®
Summer 2025
O
kay, we all know that a soft plastic stickbait,
like the Senko, when wacky-rigged, flat out
catches bass. From being the co-angler’s most versatile and effective way to catch bass behind pros,
to being able to skip it under boat docks, and over hanging
trees, it gets the job done!
Even though the wacky-rig catches bass, there are times when it is necessary to adapt the wacky-rigging presentation to get a bite.
This may be because of the weather conditions or the type of cover the bass are holding in, or just because bass see A LOT of wacky-rigs!
CHANGE IT UP
Alright, the first thing that you can change is your hook.
HOOK CHANGE: Most anglers use some type of specifically-designed wacky-rigging or finesse hook, such as the TroKar TK137. But what many anglers don’t do, or maybe even realize, is that many hook manufacturers make weedless versions of their wacky-rigging/finesse hooks. With a fiber or fluorocarbon weed guard, these wacky-rigs can become more likely to slide through cover without getting hung up.
CASTING ROD: One way to fish a wacky-rig differently is by fishing it on a casting rod, with braided line, and using a 1/0 heavy wire extra wide gap, or standard worm hook, and casting it into vegetation. If the vegetation has become matted, or are fishing on top of lily pads, you can drag that beefed up wacky-rig set up over the vegetation, and then
when you come to an open water pocket in the grass, or lily pads, you can drop the wacky-rig into the hole and jiggle it. This is a great way to coax bass into biting that may have seen enough topwater frogs that day.
NAIL WEIGHT: If you want/need to get extra distance in your cast or skip with the wacky-rig, you can add a small tungsten nail weight into the end of your soft plastic stickbait. This is especially important if you are fishing in clear water, or around shallow water boat docks and need to get your wacky-rig WAY back under the dock.
WEIGHT LOCATION: You can also change how your weighted wacky-rig falls in the water based on where you insert the tungsten nail weight. If you want the Senko to fall with one of the ends down, which is the standard, you’d insert the nail weight into that end of the bait. If you want the bait to fall more horizontally, but just quicker, you could insert two small nail weights, in the middle of the bait.
WEIGHTED JIG: If you are fishing offshore and need to get the wacky-rig down in the water column, or if you are fishing around denser vegetation and need to “punch” that wacky-rig through the vegetation, using a weighted jig is great alternative way to rig the bait.
A weighted jig, like the Weedless Wacky Jig from Northland Tackle comes in 1/16-, 1/8-, and 3/16-ounce sizes. Depending on the depth of water you are fishing and the wind, you can effectively present your soft plastic stickbait to bass that hold on deep weedlines.
TIP: Always use the least amount of weight possible and just cast out your rig, let it sink and just slowly shake it.
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