It's amazing how far the wacky worm has come. Remember back in the '80s and '90s, when wacky worming was the craze for fish that were only loosely related to cover?
Things stayed that way for a while until the Senko hit in the late-90s. Texas-rigging was the most popular Senko approach, but the Senko was dense enough to pitch a wacky version into cover – especially with the advent of specialty wacky hooks (like the W.W. Hook from Reaction Innovations).
At the time, I worked for a major fishing magazine in the Upper Midwest, but I didn't appreciate the power of the Senko – whether Texas- or wacky-rigged – until I changed jobs and assumed the helm of Bass West USA magazine during the initial Senko madness.
But around that time, word also began to creep out of Japan about new techniques, like strolling, wacky-jigheading and reverse-rigging tubes. The U.S. was slow to catch on and largely passed it all up, later to become enamored by the shakey-head.
But all the while, select anglers remained on the cutting edge of the Japan scene, and I kept myself plugged in.
Through the past 12 or so years of these tackle trends and revolutions, I can say with certainty that I've always had a special respect for Seiji Kato – inventor of the original Pointer Minnow, and now lead bait designer for Jackall.
When Kato gets to thinking, you can be sure an entire bait class is about to change.
Wacky-jigheading has been, and is probably still, the number-one finesse technique used in Japan, and Kato took up the wacky jighead project many years ago. But the fruits of his labor are just now starting to percolate through the U.S. – again, because folks over here are a lot slower to adopt new techniques.
His wacky-jighead project matured as the Jackall Flick Shake worm and Jackall Wacky jighead. The two essentially create a marriage between a traditional wacky worm, a Senko and a flip bait.
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The Flick Shake wacky jighead technique is an entire system that balances perfectly. First, the Flick Shake worm has a curved design that does a big-time shimmy as it falls. Just watch it and you'll see what I mean. The worms come in 4.8-, 5.8- and 6.8-inch lengths in several high-test colors.
Second, and probably most important, is the Jackall Wacky jighead itself, which is molded from tungsten compound, includes a subtle weedguard (on weedless versions) and comes in 1/16- , 3/32- and 1/8-ounce versions. The compact design and 90-degree line-tie aid the worm's action as it falls. I've tried the Flick Shake with other jigheads – in all sorts of weights, shapes and line-tie angles – and it's nowhere near the same. Kato knows what he's doing.
To rig it up, tie on the Wacky jighead, thread the hook through the center of the worm and start throwing.
My Impressions
I've fished the Jackall Flick Shake heavily for about 4 months now in Western New York – roughly from the pre-spawn through deep-summer phases.
One characteristic of the lakes I fish is heavy milfoil infestation. I found that I could do several different things with the Flick Shake that impressed me. Of course, I used spinning gear, but I could toss it into holes in the milfoil, peel off line, and the worm would fall semi-slowly straight down. With fluorocarbon, you can really feel the worm working as it falls.
If I don't get bit, I reel up and work the next hole. But if the hole's big enough, I'll lift and drop it at least once. The hole must be big enough because the bait will come toward you as you lift, and even though the jighead's weedless, there's nothing more frustrating than a wad of milfoil on 8-pound line.
The largemouths hammer the Flick Shake as it falls. Even on a few heavily-pressured fisheries where muskies keep the bass holed up in the weeds and overly cautious, the bass hit the worm with force – a testament to its action.
I also pitched the Flick Shake in and around wood cover and docks with equal effectiveness, and it's a killer over gravel or riprap. It's crucial to experiment with action – sometimes if you shake the semi-slack line you'll generate more strikes. Other times, a simple fall is best.
The other way I fished it was along the outside weedline. This takes more patience, because the fall is slow, but in murkier lakes the weedline's not overly deep. In this situation I make long casts, then work the Flick Shake back to the boat with a lift/drop.
It puts the hurt on smallmouths just as much as largemouths, although I found the 4.8-inch size was by far the best for brown fish, while I had the best green-fish success on the 6.8-inch.
I didn't use it as a weedline search bait – it's not fast enough. Where it shines is when you locate weedline fish with a Carolina-rig, swimbait or crank. I was able to come back again and again to concentrations of weedline fish with the Flick Shake (areas like inside bends or hard-bottom cups) and catch several fish over successive days that clearly passed up larger, faster-moving offerings. And I relocated the fish to make sure I wasn't catching the same ones over and over.
The Flick Shake worm and Wacky Jighead's a fish-slaying combo for sure that works as well for smallmouths (and probably spots) as it does for largemouths.
Notable
> Jackall's Wacky Jighead also works well as a shakey-head, and the Flick Shake worm is a natural for wacky-dropshotting.
> A pack of Flick Shake worms costs about $5, while a three-pack of Wacky Jigheads will run you about $6.
> The baits and jigheads are available through a number of retailers, including the BassFan Store.
> For more about Jackall and its products, visit Jackall-Lures.com.
