COLUMN: Outdoor Type: How to fish a wacky rig
It's late summer, and a lot of fishermen have packed it in for the year, but that's a mistake. Good fishing is still available if you can put up with the heat. Plastic worms are a top summer bait for bass. It's a natural lure that fish like year-round.
In my last column, I talked about experiences with a worm rigging technique called wacky style. My wife says I'm wacky about fishing, so this method suits me well. Here are some insights that I hope you can use. It's a good time to be on the water. The weather is usually stable, with early and late in the day the peak times.
A few years ago, my cousin Ron clued me in to a worm fishing method involving hooking the lure in the middle. He used a black and red Strike King Shim-E-Stick, which is available in most tackle stores. The hook is very important. A wide-gap weedless design that has the right size to come through the middle of the worm and leave plenty of hook-up space is the ticket. Fit an O-Ring tightly over the bait's middle, and place the hook under the ring. An O-Ring tool is available which makes insertion of the rings simple. The ring must be very snug to avoid hook slippage on the worm. I've also heard of some guys using zip ties.
There are several lures like the Shim-E, and I've tried a couple of others. It's just that there's something about this particular bait that, as its name suggests, does the shimmy just right. There may be others that do as well. I've seen bass pro Kevin Van Dam use the Strike King Ocho effectively, and there's the original Gary Yamamoto Senko. The bait must have the right amount of flex. If it's too stiff, the ends don't waggle enticingly. It also needs to be tough enough to withstand several bass thinking it's their dinner.
Bass usually don't drop this bait, but you don't want to wait too long. The hookset doesn't have to be like yanking out a log. The wacky hook is more exposed than in a Texas rig. Just a nice firm pull back does it. If you're using a weedless hook, maybe a little more wait time and set force are needed. The non-weedless has a super hook-up ratio and the weedless somewhat less, but sometimes the cover demands the hook guard.
I feel that if a bass is in the vicinity of this bait, and you work it right, he or she will likely eat it. Just don't overwork it. Subtle twitches with your rod moving ten o'clock to eleven will be enough. Repeat: You can't work this lure slowly enough. Pretend it's a live night crawler that might come off the hook if you're too aggressive with it. This takes patience. Don't get antsy. Slow down and work over an area thoroughly.
An additional plus about the right worm is that when you give it slack, it floats down and slightly backward. If a fish is following it trying to make up his mind, that action usually does the deal. Bluegill or crappie may hit it, but they don't pester this rig as much as some other worms, such as the curly tails. The best way to fish it is with no weight, unless you have to get it down deeper than about eight feet. A slip sinker doesn't allow the proper bait action. Using a very light, clamped on lead weight above the hook would be ok, or you could try inserting a small nail weight into the worm's head. The key is this bait's slow fall.
The Shim-E or other Senko-type bait should be another tool in your bass arsenal. My personal favorite color for clear water is Morning Dawn, a bluegill imitator. For off-colored water, maybe try green pumpkin. Just be patient and don't work this lure too fast. Believe a bass is studying it, because one probably is.
