I treat my Shakeyhead Jigs like every other jig, I'll make a pitch towards a location, let it fall to the bottom, and then I'll commence the jigglin'. Pitching shakeyhead jigs on on light line is a productive tactic for when the smallmouths are 'shallow' and on their beds, then again just about anything else works as well during this time.

Just my .02 but I don't care for different brands of shakeyhead jigs. From what I've used though I can say that foot ball style jigs are the way to go. To me the presentation is better because you can really get that plastic standing straight up when you have some tension on the jig. I personally don't care for the stand up style shakey heads. They pick up too much gunk if you are fishing around vegetation and are truly effective when fished on hard bottoms like gravel but a football head jig will do the job better in the same situation.

[roadwarrior]

I fish the 3/8 oz MegaStrike Shak-e2 Pro Model. My favorite plastic for this is the GYCB 6 1/2" Kut Tail.

Cast as you would with any other soft plastic, then let the bait sit for 15 seconds or longer. Lift your

rod tip to move the bait up and forward about a foot or so. Allow long intervals between movement.

While the bait is sitting on the bottom, gently shake your rod to shake the Kut Tail without moving

the lure up or forward. Repeat until you feel you are "out of the zone".

Another very popular worm that I use is the Roboworm, but any soft plastic is an option. Others I use

include the Rage Hawg and 7" Rage Tail Thumper.

[smalljaw67]

I make my own shaky heads with a screw lock, and the baits I use on it are a Basstrix Loca Motion worm, Roboworm straight tail, both in 6" styles. If the bite is tough I downsize to 4.5" to 5" worms, my favorite of the smaller worms is the Trigger X Spade Tail worm,and the 5" Berkley Powerbait shaky worm, thses 2 seem to work better than others when the bite is really tough. a big part of fishing shaky heads is dead sticking, once the biat hits bottom I'll move it just to make sure I'm not in any limbs or other junk and once I establish that I let it sit for a 10 count to start off. After I get to 10 I'll use just the tip of my rod and shake but the line is almost completely slack doing this, I want the worm to shake and vibrate but not move very far. I'll shake for a few seconds and let it sit for 5 or 7 more seconds and then I'll reel in the slack and lift the bait and then drop it and repeat the previous couple of steps. This is a slow methodical way to fish, and I also try to use as light of a weight as possible. I'll use a 1/16oz head with a 3/0 hook for the 4.5" worms fishing them no deeper than 10' to 12', and deeper and I'm using a 1/8oz head and that works until I'm in the 20' zone, from there it is either a 3/16oz or 1/4oz head depending on the worm being used.

[jkarol24]

I find the shakey head to be a very good presentation in tough conditions or not; however, I approach it slightly different than most. First, i would completely agree with the use of a football head jig with a spring lock (my favorite is a Picasso Shak-e football), but i usually throw it on baitcast gear using a 3/8 oz head. The reason i use the heavier weight is because i believe i can maintain better contact with the lure, as well as keep it on the bottom and shake it withough moving it. That 3/8 oz head is much more likely to sit in one spot when shaking rather than a 1/4 oz head which will inevitably move. Especially up north, i may be targeting isolated rock patches that are only 3 ft in diameter so it is extremely important to feel those rocks with the heavy weight, and then be able to keep it there. I will then shake it very similarly to how i would shake a drop shot, moving my rod tip in rapid up and down with twitches 4-6" long on slack to semi-slack line, imparting a decent amount of action to the tail of the worm. My favorite is a Roboworm 6" straight tail worm as that tail will stand up straight and have alot of action. Now dont get me wrong, there are times when i pull out the spinning gear and pitch a 1/4 oz standup shakey head into docks or brush. Just pitch it in there, let it sink, and twich the rod tip as i described above. But most of the time, i will be fishing a little deeper and targeting isolated rocks or other cover.

[ww2farmer]

Less is more IMHO, I have seen guys take the word "shaky" to extremes, and then curse the technique as a non producer.

Every one has there own preferences in heads/worms (or other baits for that matter). I can't think of a bait that has not caught me fish on a jig head. I use the Strike King heads. 3/16, or 1/4 round, 1/8, or 3/8 football. Any 4" or 6" straight tail worm, last year I started using the SK 3x worms...I really like the way they "stand up" on the heads, and they last forever.

[Sam]

Enough weight to keep it on the bottom.

Green Pumpkin trick worm.

Keep sinker on bottom and lift bait and let it fall in additon to shaking it.

Bass like to hit baits as they fall.

Anything goes with the shaky head presentation so just put on a bait and it it does not work change it to something else.

[200racing]

my favorite is the gambler giggy stick. the tail floats and has action even when you let the bait sit dead.

[sidsmith03]

I fish the 3/8 oz MegaStrike Shak-e2 Pro Model. My favorite plastic for this is the GYCB 6 1/2" Kut Tail.

Cast as you would with any other soft plastic, then let the bait sit for 15 seconds or longer. Lift your

rod tip to move the bait up and forward about a foot or so. Allow long intervals between movement.

While the bait is sitting on the bottom, gently shake your rod to shake the Kut Tail without moving

the lure up or forward. Repeat until you feel you are "out of the zone".

Another very popular worm that I use is the Roboworm, but any soft plastic is an option. Others I use

include the Rage Hawg and 7" Rage Tail Thumper.

What Color do you seem to do the best with on the TN River with the GYCB?

[roadwarrior]

Black & Blue and Green Pumpkin w/ Black Flakes

[Missouribassman95]

Thanks for the great tips!

[Bluebasser86]

I pour my own and use mainly 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4. Zoom trick worms and magnum finesse worms are a couple of my favorite worms. Watermelon and green pumpkin colors in clear water, black in dirty water or low light conditions.

[hookset on 3]

Less is more IMHO, I have seen guys take the word "shaky" to extremes, and then curse the technique as a non producer.

Every one has there own preferences in heads/worms (or other baits for that matter). I can't think of a bait that has not caught me fish on a jig head. I use the Strike King heads. 3/16, or 1/4 round, 1/8, or 3/8 football. Any 4" or 6" straight tail worm, last year I started using the SK 3x worms...I really like the way they "stand up" on the heads, and they last forever.

Those SK Cyber Flexxx worms are so deadly because of the buoyancy and like WW2 says, they last through 10-15 bass.

Check out all of this years new colors, esp. the tri-laminates.

hookset on 3

[Nitrofreak]

I fish the 3/8 oz MegaStrike Shak-e2 Pro Model. My favorite plastic for this is the GYCB 6 1/2" Kut Tail.

Cast as you would with any other soft plastic, then let the bait sit for 15 seconds or longer. Lift your

rod tip to move the bait up and forward about a foot or so. Allow long intervals between movement.

While the bait is sitting on the bottom, gently shake your rod to shake the Kut Tail without moving

the lure up or forward. Repeat until you feel you are "out of the zone".

Another very popular worm that I use is the Roboworm, but any soft plastic is an option. Others I use

include the Rage Hawg and 7" Rage Tail Thumper.

X2 right here, The only thing that I do different here is instead of using my rod to shake the worm, I use my finger under the line at the reel.

[TRYTOFISH]

hula grub