The places I fish down here are usually pretty dang gnarly, but I’m going without a weed guard for now.
The places I fish down here are usually pretty dang gnarly, but I’m going without a weed guard for now.
I was in the same boat as you. I was using the gamakatsu circle hooks and loosing fish left and right. Bout some VMC neko weedless hooks and have missed 4 fish out of about 70+ fish this week. Even caught some bream on them, so that tells me that the will hook anything very well. I think the fish I missed were probably bream really. I just throw out my senko and slack line it for like 5-10 seconds and then pop it. 90% of the fish I have caught I just felt them when I went to pop it. So I’m not even setting the hook on them. They’re already on it. I think the mono weed guard is significantly better than wire.
I am concerned that your rod is too heavy with braid/leader for the technique. I've had good luck with a medium casting rod with straight 12# Flouro with the VMC hook you ordered.
To fish or not to fish?
What stupid question.
I’ll rig that up and try it. Thanks
Sorry, duplicate post.
Last edited by deadwood; 04-16-2020 at 10:34 AM.
What I have noticed with wacky rig hooks is that the wire diameter is rather small because you are typically using them with lighter line as it is a finesse technique. The great thing about small diameter wire is that the hook penetration is great under low loads. The bad thing is that they will flex and they will also cut through soft tissue in a fish's lip easier (kind of like how braid cuts through lilly pads). I always use a o-ring on these baits because it gives the hook a better bite which helped my hookups immensely.
I think your problem comes from using too heavy of a setup that doesn't give enough for those hooks. The lack of forgiveness in the rod combined with the small hook diameter allows for the hook to simply slice the soft lip tissue. Since you are noticing them coming off close to the boat, I am thinking this change of line angle allows for more side pressure and more tearing of the fish's soft lip tissue. At the end of the cast, your line angle is relatively small in relation to the surface of the water. After getting close to the boat, it nears 90 degrees. This angle change results in the side and vertical loads of the hook changing.
Years back I had a horrible time with landing ratio with jigs with lighter wire hooks on a MH rod and 14lb fluorocarbon line. I noticed all the time that the fish's soft lip tissue was torn up and the hook easily just slid right out without even catching on the barb! Since I couldn't afford to buy a softer rod at the time, I played with my rod angle to the water after a fish was hooked. I found that after I was able to muscle a fish out of cover, I pointed my rod tip right at the fish and noticed that every single fish came in the boat. The fish's soft lip tissue wasn't as torn up and this technique allowed for no slack line at any point in the cast which kept these fish pinned.
Several have suggested using a neko hook for this technique and I would say it might be worth a try. I have noticed that the "weedless" hooks of wacky and neko variety are not very weedless and are prone to hookup issues. The only weedguard that I have found to work well with durability and not impact my hookup ratio is the gamakatsu g-finesse line of wacky and/or neko hooks. They are more expensive, but are also super good hooks. The Owner jungle wacky and weedless sniper neko look promising as well.
That makes perfectly good sense. Thanks for your input. I will lighten up my wacky rig.
Another vote for the vmc, the long shank and offset point just sticks em
Usually, I use a circle hook when going wacky rigging. IF I got the hookset correct (reel, load up the rod, lean into the fish), I boated most every fish.
Sometimes, a fish "comes off" just because your hook has skin hooked the fish in the gullet by a small patch of skin. When the line is short, that patch of skin tears and the hook comes flying out of the mouth because almost always fish will have their mouth wide open during the fight. The circle hook isn't supposed to do that, but trust me, they can.
I've used GYCB and Gamakatsu circle hooks, and don't recall using any other brand. I've used Gamakatsu stock and also with the kirbing removed. I think the kirbed design will give a more certain hookup, but more likely to be hooked in the gullet. Gut-hooking is a common problem with unweighted plastics. I really like the GYCG hook better than the Gamakatsu design, tho both are made by Gamakatsu. I can get G's easily locally (distributor in Tacoma), but nobody here stocks the GYCB hook that I know of.
Don't bother me, I'm screwing for virginity.
I killed a 12-pack just to watch it die.
Also try 3/0 Octopus wide gap hook.
2008 ChampioN 198 / 225 Opti ProXS! 1999 187 DC Elite / Merc 175 efi & 1989 184 DCR /Merc 175 xri
Ok, will do. I just wish it would stop raining here. Water is like chocolate milk!
With a 5 or 6 inch sinko I use 3/0 or 4/0 hooks 6’ 6” Mh fast tip and drive that hook home with authority, keep a bend in the rod all the way in.
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360
Watch David Dudley video - everyone using tiny hooks. Fish don't care about the hook size. Using bigger hooks.
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360
I have been using the Owner camo wacky w/weed guard 1/0 for years don't miss many
2023 BassCat Sabre FTD
2023 175 Pro XS
Thank you
Got to add my 2 cents. I was having the same occurrences and didn't think this was possible! Was introduced to the Owner Ultrahead Jig and the Yum Senko style worm (when holding by 2 fingers in the center and genitally moving up and down the ends of worm almost touch). These jigheads are small but believe me they work at hook ups. I haven't lost a fish since switching. Now I use a Dobynes Champion Supreme 7' MH rod with a little bit limber tip with 10#-12# Fluorocarbon. These jigheads I I got from Tacklewarehouse.