substituting with casting gear and are seeing big results.
THE RIG
There are two particular shakey heads that I have turned to on the water with my spinning gear– The Owner Ultrahead and Strike King’s Tour Grade Shakey Head. Each gives me a different option. The Owner’s Ultrahead was created with a 45-degree cross eye line tie and TwistLOCK centering pin that I use for most worms up to 7-inches in length. When the angler wants an aggressive stance with the worm in a “dancing” position, I consider this the perfect shakey head since it is backed by a 4/0 hook.
Strike King’s Tour Grade Shakey Head was created with a 60-degree line tie and fishes larger worms, such as 10-inch worms, much easier due to the bait’s position. Think of this as a laydown approach, without the aggressive tail shake.
Instead of fishing floating worms and smaller plastics, this is one bait that attracts the largest fish in the lake. Worms are easy meals and Strike King certainly knows how to maximize a technique’s efficiency. This is my choice for seeking fewer bites, but much better quality fish.
So what about the worms? Roboworm should not only be famous for their hand poured straight tail worms in the dropshot department. Their company’s 4.5-inch and 6-inch worms are underutilized in a shakey head presentation. While Trick Worms and other specialty pours certainly have their place, using baits that you already have stored in your arsenal are well suited for the application.
A little bit of experimentation can go a long way, especially on heavily pressured lakes with weekly tournament pressure. Shaking the rig on semi-slack line has received much more attention than a slow, controlled retrieve.
LOCATIONS
Let’s face it, both largemouth and smallmouth bass will take the opportunity to down a worm. In order to set the hook, there are two main locations that I look for on natural lakes and/or reservoir systems. Areas that have a weed to rock transition is my primary target for largemouth. For big
FALL 2014
Strike King Shakey Head
Owner Ultrahead + Roboworm
bronzebacks, I focus on deep, cool water situated on an outside bend where the channel swings up next to the bank.
The largemouth tend to remain hidden in warmer water where weeds and rock work in tandem to provide cover and food, while an outside channel swing next to a bank provides clean and clear water for schools of smallmouth.
A simple topo map can give you some great starting points by simply looking for “rocky” highlights, as well as providing channel contours for ease of identification.
THE COMPETITION
More often than not, if anglers are discussing the shakey head, mentions of the dropshot usually creep into the conversation as a substitute. While both techniques have their set of strengths, choosing the shakey head over the dropshot comes down to the mood of the fish. Electronics certainly make identifying their position in the water column much easier at a glance, but swapping rods in an area will more than likely tell you which they prefer on a given day. It is one technique that can reward you with drag burning action no matter the temperature.
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