Discovering the Wacky-Rigged Shakey Jig
March 30, 2009
Necessity is the mother of invention," recites Leon Ames, a MegaStrike pro-staffer.
"Within the past year, the MegaStrike ShakE2 jig head was invented since we felt it necessary to truly make a shakey worm, craw or any soft plastic bait stand up vertically on bottom. The ShakE2 head is absolutely incredible at doing this. Nothing else even stands (pun intended) close to it. It stands (unintended pun) out from the rest of the jig heads on the market. There's none that can stand a bait up like the ShakE2 can," according to Leon.
"Not only does it stand a bait up straight every time, but the ShakE2 head is also very versatile because you can rig it two ways. First, you may Texas rig the bait by pressing its head onto the small bait keeper spike on top, then bury the hook barb in the bait for weedless applications. Second, you may fish with an exposed hook by threading any bait onto the shank of the hook and pushing it onto the main keeper spike."
"So, you have two ways to fish it, or so we thought until this winter, when we discovered a third way to rig the ShakE2, and we think it's unique," says Ames. "We don't feel other jig heads would be good at this. It's essentially only the balancing power and persistent upright posture of the ShakE2 fulcrum technology that makes this third new presentation possible."
"We needed to find a way to be able to present a bait in front of shut-down, lethargic bass sitting on bottom, cold as heck, in cold water. Picture bass sitting with their bellies on the bottom, not moving at all, due to cold water, especially during cold front passages."
"A shut-down bass is not going to maneuver or move too much to hit any lure. You almost have to hit it on the head with something that lands right in front of its mouth. A lure that's laying down in the dirt such as on a regular jig, it's too low down. A lure that's barely over it's head on a dropshot rig, it's a little too high up. Even a Texas-rigged bait that stands vertically on our ShakE2 head is close, but not quite the cigar for these lock-jawed, immobile bass," Leon laments.
"It was necessary to invent some new way to get these bass to bite, and we did; we discovered the wacky-rigged ShakE2 head is the perfect presentation."
"So now we have three ways to use the ShakE2: 1) Texas-rigged weedless, 2) with an exposed hook, and 3) the new wacky-rigged method," exclaims Leon.
Leon Ames
"The unique thing about our ShakE2 that stands out for the wacky presentation is that when the ShakE2 is on the bottom, the bait actually lifts up. The bait is horizontally suspended an inch or two above the bottom. Picture bass sitting with their bellies on the bottom again, and you'll see, the wacky ShakE2 presentation is flawless, with the bait suspended horizontally at mouth level, and with the hook standing straight up, the hook-up ratio is excellent. They just open their mouths and it's right in. They engulf it," smiles Leon.
Anthony Hall's a believer in the wacky ShakE2 presentation.
Bobby Uhrig
"We do not use anything to keep the Senko positioned at the hook bend. It is just like normal wacky style rigging; I don't see where you need to do anything different. The Senko sits perfect on the bend just like it would sit on any other wacky hook," explains Bobby Uhrig, owner of MegaStrike.
MegaStrike ShakE2 Jig delivers wacky-rigged Yamamoto Senko to bottom-hugging bass.
"In the photos, the Senko slid up to the head of the jig because of the fight and holding the fish. When you are fishing however, as you pull the jig forward and as it falls to bottom, water resistance is sufficient to keep the Senko so it always rides up on the bend of the hook. It doesn't slide down, and the Senko never really twists or turns around or anything. It makes a perfect wacky rig," believes Bobby.
Leon Ames is a happy wacky shakey angler.
Anthony Hall
"This is going to be a great tactic for windy days. That's one situation where every other wacky method fails. On windy days, wacky rigs simply get blown around too badly to be effective. Now with the wacky-rigged ShakE2 method, strong winds won't matter," mentions Bobby.
"Anther situation where most wacky rigging methods are ineffective is in deep water. Wacky rigs just can't be fished deep easily. Now with the wacky-rigged ShakE2 method, it's designed for deepwater, and that's going to be huge to be able to wacky rig as deep as you want with the ShakE2 now," emphasizes Uhrig.
"Also, I'll have to try it in heavy current on main river points such as on the Hudson, Delaware, Potomac, the Connecticut River or any current or moving water situation, this should be a killer technique. I can just see myself pulling up to a river point or wingdam, throwing it up there to hop it or swim it (pumping) it down the slope and then just watch my line tick sideways," hopes Uhrig.
Bobby Uhrig
"On the riprap walls you see here, we would toss it on the rocks and shake it down. That's what we were doing. I watched it and it would slide down the rocks until it got to a flat spot or got a foothold of an area to stand on. All you had to do was pull it and it would always upright itself. The beautiful thing is that as the as the head cants forward to upright itself, it gives the horizontal Senko a very unique rolling action. As the jig stands on it's nose, the Senko rolls upward about 1-1/2 inches off the bottom so it's sitting right in their faces. That provokes strikes from non-aggressive bass," says Bobby.
"Also I want to try it bed fishing soon. It should be a great technique to keep it suspended and just shake it on a bed. When you suspend it and shake it, it has a weird look to it that I think it's going to infuriate bedding bass. Those are just some other ideas we hope to try next with the wacky-rigged ShakE2 head, but as you already see, it is productive. Get yourself some Senkos and give it a try," Uhrig recommends.