12-30-2008, 03:45 PM
For less than $10, get a pack of 1/4 oz heads (Picasso, VMC, Mizmo, Bass Pro Shops, etc...) and a pack of 5" Berkley Power Shaky worms in the color you'd use for Senkos or Texas Rigs. For less than $10, you can give it a shot. For my waters, Green Pumpkin, Pumpkin, and Watermelon Candy work great in clear conditions.
For muddier water, I'm still working on an answer. My best luck has been on a 4" Strike King straight worm (I forget the actual name of it) in a silver/gold flake pattern on an otherwise transparent plastic.
Tie it on the end of a 6'6" to around 7' medium spinning rod and give it a shot when you're experiencing a slow biting day.
For simplicity's sake, I've decided to work with 1/4 oz primarily next year. 3/16 is nice if the water is still and the wind is down, but anything heavier than 1/4 oz seems like a hindrace for detecting light strikes. A shaky head feels like a jig. The weight doesn't slip up the line when the fish hits like a Texas-Rig, so you have to go lighter than you would with a T-Rig, IMHO.
Lots of times, fish will hit it like a maniac and basically set the hook on themselves. The only issue I've had with this rig is getting a great hookset on lighter bites. I'm fishing it with a Shimano Cumara right now, 6'8" Medium power, Fast action and 8# fluoro. The lighter rods you'd use for shaky head mixed with line that has a lot of stretch can cause problems. I wish I could get away with 10# braid, but I'm scared of the visibility issue.
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For muddier water, I'm still working on an answer. My best luck has been on a 4" Strike King straight worm (I forget the actual name of it) in a silver/gold flake pattern on an otherwise transparent plastic.
Tie it on the end of a 6'6" to around 7' medium spinning rod and give it a shot when you're experiencing a slow biting day.
For simplicity's sake, I've decided to work with 1/4 oz primarily next year. 3/16 is nice if the water is still and the wind is down, but anything heavier than 1/4 oz seems like a hindrace for detecting light strikes. A shaky head feels like a jig. The weight doesn't slip up the line when the fish hits like a Texas-Rig, so you have to go lighter than you would with a T-Rig, IMHO.
Lots of times, fish will hit it like a maniac and basically set the hook on themselves. The only issue I've had with this rig is getting a great hookset on lighter bites. I'm fishing it with a Shimano Cumara right now, 6'8" Medium power, Fast action and 8# fluoro. The lighter rods you'd use for shaky head mixed with line that has a lot of stretch can cause problems. I wish I could get away with 10# braid, but I'm scared of the visibility issue.
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