Over the last week, we took our annual trip to the whitefish chain to go bass fishing. During this time of year, we usually find fish in the shallow weeds as well as deep structure. After the first couple days of fishing, we were catching some fish on the usual crankbaits, topwaters, jigs, and plastics, but it was still kind of slow. So we tried exploring new spots, and I switched to one of my favorite finesse presentations, which is a wacky rig. This seemed to be what the bass wanted, as we quickly doubled our daily catches, including some bigger bass too.
Wacky-rigging is very simple, and works best with a soft plastic stickbait worm, such as a powerbait heavyweight sinkworm, or a trigger-x flutter worm. Rig them with an unweighted 3/0 hook through the middle of worm. These worms are especially heavy, to make up for the unweighted hook. A spinning rod works best for this presentation. Jig it back to the boat, with pauses to let the bait slowly sink. This action is deadly, as the worm slowly undulates and wiggles towards the bottom. We had the most success fishing this presentation on weedlines in 9 to 10 feet, and pitching near docks. It seems like it is particularly effective in early summer, around this time of year, but works all year round.
Next time you're perplexed when the usual baits or spots aren't producing, try exploring new spots and slowing down with a more finesse presentation, like a wacky-rig. It will add another effective presentation to your arsenal.
