Wacky Worm help.

I have not done alot of wacky worming and am looking to trying it more this season. My question is what type/brand of worm do all of you use? also what type/size of hooks have you found to work the best for you. I would like to hear any other tips all of you Wacky Worm experts care to share. Thanks in advance for all of your thoughts.

I’ll toss in my couple of pennies….

Hooks I use are Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap Weedless in 1/0 or most often 2/0. This year I am going to add the use of a weighted hook for deeper water application without it taking an hour to get down.

You can use nearly any soft plastic from senkos/stickbaits to 4″ jig worms. Some guys even use tubes and flukes rigged that way as well. Hook size/style will need to grow along with the size of the baits so that you can get a decent bite on the hookset.

I prefer to use senkos/stickbaits and the key is to let the bait do most of the work. Let it fall on semi-slack line and watch your line carefully. When it gets to the bottom I generally dead-stick it for a short time then rip it up a couple of feet and repeat.

Technique works well on weedlines, pockets in weeds, open water, and most especially skipped under docks/overhangs.

I fish for smallies using a 5″ Yum Dinger or Yamamoto Senko with a #2 Gamakatsu Octopus hook.

here’s another tip that I used in Mexico. buy some small zip ties. after cinching tightly to middle of Senko or other similar lure clip the long end of the tie off. insert a #2 or #3 baitholder between the zip tie and worm. this will keep the worm in good shape because you aren’t actually penetrating it.

I heard of using O-Rings but the Ziptie is a great idea. This is the kind of Info. I was looking for. Keep the Info. comming. Thanks.

Large split rings also work well as a hook holder in order to prolong your worms life.

i use o rings, i would think they would be alot cheeper than zip ties or metal o rings. they are like a buck and a half for 25 of them.

I experimented with wacky jigging last fall a couple of times and had pretty good success. I fished a little deeper (12-16′) with 1/16th ounce shaky head jigs and 5″ Shaky Power Worms. I am going to have to try this technique a little shallower with Senkos this year. Good Luck. Also, good idea with the zip-ties.

I have to get some pics up but I tried something kind of cool last summer and it worked really well.

I inserted a Senko through the head of a Fin-Tech Bass-N Nuckleball Jig and then used a rubber band to fix it.

It was amazing how well it kept a Senko, it was really hard to tear one up and you have the full hook available to set the hook since it’s not embedded in the worm. And it’s really easy to rig. I’ll post pics tonight.

Here’s how I rigged it, it’s pretty slick, you get a little bit extra weight, the hook rides up, nice action and it really protects the worm.

i like it!

Way cool NSD. Great idea. I will be sure to try this setup this simmer.

Thanks! I like it too. Keep in mind that you can adjust the gap in the head with a pliers, that is, bend the lead in the jig. And make sure you use the Bass’N style Nuckle Ball jigs, they’ll have more room for the worm.

Where do you get the little rubber bands at? Thanks.

From hair Salons or probably even Walgreens or even online (search for sally professional braiding rubber bands).

Sally Store Locator

They’ll be scratching thier heads on their website when they see the reference links from IDO!

These rubber bands will get disolved in about a day (from the worm) but they’re super cheap and work pretty well.

cool. thanks!

Any preferred rods for wacky rigging?

I don’t really have one. Throwing them on the Nuckle Ball, I don’t have to worry about them tearing so I can whip them out pretty hard on a St. Croix 7′ MH. If the other methods are harder on the worm, which I would guess they are because of less surface area or hooking through the worm, maybe a M would be better. All in all it may really depend more on what your throwing them into. I usually do it in more or less open water so I’m not worried about hanging up. I know some people like to skip these under docks so there I would make sure I’m using something stiff.

For rods on wacky riggin i throw a 6″9 shimano cumara

I’ve got a Cumara on the way. one of the best rods I’ve ever touched. not inexpensive however.

MY ROD OF CHOICE IS A FENWICK TECHNA AV 7′ IN MEDIUM FAST ACTION. REEL IS A QUANTUM TOUR CASTING REEL IN 6.3-1. THIS MAKES AN OUTSTANDING COMBO FOR SENKOS AND JIGGING FOR SMALLIES. I ALLWAYS USE FLUROCARBON LINE IN 10LB WEIGHT.