Wacky Rig Hook Up Problems.

[The Old Man]

I've been losing too many fish on the wacky rig. In open water, I use a plain old offset shank round bend Gamagatsu worm hook with gret success. The problem is that I'm not much of an open water fishing kind of guy.

I like fishing the wacky rig in some really nasty wood cover, many times with current that increases the chances of a snag. My fishing buddy uses a small kahle style hook and he is landing a lot higher percentage of his fish. He tends to stay to the outside of the heavy stuff, so my catch rate is still double his even though I lose so many fish.

I'm using a gamagatsu weedless finesse hook. I've did a few searches on here and found it to be a fairly popular hook. The fish I land are usually stuck solidly in the roof of the mouth. The ones that get away are coming off near the boat. Usually when they break the surface.

Could this be problem with my hookset? I am sticking them pretty hard. Should I try a softer hookset with this hook? I've been thinking about trying the Falcon Lures K Wacky Hook to see if it helps me.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[gatrboy52]

an offset round bend worm hook is not the hook for wacky rig.i dont know what a weedless finess hook is. if its a strait shank hook w/ a weedguard then your on the right track.depends on waht size line ur usin and what power rod if u want a finess hook or not.i use a 3/0 w/ weedguard in thick stuff or wood.i use a stiff snap hookset probably not as hard as a t-rig but a strong hookset.with a wacky rig u should have better catch rate than a t-rig cause the worm doesnt get in the way of the point.personally i use the wacky rig in clearer water so its on my finess rig w/ 10 lb. line but i dont usually fish it in heavy cover.

[beethao]

on a wacky rig, what I found to be the best way to set the hook on the bass is the same with a dropshot. A quick snap set which is basically setting the hook by raising your rod tip straight up quickly.

[bigbasser54]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by The Old Man &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
I'm using a gamagatsu weedless finesse hook.

I've been thinking about trying the Falcon Lures K Wacky Hook to see if it helps me.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

</td></tr></table>

In wood cover I went from fishing the gammy finesse weedless to the Falcon "K" Wacky hook and definitely boat more fish with the falcon. I was having trouble getting the fish hooked up for more then 3 seconds. I do get hung up more with the Falcon hook tho.

Another option is the owner weedless wacky worm hook, best hook up ratio but probably gets snagged the most of the three.

[Pokie Pa]

I was having trouble to BUT I switched to a Croaker hook and improved my
landing ratio alot. I now use a 1/0 Mustad croaker hook for all wacky rigs with bait 4" and bigger.
I use a size 1/0 owner mosquito hook for my smaller wacky rigs.
Try the Croaker hooks....

[camman]

i had a similar issue and just upsized my hook and was fine

[jdk]

try a gammy octopus circle hook

[Petereric]

same here...Found outalso caught just as many and boated all rigging the same stick texas rigged with no weight...caught more fish...less hangups in the grass. I was losing too many on the smaller hook when dragging caught fish thru grass

[bigbass225]

Owner mosquito hook size 2 and you will lose very few fish if any. I learned a long time ago the bigger the hook the more fish I lost.