New ~WACKY JIGS~ added to the store

There is a new style of jig coming to the USA called a "wacky jig" that is designed to be used with soft plastic worms.

It has become popular in Japan the past couple years,  and two companies from there - Zappu (through their US distributor, Optimum Baits) and Jackall - have recently begun to offer their wacky jig versions on the US market.

As far as I know, the ones offered here in Bassdozer's Store may be the first American-made version, but rest assured there will be many more vendors offering wacky jigs next season (in 2008).

The photo below shows two sizes available now in Bassdozer's Store - 1/16th and 1/8th oz :

1/16th and 1/8th oz Wacky Jigs

They have Gamakatsu hooks - a #1/0 in the 1/8th and a #1 hook in the 1/16th size.

World-famous 5" Yamamoto Senko (#9 series) shown above on a wacky jig.

The ball head pendulums back and forth underneath a wacky-rigged soft plastic bait, such as the Yamamoto Senko shown above.

Best on Spinning Tackle. I like to use wacky jigs with 6, 8 and 10 pound test gear. The 6, 8 and 10 pound range is the domain of spinning gear. Actually, I can't think of many (if any) tactics that I ever felt 6 or 8 pound test wasn't better served with spinning versus baitcasting. Baitcasting gear starts to become the master of its own domain with 10 pound test and heavier lines. Spinning also works swell with 10 pound test, but not with heavier lines (for bass). Baitcasting takes over with 10 pound test and up.

Especially with wacky worms or wacky jigs, spinning gear is best for casting without tearing the wacky worm off the hook in mid-air. With baitcasting, you get a ferocious backlash when a wacky worm flies off the hook during a cast. So spinning is a "must have" for me with wacky jigs. I prefer spinning since you won't get a backlash when a wacky worm inevitably flies off the hook during a power cast. That can spell trouble with baitcasting gear.

The three spinning rods I use for 6, 8 and 10 pound test applications are rods made by Gary Yamamoto:

1. 6'6" Rod Model. Yamamoto calls this a "dropshot" rod, but it can perform well with all 6 lb test tactics. I spool it with 6 lb test Yamamoto Sugoi fluorocarbon. This is the best 6 lb. test spinning rod and line I have ever used.
    
   
2. 7' Medium/Light Model. Spooled with Yamamoto's 8 lb test line, this is the best 8 lb test spinning stick I have ever used. Period. If you want to use only one spinning rod for wacky jigs or wacky worms, this is it.
    
   
3. 7' medium model with 10 lb test monofilament. What can I say? This rod by Gary Yamamoto is the best spinning rod for 10 lb mono or fluoro (and braid) that I've ever used.

Gary Yamamoto's 7" medium rod model shown above with 10 pound test mono, wacky jig and 4-inch 9S-series Yamamoto Senko.

I am a big fan of Shimano spinning reels. For freshwater, the Shimano 2500 series for bass fishing handles all of your 6, 8 and 10 pound test spinning applications.

All Shimano 2500 series spinning reel models work swell. The quality is consistently high across all Shimano 2500 series models. Honestly, as far as I can tell, the main difference between models is price and budget. So you really cannot go too wrong with whatever Shimano 2500 spinning reel you can afford, you should be pleased with the performance.

Attractant a Must. I keep the wacky baits in their original bag, and pinch a pea-sized glop of MegaStrike fish attractant into each fresh bag when first I open it. Liquid attractants like Kick'n Bass or Yamamoto's liquid attractant are equally awesome. Attractant is a "must have" for me with wacky jigs.

There is a lot of speculation and endless discourse whether fish attractants work. I have experimented with them since the early eighties. After 25 years of experience, I can tell you beyond any doubt I catch more fish with than without fish attractant on soft baits. There's no two ways about it. If you're not using an attractant with soft baits, you are not catching all the bass you could.

During the hot summer time of year, the MegaStrike gel will liquefy. I do not know whether you can see the liquefied MegaStrike remaining in these used-up bags of worms above However, I know it is in there, so I can see the liquid left in the corners of the bags. You don't need to put in much at all. A pea-sized glop or just a few drop. It will quickly work itself all over all the baits in a bag. It will give them a lifelike sheen coating which will disperse, causing a visible oily and olfactory-detectable "chum" slick in the water column and on the surface above the bait. If any baits had gotten kinked or bent while stored in the bag, the oil helps relax and unkink the baits. With heat from the sun beating down on the bags on the boat deck, it won't be long before the oils and sun's heat help restore all baits back to their originally-molded perfect shapes without kinks and bends.

A wacky worm like the 4" 9S series Senko (shown above) will sink with an upward bow in the body as shown above. The bait will sink like shown, vibrating both tips and rocking the entire body at times.

How to NOT Set the Hook. With the wacky jigs you see in Bassdozer's Store, there is an extremely high hook-up ratio, incredibly close to 100% or as perfect a hook-up ratio as a lure can achieve. The trick is to simply tighten up on a fish until the fish pulls down and sets the hook itself.

There's an easy way to "not set the hook" when you get a pick-up. As a result, the hook slips behind the upper jaw or corner jaw hinge every time, resulting in an incredibly high hook-up ratio. Learn to NEVER set the hook, just let the fish pull down and set it. Practice makes perfect, and once you get the knack, you will land almost every fish with the hook right behind the upper jaw bone or right behind the corner hinge of the mouth. The hook acts like a "circle hook" in the case of this wacky jig.

Don't start out fishing wacky jigs. End up fishing them. I often start fishing with another rod and lure to find fish first and to be able to cast out an area rapidly. However, I leave a spinning rod (prefer the 8 lb test model above) on the deck at my feet, with the wacky jig ready to cast. This is either if I am in the front or back of the boat, I will have the wacky jig rod ready to pick up and cast. If I miss a hit, have a follow or have chasers, bring up a school or see fish on the graph, I drop the first rod ASAP and cast back with the wacky jig rod. At that point, I then actively fish the wacky jig rod, having found one or more fish on the electronics or on the other rod first.

Therefore, one of the big keys to me is to find fish first by other means, then start fishing the wacky jig. It is an incredible follow-up bait to anything else. If you learn to follow-up (practice makes perfect), you will add many more and bigger bass to your day's catch. I say bigger because you can cherry-pick the bigger chasers on the follow-up. It's as important to sense where the fish went when it left your view, and understanding what's on the bottom helps you determine that. Often, straight down under the boat is where they go, using the boat as a substitute for other cover. Often, chasers will not hit until the lure hits bottom. So do not end a follow-up until the lure hits bottom. I'd reckon the bass feels the bait is easier to trap and pin against the bottom rather than try to hit it in mid-water where it has 360 degrees to avoid the bass strike. Whatever the reason, a very high percentage of follow-up strikes happen when the bait hits bottom, even if it's 30 or more feet deep. So be patient, and once the line goes slack (meaning it hit bottom), set the hook!

Most anglers are not good at follow-up - and you'll never get good at it unless you deliberately spend time to train yourself how to do it. If you fish team tournaments, train each other. Practice, practice, practice following up everything with the wacky jig, and you'll score more. If one side of the livewell is empty, leave it running and one lid open. This depends on laws, as in some cases, you cannot put a fish in a livewell ever, for example. But if it is permissible and won't violate anything, leave one lid open. This way, any fish can be swung right into the livewell, and if you do not need to cull at that point, pick up the follow-up rod and instantly cast back.

A key point that can't be stressed enough is is to have the follow-up rod ready to fire back right away. If you have to fix the bait, fix the line or do anything else before casting, you're missing the moment when the fish is hot. When you lay the follow-up rod on the front or back deck, it has to be prepared to pick up and cast faultlessly without fumbling or adjusting anything. That's a big key.

Even when I have found fish and settle into fishing the spot with a wacky jig, I rig a second wacky jig rod to follow-up the first wacky jig. Sounds silly, but follow-up is the key to maximizing use of this new wacky jig.

What Worms to Use. As far as some of my favorite worm choices, many worms work, depending on the mood of the fish. The Slim Senkos (4" 9J and 5" 9M) work swell. I especially like the fatter 4-inch 9S Senko (shown below) and the classic 5" Senko (9 series) because the fat bodies offer more water resistance against the downward drag of the wacky jig, hence more squiggling and rocking movement generated from the increased water resistance. This is on a dead fall. For adding action (shaking) on the fall, I like the 5" Slim Senko (9M series) best out of the Senkos, and the several assorted Yamamoto Kut Tail sizes for shaking the Wacky Jig.

Angler-Imparted Action. There is a lot of advice to shake wacky jig worms, and I have co-published a translated article that was originally written for Japan's Lure magazine a few years ago that talks all about heavily shaking the wacky worm jig. However, I personally don't shake it at all. I just let it fall.

There is one action, however, that you should apply every ten seconds or so, and that is to "pop" it. When it is jigged or popped once (I guess you can call that a short kind of shake) with the rod tip, the jig head is pulled above the bait, rolling the bait 180 degrees so that it flashes it's belly, which is a vulnerable action that tends to trigger a strike reaction right away. To get the most out of the belly flash response, I like to use laminate color wacky worms such as the color #927 (threadfin shad color) I designed for Yamamoto a few years ago. However, the belly flash action will work as a strike trigger even with a monotone (one color) worm.

Wacky Jig and 4-inch 9S Senko "gold shiner" color I designed for Yamamoto a few years ago. When the wacky jig is popped, the jig rotates from below the worm to above the worm (does a 180) when popped, causing the copious sparkles to flicker and shimmer (a "belly flash") and that triggers instant striker reactions.

I also like Yamamoto's Shad Shape Worm on the deadfall. It will take your breathe away the first time you drop it in the water when rigged as shown on the wacky jigs here. It comes to life. It looks more to me like a live minnow action than any bait I've ever seen. Also, the 3" 9B Senko is quite minnow like. Both the Shad Shape Worm action and the 9B Senko action can only be described as a "minnow swimming on a treadmill" since the body swims, but does not move forward. Just have to see it to believe it. Other sizes of Senkos also share this movement, but not as "holy cow" as the two mentioned (Shad Shape Worm and 9B Senko).

Here's a photo how to wacky-rig the Shad Shape Worm. It comes to life when rigged like shown here:

Also on the Shad Shape Worm, don't neglect to dye that last inch of the thin tail. Don't dye the fat body part. When using the Shad Shape Worm, that thin dyed tail puts fish over the edge.

Also, the flexible wire guard on the wacky jig comes a little longer than you may need. It is left longer so it can be used in the worst weeds, dense brush and the thickest cover if need be. However, in more open water, you can easily clip the wire shorter. Even clip it off completely in open water. Even without the wire guard, the wacky jig is quite snag-free in open water. Please enjoy!