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I
t has happened to all of us at one time or another, when
we realize that a new technique or bait is something
special. For top Western Pro and owner of Frenzy Baits, Greg Gutierrez, this is his experience.
LESSON LEARNED
“Like a lot of guys, I had seen them (wacky jigs) before and then I experienced firsthand what they were all about,” began Gutierrez. “I was fishing an Elite Series Event on Clarks Hill Reservoir and I drew a co-angler from Japan who was using the wacky jig to call fish up. I found these shallow fish during practice. They were in the process of spawning and had a general area where they were holding.
“On tournament day, I went to them, I made long casts with a drop shot and I would let my bait soak until the fish came to the bait. I caught a couple of really decent fish doing this. When my co-angler realized what I was doing he began casting 15- to 20-feet to the side of me. He started getting bit and I was certain that I was casting closer to the fish. Maybe I overshot the fish, maybe I didn’t, but he did this three times and those were big fish for Clarks Hill at the time.”
After witnessing the power of the wacky jig first hand, Gutierrez set out to teach himself all he could about the bait. He found the center weighted wacky fall to be quite effective and the wacky jig soon became a regular part of his arsenal.
3/8-ounce with hooks ranging from a #1 for finesse offerings to a #4/0 for big power plastics.
PUTTING IT IN ACTION
When fishing a wacky jig in open clear water, Gutierrez opts for spinning tackle. He relies on a 7’1” medium-action IRod spinning rod, matched to a size 30 series spinning reel. He spools up with 15-pound Gamma Torque Braid for his mainline and attaches a 10- to 20-foot leader of 8-pound Gamma Edge Fluorocarbon line using an FG Knot to join the two lines.
The Wack-A-Sack is by no means just a finesse bait. Gutierrez has experienced good success with it at Clear Lake and the California Delta.
“When fishing a bigger bait on the Wack-A-Sack, I use a 4/0 hook,” said Gutierrez. “And, I fish it on 12- to 14-pound Gamma Edge on a 7’ 3”, medium-heavy action IRod casting rod. I’ll pitch the bait right up into tules, keeping the line tight, so I get the pendulum effect, the weight will fall straight down, and the hook will stand straight up, and I’ll just walk it through the tules or the grass.
“The bait is relatively snag resistant because the hook is in an upright position. A Reaction Innovations Beaver, Double Wide Beaver or Man Bear Pig works perfectly.”
For a new twist on wacky, check out what have the fish in a Frenzy. •
AN AHA MOMENT
As good as the wacky jig is, Gutierrez discovered that it wasn’t without its limitations.
“It has a tendency to foul, unless you use a weedguard,” he noted. “If it happens to land upside down, when you pull it a couple of times it will become pinned.”
For most this would be merely an inconvenience and the story would end here, but not for Gutierrez.
On one particular day while growing tired of pulling wadded grass off his wacky jig, Gutierrez had an ‘aha moment’ for an improved design, the result of which ultimately became the Wack-A-Sack jig. His vision was simple, a wacky-style hook attached directly to a free swinging articulated sinker.
During testing, Gutierrez was excited to find that the articulated design behaved as he envisioned it would. Not only did it produce the all-important wacky, wagging, rocking motion on the fall, it allowed the sinker to rollover the bait over when it contacted the bottom, forcing the hook into an upright position, making it more snag resistant around cover and in the grass.
“The Wack-A-Sack is more than just a wacky-style head,” offered Gutierrez. “Try nose hooking your favorite plastic. When you shake it, the articulation allows the bait to swing side to side and up and down. I have fished it against a dropshot and I have seen it consistently outperform the dropshot.”
Gutierrez unveiled the Wack-A-Sack at the 2017 ICAST show. It is available in weights from 1/16-ounce to
Credit Greg Gutierrez
Spring 2018
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