The word is out on a finesse system that has professional anglers scrambling to master it. While its components and concept are far from new, rigging worms wacky-style on jigheads created an undercurrent throughout 2007 that promises to bust loose this season. Today, effective techniques are “outed” ever faster by TV cameras and tools of the hi-tech electronic age. While origins of using a jig to present a wacky worm may be in doubt, Japanese anglers once again broke ground with this finesse tactic. And like the dropshot rig, the West Coast was its American proving ground.

David Swendseid, a tournament veteran from Beaverton, Oregon, and a member of Jackall Lures’ pro staff, provides background. “I’ve been working with what we call the Flick Shakin’ technique for three years,” Swendseid says. “Like drop-shot fishing, Flick Shakin’ is a complete fishing system that involves jighead, worm, line, and rod, as well as an understanding of its capabilities. But it’s much easier to learn than the drop-shot technique.

“Jackall Lures’ Flick Shake Worm at first glance may look like another finesse worm,” he notes. “But it’s molded in a subtle S-shape, with the head and tail sections flattened to increase the worm’s action as it falls or is shaken. It’s salt-injected to add weight and for flavor. Insert the Wacky-Jig Head through the egg sack and you’re ready to fish. As a Flick Shake Worm falls or is moved, both ends rotate, an action bass haven’t seen before.

“As far as I can tell, this technique originated in Korea, then was imported to Japan and refined by two of that country’s most proficient bass anglers, Takuma Hata and Toshiro Ono. Following their success in major tournaments in Japan, it was brought to the U.S. by Jackall’s chief lure designer Seiji Kato and their pro staffer Kota Kiriyama. While Kiriyama kept his Flick Shakin’ success under wraps, Kato used the rig to win the co-angler division of the Bassmaster Elite tournament last March at Lake Amistad on the Texas-Mexico border. On the final day he boated 19 pounds of bass, while his professional partner caught only a few small fish. Moreover, Kato lost a huge bass estimated at 11 pounds, after a prolonged battle on light line.

Scuttlebutt on the Bassmaster tournament trail reverberated throughout the 8-month season, and pros have been keen to try it during the off season. Through the grapevine, Dave Wolak, a rising star on the tournament scene, learned that at Amistad, Kato had rigged a pair of Flick Shake Worms on a single jighead, using a small worm section to form a light brushguard amidst Amistad’s underwater arboretum. The effect of the paired worms was said to imitate the beating wings of a dragonfly, but whatever the image, it proved irresistible. The Cross Swamp Worm from the Japanese company Rein is made in a cross-shape to facilitate this action.

Rigging worms wacky-style is an old trick, and it remains deadly in shallow conditions. Using a jighead gives this rigging option greater versatility in fishing depth. The weight of the head also provides a pivot point to shake the worm. As with other recent innovations, like a weightless Senko or Chatterbait, catching bass sometimes seems amazingly easy, since fish haven’t experienced the new effect. “I’ve fished with a lot of top anglers here on the West Coast and they’ve been amazed at the bass I’ve caught behind them,” Swendseid emphasizes. “It’s versatile, catching bass from the shallows down to 30 feet or more. I’ve caught big walleyes on the Columbia River, too, as well as rainbow trout.”

Northern Perspectives

Ross Evans, a bass tournament angler from Minnesota and tackle company rep, used a wacky jig extensively in northern natural lakes last summer, and scored high tournament finishes with it. Like Swendseid, he tested its effectiveness by following other anglers on a spot and trying a wacky jig after they left. “This rig proved incredibly attractive to fish,” Evans says. “I’ve been using it primarily along outside weededges and among deep rocks. One advantage for weedline fishing is that if you use light heads (1/16-ounce), you don’t hang up in grass. The worm settles on the stalks instead and can be easily popped off, frequently triggering bites. If I don’t get a bite soon after the worm hits bottom along a weedline, I reel in and cast again. Most bites come on the fall, and if you leave it out too long, bluegills pester it.

“If you simply fish down a weedline, you’re besieged by small bass,” he notes. “Instead, I fish it on key big-fish spots, the spot-on-the-spot, as it’s known. I use my Humminbird Side Imaging sonar to find these key transitions on structural features.

“At first you may catch some small bass on such a spot. But keep fishing and the big ones will bite. I’ve fished small spots for hours and kept catching bass, both largemouths and smallmouths. Its only downfall is in windy conditions, as this rig falls slowly and wind prevents a good shaking motion, as well as limiting feel for bites.”

Matt Paino of Optimum Baits, which imports Japanese wacky jig tackle, is another fan, having learned the techinque in Japan. “Its irregular action is a natural attractor for bass,” he says. “The secret is to keep a lot of slack in your line so your shaking imparts action without pulling the lure out of the strike zone.”

After these reports, I couldn’t wait to try Flick Shakin’, wacky-jigging, or whatever you choose to call the technique. On my first outing I caught seven largemouth bass and seven smallmouth in just over an hour. I was particularly impressed to find that I caught bass as the jig fell, as I pulled it along the bottom, and as I shook it in place. While I did catch a few on crankbaits and a jigworm, bites were far faster on a wacky jig.

Since then, I’ve never found a situation where a wacky jig didn’t catch bass, though at times other techniques worked better. When it’s right, it’s really right and it simply seems too easy. It’s simple to fish and a great rig to give kids or inexperienced anglers. They will have a ball!

Tackle Particulars

Worm Selection: Swendseid favors Jackall’s Flick Shake Worm and tungsten Wacky-Jig Head. “This worm is specially shaped and balanced to perform an underwater dance that can’t be duplicated with a standard finesse worm,” he says. “When you give it a gentle rhythmic shake, the worm moves in three or four different directions. The ends of the worm wag as it falls, while the mid-body portion flexes as it’s retrieved. The band or egg sack of the Flick Shake Worm is exactly in the center, so it’s easy to rig perfectly. And Jackall has expanded its color selection to nine.

“I use the 4.8-inch worm for fishing deep or in current, matching it with a 3/32-ounce head. I also use the small worm with a lighter jighead for delicate presentations. The weight of the 5.8-inch salt-laden worm makes it ideal for long casts, to cover structural elements or to reach breaking fish.”

When bass bite, you typically don’t feel a tap but just weight on the line, or sense your rod loading slightly. Reel-set to hook the fish, as the small, sharp hooks immediately penetrate jaw tissue. Don’t give a hard hook-set or the line may break. You’ll find most bass hooked in the upper lip or corner of the jaw.

I’ve also done well with Berkley’s Gulp! Wacky Crawler, a thin and supple 5-inch straight worm. Its flexibility gives plenty of action and the Gulp! flavor is a strong draw. The slender body means you can fish it on small hooks without limiting the gap.

“I’ve recently helped design a worm for Big Bite Baits called the Boring Worm,” Evans reports. “It’s 5 inches long and has a wider egg sack in the middle that lasts a little longer without tearing. This worm and others in the line are made of BioBait, a biodegradable soft material that contains natural materials, yet has the look and feel of conventional soft plastics. It readily releases flavors into the water and will not dry out when exposed to air.”

Jigheads: While this rig may seem simple, design of the head is important. Jackall’s Wacky-Jig Head, the Zappu King Cobra, as well as Big Bite Bait’s new Wacky Heads and the new Wacky Head from Gamakatsu, lack barb or collar to hold softbaits. For wacky-jigging, the worm should sit in the hook bend and not slide up the shank.

Jackall’s tungsten head is round with a 90-degree eye and fine-wire Owner hook, available in 1/16-, 1/13-, and 3/32-ounce sizes. A new edition with a slightly heavier hook has just been added, to allow anglers to put more pressure on big fish.

Gamakatsu’s Wacky Head is laterally flattened to impart a side-to-side rolling action to a worm. It’s coated with red epoxy and sports a short-shank wide-gap #2 hook, in 1/32-, 1/16-, and 1/8-ounce weights. Big Bite Baits’ Wacky Head comes in 1/16-, 1/8-, 3/16-, and 1/4-ounce weights, built on a wide-gap Gamakatsu hook to match thicker lures like a Senko or Berkley Gulp! Sinking Minnow. The Zappu has a V-shape to hold a worm for optimal shaking.

Fish the lightest heads in shallow areas, increasing weight with depth and wind. Breezes above 12 or 15 mph can render the rig less effective, as sense of feel, as well as casting distance and accuracy, are lost. Submerging the rod tip and line helps to keep wind from creating an excessive bow in the line, but feel is still subdued.

Line: David Swendseid gives the nod to 4-pound-test fluorocarbon line for his best finesse presentations. “You can impart more action to the worm with thin line,” he notes, “and in clear conditions, you get more bites, too.” He also uses 4- and 6-pound-test copolymer line, preferring Gamma High Performance, and upsizes to 8-pound test in snaggy situations.

Rod: Two schools of rod choice exist. Japanese anglers like Kato and Ono favor short spinning rods (6 feet to 6 feet 4 inches), rated for 1/16- to 1/4-ounce lures. Examples include Falcon Rod’s Lowrider Spinning rod, model LFS-2-163 (6 feet 3 inches), Shakespeare’s Synergy SP2960, and Berkley’s Tactix TXS601M, both 6-footers. They feel that shorter rods impart better shaking action to the worm.

On the other hand, Evans, Swendseid, and many American anglers prefer longer rods, which allow greater casting distance and can put more pressure on bass around cover. “My new favorite is Falcon’s Cenderi Spinning rod SSti-7L, a 7-footer that’s lighter than what’s usually called a drop-shot action,” Evans notes. “It works great with 8-pound-test fluorocarbon, but is a bit stiff for 6-pound. It has parabolic action, which helps shake the jig, and you don’t have to worry about breaking the line when a bass runs.” I’ve found Kistler’s 6-foot 9-inch Drop Shot Special (KDSS69), St. Croix’s Avid 7-foot medium-light power (AVS70ULF), and All Star’s Platinum Inshore 7-foot (P843C-TR1) model, rated moderate power and light action, fine for this technique; and a good selection of rods with similar attributes is available.

Reels: You’ll put the drag through its paces, so match with a smooth reel. Again, two schools of thought exist: Larger-spool models allow longer casts, have fewer problems with coiled line, and tend to have smoother drags, thanks to larger washers. On the other hand, the little ones are lightest, and you can have a blast using a true ultralight with this technique.

Beyond catching a lot of bass, what fascinated me most about the wacky jig was its multifaceted attraction. Bass bite it on the fall or when sitting on the bottom; when it’s retrieved like a crankbait, or shaken near cover. As you read this, innovative anglers are discovering new ways to make it work. Plan to be among them this spring.