Wacky Rig - Cook, Line and Sinker

If you need proof on how good a wacky rig can be, look up the names David Dudley and John Cox. They are pro fisherman who have won a lot of money tournament fishing. The majority of their winnings came from using a wacky rig. What is a wacky rig? It is basically just a soft plastic bait, the most popular being a stick worm, hooked in the middle, with little to no weight. This allows it to sink slowly and have a “shimmy” action as it sinks.

How to rig it:

This is probably the simplest rig in bass fishing. Grab a soft plastic worm and stick a hook right through the middle of it. It is that simple. However, there are a few extra things to know that can help improve this rig. If you want to improve your hook up ratio and you don’t want to go through multiple packs of worms in a single day, then you will need an o-ring tool. Putting an o-ring on the worm and placing your hook through it, exposes more of the hook which can give you a better hook-set. It also prevents your worm from ripping with every bite you get. Another tip is, if you are going to be fishing around a lot of wood cover like trees and stumps, using a hook with a weed guard. Below are some of my suggestions for worms, hooks, and o-ring tools to use.

hook#1
hook#2
hook#3
worm#1
worm#2
worm#3
o-ring tool

When to use it:

The wacky rig is definitely a shallow technique. Notice that I say shallow, and not shallow water. I have seen many fish caught on steep, deep banks when the fish are hanging around close to the bank or cover and up in the water column. So don’t think that you should only throw this bait when your boat is sitting in shallow water. The spawn and post spawn are my favorite times to throw this rig. It is a great bluegill imitator so when the bluegill start to spawn and the bass are hanging close to the banks to feed on them, make sure you have a wacky rig tied on.

Gear to use:

I always use spinning gear for this technique. I like a 7′ to a 7’2″ Medium Heavy rod. For all my spinning gear, I use 12-15lb braided line with a 10-12lb fluorocarbon leader, depending on how clear the water is and what kind of cover I will be fishing around. I also like to use a strong, dependable, fast spinning reel. Some hardware I suggest is listed below:

Rods
- Cashion ICON Shaky Head Rod
- Rod2
- Rod3
Reels
- Reel1
- Reel2
- Reel3

Advantages of this technique:

The advantage of using the wacky worm is it is a super simple technique that gets a lot of bites. It is one of my favorite rigs to put in the hands of someone new to bass fishing. You can get a lot of bites by just throwing it at cover and letting it do all the work on it’s own. The way the bait slowly sinks is what triggers the bites. Try this rig out next time you go fishing and good luck!

Leave a ReplyCancel Reply

Trending now