Would appreciate some real, live experience. How do you work your whacky rig and where/what type of bottom or cover do you fish it most? “Never have I ever” used a whacky rig, I have always rigged Texas and use my own twist sometimes making it an L-shape on a long leader below a swivel. Sometimes I rig it Texas and make the hook straight in line with the worm. But Whacky has always seemed… well, whacky to me and I’d like to try it. (Just don’t want anybody to see me doing it 🤣)
Photo courtesy of Great Lakes Fisherman.
Posted by Sea-Technician5808
15 Comments
When I do this I run the hook back through to hide it more and prevent snagging just leave the tip out for when the fish hits it. Then when I tell it it in I pull up on my rod twice stop let her sink in the shack and repeat in a fluid motion. Works every where I fished. Hope that helps abd made sense.
First thing, not on this one but future rigs, get the hook more in the center cut of the worm. You’ll get mode longevity out of them.
Fishing a wacky rig is kinda “boring” compared to power fishing techniques. It’s a lot of stealthily putting the worm in tight in as “fishy” looking spots as you can, and then waiting. The worm takes what feels like forever to fall all the way to the bottom. But if you get the mindset right and have the patience and conditions to just let the worm fall while you watch your semi slack line, you’re going to get bites.
It’s like sniping vs running and gunning in shoot em video game terms.
Use heat shrink tubing or silicone tubing. Hook under the tubing. Can get 4 or 5 bass per senko.
Pitch it to a fishy spot and let it sink. Watch your line.
Use O-rings and you can never ever fish a wacky too slow. Cast it out have a cup of coffee, make a sammich then work it nice and slow
Look up the wacky rig O-ring tool and get it. It’s only a few bucks. Literally pop pop pop let it sink. Crank up slack and repeat. They usually hit in the drop.
What hook do you all like?
They are fantastic I use the weights in the end nail
Style I think they are and pop it until there’s slack in the line then reel the slack out and do it all again they are by far the most effective thing I’ve used
Smaller hook, VMC 1/0 Wacky hook. I don’t like weed gaurds I flip it near cover and shake pause shake.
It works best when fishing docks or lay downs. Cast it out and let it sink for a few seconds. The fish like to hit it on the fall. If they don’t hit it on the first fall, reel in your slack and slowly lift your rod tip up from horizontal to vertical and let it fall again for a few seconds. Do this until you’re not in the strike zone anymore and cast it again.
I don’t “work” the wacky… I pick my spot and let it do the work. If I don’t get a bit on the initial drop(wait, and when you think its hit bottom wait some more) I retrieve and pick the next spot. I have never gotten a bite while working a wacky back in, always on the fall. Wacky rigs(and really senkos in general IMO) are not meant to cover water. They’re meant to trigger fish when you know they’re there.
By far my favorite hooks are Ryugi talisman size 1(guard pr no gusrd doesn’t matter). I prefer a smaller hook for sure. Sometimes I use VMC crossover rings, but most often I use 6mm wacky tube of various brands, and put it straight through the middle of that. Get a pair of wacky pliers and go to town. My advice is to go on tacklewarehouse and put together a nice kit for yourself, it’ll be worth it. While you’re at it get some nail weights and some different shaped worms to experiment with some cool neko rig combos.
OG senkos are the best wacky worm and it ain’t close. I’m not as picky for a regular texas rigged, but wacky they are the undisputed goat. I love a good 1-2 senko punch with a baitcaster texas rigged for pads and really gnarly cover, and a spinning rod wacky rigged to skip under stuff and for less snaggy spots. Some of my most productive days are when those are the only two rods I bring with.
Literally just caught a lil guy on a whacky rig, I was creek fishing noticed a bunch of sunfish swimming towards a drop off after they saw me. Threw that mf in the drop with the reel still open and as it was falling i felt the spool take off and set the hook. This was on a bait caster though if you’re on a spinner leave the bail closed after you cast
Get a wacky rig hook to begin with. I’ve tried many different ones, brand and non brand, and I absolutely love these [https://a.co/d/0chy7bUp](https://a.co/d/0chy7bUp). Then get a pack of o-rings like this [https://a.co/d/0dc1a0TA](https://a.co/d/0dc1a0TA) and a tool like this (if you want to make it easy to rig) [https://a.co/d/0hOzllmY](https://a.co/d/0hOzllmY)
I also add a 1/16 oz or 1/32 oz nail weight to the nose to make it a neko rig. I personally catch way more fish on that than a regular wacky.
ETA The nail weights I like best https://a.co/d/0c77uGmn
I have caught untold numbers of bass on wacky rigs simply on the initial cast and fall, and also by working it back to shore (sometimes) and the boat (many times). I use an o-ring and a 1/0 Gamakatsu circle octopus hook. Very easy to cast and no need to set the hook. Just lift the rod tip and reel in and the hook will set itself.
I like to fish it near cover. It’s very effective skipping it under overhanging brush near the bank. I use a MF spinning rig with 20 lb. braid to 8 lb. mono leader. If not bit on the initial fall, wait 10-15 seconds, lift the rod up almost vertical, lower it and reel in most of the slack, allowing it to fall. It can get bit on the fall or while coming back up. Sometimes I’ll cast it, let it sink, and jerk it back 2-3 times, then let it fall again. It’s a very versatile rig.
First things first, I use clear/black shrink wrap for my wacky rigs as it pretty much means you won’t have to change your worm for a really long time. O rings work too but IMO they don’t protect the worm as much.
As for when? I’d say they shine in the Summer when it’s hot as balls and they ain’t biting sh-. They’re also great as a follow up when you miss a bite and you know the fish is still there. I’ve had some awesome days fishing the wacky rig in the summer when throwing the kitchen sink at em didn’t do a damn thing.
How to work them? Cast it out, let it sink to about where you think the fish are/experiment different depths and then do a few light upward twitches with your rod with a good amount of pauses in between. That’s it. It’s stupidly easy for how incredibly effective it is, I can’t recommend it enough!
If you don’t have faith, the NY largie record (a mere 12lber) was caught on a wacky rig!
I fish wacky senkos on a drop shot mainly because where i fish has snotty weed on the bottom. Get some drop-shot hooks like everyone says and fish slooowwww. The jiggle is what gets them