I see a lot of pros on TV throwing what looks like a wacky rigged weightless worm. I fish shaky heads and drop shots but haven't thrown wacky rigs much at all. Could some here who catch fish doing this explain how you are rigging it, what hook and baits you use and how you are fishing it. I have fished a wacky rig on a drop shot a little but I'm looking to expand on my finesse fishing a little.
I like the Kvd ocho's and either a 1/0 or 2/0 trokar wacky weedless hook. I used to rig them with an o-ring but lost alot of fish and hooked alot in the side of the mouth. Switched to wacky saddles and don't lose as many fish and hook most in the roof of the mouth.
This recent thread has a lot of my thoughts on it, for what it's worth. Though it was oiriginally talking about Neko rigging, it fits with general wacky worming. My classic "use heat shrink" rant is in there as well, so I won't repeat it here!
Only thing I'll add is that the heat shrink saves soft plastics like no other when skipping them. I used to sling them off all the time when trying to skip with an o-ring. If you skip a Neko, glue that nail weight in with some super glue. Those also like to fly out when being skipped.
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, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
VMC Neko Hook
Probably the most important part of wacky rigging is the hook. I've tried probably 10-12 different wacky rig hooks, and none compare to the VMC. It is the ultimate wacky rig hook! If you use a smaller hook, like most on the market, you'll lose plenty of fish. Some of those hooks' circumference aren't even big enough to fit around a fish's jawbone. That's something to think about, especially with bigger fish.
As for the bait, I only use a 5" senko. If they don't hit that then they aren't biting a wacky rig. That's just my observation though.
Do you use an O ring with this setup?Originally Posted by BigBass94
2015 Ranger Z520c / 2015 Mercury 250 Pro XS
Zoom Trick Worms and Gamakatsu Weedless Finesse hooks. At times I use o rings, but frequently I just hook the center of the worm. I also use a split shot on the line sometimes to get a little more fall, and have used Wacky rigged worms on Mojo rigs with good success also.
I use the Yum Dinger worm and I use the O-ring. I hook the just a little of the worm and slip it under the O- ring. So far this year I have had good success fishing the Wacky Worm. I just throw it out, let it sink and drag it across the bottom.
I have just now started using a weighted wacky rig hook system when I am in deeper water than 10'. I am still in the early stages of doing this since the bass seem to still be in shallow waters.
After reading your comment about the shrink wrap I gave it a try, hands down the best way to rig a wacky worm. Good enough I bought 4' of 3/8 shrink wrap off ebay for like $2.89, that will probably outlast my fishing career!! Thanks for the tip!!!This recent thread has a lot of my thoughts on it, for what it's worth. Though it was oiriginally talking about Neko rigging, it fits with general wacky worming. My classic "use heat shrink" rant is in there as well, so I won't repeat it here!
Only thing I'll add is that the heat shrink saves soft plastics like no other when skipping them. I used to sling them off all the time when trying to skip with an o-ring. If you skip a Neko, glue that nail weight in with some super glue. Those also like to fly out when being skipped.
Nice! Glad it worked for you!
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, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
That heat shrink advice is gold, DrewFlu. I have done the same thing and it works great. I like to use the Stupid tube jigheads from ACT lures on here for wacky jigging.
On a side note, DrewFlu33... I wonder sometimes if you and I are doppelgangers because we sure seem to think alike on a lot of things!
Well, I put a Neko rig with a 4 inch senko on one of my spinning rods and walked out to our pond today and caught eight in about a hour. Most were very shallow and I actually could see some of them to see how they reacted to the Neko rig. I used a small nail weigh and a O-ring to rig. Are you guys using clear or black heat shrink tube and what size would I need for something like a trick worm.
Grab a pound of dry wall nails at the hardware store. You'll get a ton of them and they are perfect weight
~~1995 Gambler~~
Mercury 250 ProXS
Bobs 10" AJ
Dual Power Poles
2-HB 1199's HB 1158 HB 597 in dash
Ultrex 112
"Runs like a cheetah... with his @$$ on fire"
That we do!That heat shrink advice is gold, DrewFlu. I have done the same thing and it works great. I like to use the Stupid tube jigheads from ACT lures on here for wacky jigging.
On a side note, DrewFlu33... I wonder sometimes if you and I are doppelgangers because we sure seem to think alike on a lot of things!
1/4" for finesse and trick worms, 3/8" for senkos. I use clear, but it probably doesn't matter a whole lot. I don't think the fish mind if there's a black band around the middle of the worm. I've thought about buying it in a bright color like red or something to see if it makes a difference in getting bites.
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, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
I've used both clear and black. Black blends just fine with dark colors I use, like green pumpkin, so I tend to use that mostly. The clear I got seems thinner, and doesn't hold up quite as long.
If I fished clearer water and colors other than GP, junebug and black/blue, I'd probably use the clear more.
Gamakatsu B10s stinger hook is the best wacky/neko hook out there. The VMC Neko was designed from this hook along with the new one from Mustad. And yes the shrink tube is the ticket.
So with the shrink tube do you place the hook under it but not in the worm, similar to the oring, or do you go through the center of the shrink tube and out the other side through the shrink tube?
In my experience just through the heat shrink, I don't actually put the hook into the worm at all
Should work either way. I have been going through the shrink tube and the bait. Just through the shrink tube probably exposes more of the hook gap.
I take the spring out of a pen, cut it to the Senko width and then just thread that into the middle - hook goes inside and out the mid section. Seems to make mine last a bit longer. Always felt i lost more fish using o rings, maybe it's just me...one pen spring can be cut to work for a ton of senkos, been doing this for quite some time.
Last edited by A7T3C; 05-03-2018 at 09:48 AM.
2017 Nitro Z18 - Mercury ProXS 175 - 24P Fury - Elite 9 TI2 - Fortrex
I've fished the heck out of whacky rigged Senkos the last several years. I have more confidence in those than anything.
I used Gamakatsu whacky rig hooks for a long time. I fished more last year than the last 4 years combined probably (my neighbor bought a bass boat). I noticed I was losing a lot of bass. I tried different sizes of the Gamakatsus, but it didn't help.
I went looking for a new hook this year.
I tried the VMC and have been thrilled. My hook sets have been much better. Night and day difference.
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