Anybody want to chime in on how they are fishing their wacky rigged stick baits. I'm not talking about line size or rigging. I'm talking about what to do after the bait hits the water. I fish a Neko and catch fish but haven't thrown a wacky rigged five inch stick bait a whole lot.
I just skip it up to an object or under a dock. Let it sink on a semi-slack line and WATCH the line closely. If nothing happens in 5-10 seconds hop it a time or two. If still no action, remove it and put it somewhere else. Some flavor of green pumpkin is about all I use. Don't overwork it or over think it. You will catch a bunch!
When wacky rigging a stick worm, 0 weight. Gamakatsu shiner hook and 15-17 lb test.Pitch it on a baitcaster.Falls slow .let it sit a little .pop it back up and let it slow sink again.I almost always fish a 6 "first.If biting it good i switch to a 7 "if not then downsize to a 5"
I am with the above. Lots of presentations to objects. Hop it once or twice. On to the next. Only caveat would be fishing it along deeper weedlines with a jig head. Then I work it like a Texas rigged worm.
This is pretty much exactly how I fish it. I almost always skip it because I feel like I get more bites doing it. I’ll let it fall with more slack in my line than most because I want it to fall straight down. A lot of the bites I get I don’t notice them until I go to pick up the bait and my line is running off. I don’t tend to hook them deep either, but if on a certain day I seem to be gut hooking them, I’ll pay more attention to detecting bites quicker.Originally Posted by jbh3
Perfectly said. I've caught fish working a bait all the way back to the boat, but that's super time consuming for an unlikely payoff. It almost always works to your advantage to make more casts as 99% of the time you get their attention with the initial fall. And the point about line watching is sooo important. Wacky rigs (and weightless flukes, very similar idea) are where I learned about the value of high-vis line. You'll almost never feel a bite, you'll just see your line take off. Once I started line watching and setting the hook based on line movement instead of having to feel the fish, you end up wanting to kick yourself about all the fish you missed because you lifted up to feel for them.
Something else I've learned in recent years is that while the Senko is king of wacky rigging, its sink rate can sometimes be a detriment. If you're fishing really shallow I've seen times where something that's not as heavily salted (i.e., that doesn't sink as fast) can really shine.
I like a light-wire straight shank hook, something like all the hooks being marketed as Neko hooks these days. Compared to all the drop shot / split shot hooks I used to use as wacky hooks, hookup and especially landing rates are through the roof.
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
Pretty much this. About the only time I don't skip it is when I'm fishing a weed line. Just let it fall and do it's thing.
More often than not I tend to twitch mine more like a drop shot almost. Skip or cast and let it fall for a few seconds. Give the rod tip 3-5 quick twitches then let it fall again.
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