The shake down
I hear a lot about this "shakey head" technique. What on earth is it, and when should I be using it?
Robert Marshall
Athens, Texas
Elite Series Pro Greg Hackney
The rig consists of a 4- to 6-inch straight-tail finesse worm (I use the Strike King 3X model because it floats), with a ball-shaped 1/16- to 1/4-ounce leadhead. And 99 percent of the time I will rig it Texas style not with the hook exposed. Use it when you have superclear water or highly pressured fish. I deadstick it for largemouth and shake it on a slack line for spotted bass. It is important that you use a medium action rod (I use a 7-foot medium Quantum Tour Edition) and 6- to 8-pound-test fluorocarbon line. The medium action has a limber enough tip to allow you to shake the worm without moving it too much, but still has enough guts to give you a good hook set.
Get it straight
I don't hear of anyone using the old straight shank hook for soft plastics anymore. Are wide gap hooks that much better for all applications? If not, when should I be using the straight shank style?
Bill Heavey
Gastonia, N.C.
Elite Series Pro Gerald Swindle
Any time you are flippin' plastics, a straight shank hook is the best option for a couple of reasons. First of all, you will get a better hook-up percentage. Plus, the smaller profile of the hook enables you to use a bigger hook in a smaller bait. You end up with a larger diameter wire with a smaller lure a real plus when you are fishing thick grass. Straight shank hooks also keep you from getting line twist because they come through the water better than wide-gaps. The only time I use an offset hook is when flippin' a tube or throwing a fluke. A straight shank is my everyday hook.
Found bass
When I am boating across the middle of my home lake, I will oftentimes see big schools of fish on my depthfinder. How do I tell if these are bass, and when they are, how should I try to catch them?
Brian Jones
Elmore, Ala.
Elite Series Pro Bradley Stringer
If the fish you are seeing are relating directly to structure, they are likely bass and catchable. If you are just seeing suspended fish, there's no telling what they are and if they are bass, they likely won't bite. But if I see bass in 20-35 feet on a hump or dropoff, I'll turn off the big motor and throw a Carolina rig at 'em. Use a 1-ounce weight and your favorite soft plastic bait. If you can't stand passing up the suspended fish, try a jigging spoon.
Jumping off
I've started throwing swimbaits quite a bit. Problem is, I am losing about half of the fish I hook as soon as they jump out of the water. Any tips on how to keep these fish buttoned?
Thomas Langford
Roseville, Calif.
Elite Series Pro Ish Monroe
I don't give the fish the opportunity to jump. Wind 'em on really fast, especially if they are a long distance away this keeps the head coming forward. Keep your rod tip down, but not beneath the water. If you put the rod beneath the water you lose the absorption ability of the rod, and the fish might pop off. I do use trailer hooks on some swimbaits, so if you continue to lose fish, try adding one.
To the point
Would you submerge your rod tip beneath the surface in order to get a crankbait to dive deeper?
No. With a crank, you need to always keep pressure on the fish so it doesn't throw the trebles. When trying to get the rod out of the water, you can oftentimes get slack in the line and lose the fish. — Elite Series Pro Randy Yarnall
No. It tends to dilute the feel of the bait. You only get an extra foot or two by submerging the tip, and that's not worth losing a fish over. — Elite Series Pro Dustin Wilks
Yes. There are some places that a crankbait simply can't reach without using this technique. I wouldn't have won the Classic had I not done it. — Elite Series Pro Paul Elias
Yes. Submerging your rod gives the crank a different action because the rod reacts differently under water — and sometimes that will trigger more strikes. It really changes the action when you pause the bait because the rod unloads slower. — Elite Series Pro Alton Jones