THE BASS COLLEGE

"Flick Shaken"-The New Style of Finesse Fishing

You got it folks, Flick Shakin. This is the newest craze in light line, light lure finesse fishing. What this means is, those of you that stick with the ol' jig head and small worm better pay attention. There is a new style in town and it is putting up some huge tournament numbers. The style is called "Flick Shakin". The term comes from one of the leading Japanese lure companies in the industry Jackall. They have developed a new style finesse worm that is just awesome. They come is two sizes and several colors but, the biggest thing is the Tungsten head you use with it called the "Wacky Jig Head". It has a 90-degree line tie that makes it almost impossible to hang up. It comes in either the 1/16 or the 3/32 head and used for rigging the bait "wacky style". They have also even accommodated the grass fisherman as well with the "Weedless Wacky Jig head". This neat little head will not only work as well as the other jig head but will come through the grass like it wasn't there. It sports the same Tungsten compound head as it counterpart but is also equipped with a weed guard to keep it from snagging. One thing I like most about this model is, it has a huge hook custom made for Jackall by Owner that is not only bigger but stronger than the light wire head and also comes in 1/16, 3/32, as well as the new 1/8 size. In this article I will not only give you a couple of ways to use this new bait but, also the right equipment to use it with.

First let's get you started with the right equipment for the job. I like to use either the G-Loomis GLX or IMX spinning rod rigged with the Daiwa Steez reel. I use either 10-12 lb Hi-Seas fluorocarbon line. If I am fishing heavy cover, like Lake Guntersville or big stump and root systems I use a G-Loomis "Mossyback" worm rod with a Daiwa Zillion reel and Hi-Seas 15 lb fluorocarbon line. Personally I like the heavy stuff better but, sometimes the bite just gets tuff and you have to downsize a little to get the bites.

Let's talk about how to fish the bait. There really is several ways this bait has been effective for me while using it. First is the way it was intended to be used. Wacky Style, the reason I say it was intended to be used this way is well, it was designed for it. If you look at the bait you can see the bait was made in a curve design, which gives it a squirming action that far surpasses other baits with this technique. It is made to be rigged with a "Wacky Jig Head" and placed in the center of the worm. I use this bait when I find it hard to get a bite from either docks or brush piles that I have already fished or that I know have had a lot of pressure on them. Tossing the bait out and letting it sink a little then twitch the bait a couple of times then let it fall again. Most bites will occur on the fall so it is important you watch your line.

The second way I use this bait is with the ever famous "Shaky Head". I rig it on a Davis HBT long shank jig head in either a 3/16 or 1/4 size and rig it Texas style. This works great when the bass are locked on to cover due to high air or fishing pressure. You can let the bait fall into the cover, such as a brush pile, and then just work it out of it. Where this worm will give you an advantage is the live fish scent Jackall has placed into the bait and the curve gives it a wild action when shaking it on the bottom.

The third way of working this bait I found out by accident and necessity. Those of you, who know me, know I am not much on "drop shots". Well while fishing an event this past year on Lake Martin I had a couple of fish I could see but could not get to bite anything I threw at them. I still had some time left before weigh-in so I pulled out a bait caster with some 12 lb Hi-Seas Fluorocarbon on it and tied a drop shot rig. Now it was not the way most of you tie this rig seeing as how I never do it I had none of the right things to rig it. I used a Owner 1/0 EWG hook, tied a regular Palomar knot and ran the tag end back thru the line tie. I then marked off about a foot or so and tied a couple of over hand knots to hold a couple of split shots on the end. I tossed out the bait to a brush pile, shook it for a minute or so and boated a 6.75lb largemouth to move me from 13th to 5th and take big fish for the tournament. So I guess me going outside the box was not all bad. The one thing that was cool about that day was I had fished that same brush pile for about 30 minutes with a couple of other baits and could not get the fish to bite. I truly believe the bait was what made the difference between me getting a check and not.

If you get a chance to use this bait try these techniques and I am sure you will put more fish in the boat. If you want to see these techniques in action and a couple of other things I have learned fishing these baits be sure to give us a call at Fins-N-Grins Freshwater Adventures and we will get you hooked up. God Bless and Great fishing.

Capt. Chris Jackson

"Fins-N-Grins"

Freshwater Adventures

205-706-2425 www.finsngrinsfishing.com

Flick Shakin has been a secret weapon for us when fishing tournaments now for the past 2 years. A wacky rig is a killer presentation that fools bass everywhere you go over and over again.However with the avaliability of cutting edge info these days from the internet,TV and magazines more and more anglers are savier than ever. There are times especially during tournaments that bass are hammered with even a wacky rig. In the past few years we've been forced to make minor adjustments to this proven technique to give us the edge over other experienced anglers.

One of those adjustments is drop shotting and power drop shotting a 4 and 5 inch wacky rigged senko.

But whats been even more effective over the past few years is flick shakin.

You get a small ball head jig 1/32,1/16 or 1/8 of an ounce and you impale your senko in the middle of the bait (wacky rigged). You toss this bait in all the same places you would your regular wacky rig but every time you lift and then drop the bait when your retrieving it the ball head rolls over and gives the bait a unique action that bass can't stand. One look at this rig in clear water and you'll understand why bass love it.

Now traditional Flick Shakin was actually started by Jackall baits and it involves the ball head with their original Flick Shake worm. Its kind of a cross between a senko and a trick worm but the important part is that the tail has an upward bend at the end. It almost looks like a senko that was put in a plano box that was to small for it and it sat there for a couple months and the tail got bent up. This bend in the tail gives the bait even more of an erratic action on the fall. The bent tail almost throbs as it falls wacky rigged. This bait is killer and I'd recommend everyone get some but the senko rigged on the ball head wacky style is definitely worth your attention as well. Another great thing about this rig no matter what worm you use is that after you've tried the drop and fall method you can work the bait like a regular shaky head and thats quite effective as well.

This Technique has been a closely guarded secret the last 2 seasons here in Delaware on the local circuit. 6 of 10 tournaments on the small ponds here are won with a wacky rig and in the other 4 you can bet it see's some time in the water. Everybody and their brother is throwing it so we 've had to find different ways to make the bass keep biting our baits and flick shakin has been just that. Most guys I know that use it, go to extreme lengths to keep it a secret, so consider yourself FILLED IN!:

Good Luck and Tight Lines

I would like to see some other pictures, comments, or videos on this. I use all St Croix rods and Shimano Reels for this myself so that is a given. I do use Berkley Nanofil where needed and it has caused no problems. The rest of the time I am using Seaguar, Berkley Trilene, or McCoy.