Primus

There is no absolute rule on this but I tend to fish the Texas Rig when I am pitching/ casting into grass and the shaky head on sandy, rocky areas or where the grass is light. What I like about the shaky head if using a buoyant plastic with a well designed jighead the bait will stand up and give you an opportunity to tease reluctant biters. If you do a search for shaky head fishing you will find a number of tutorials on how to do it, I basically drag, shake and sometimes hop the bait. I personally would not use this technique in a tournament until you get an opportunity to catch some fish on it and are proficient at it. My favorite combo for shaky head fishing are Senko style baits that I have custom poured without salt on a 1/4 oz ( sometimes 3/8 oz ) Picasso football shaky head. The reason I like the football head style is won't tip on you and the flat spot on this jighead tends to let me rock it in place if lightly shaking on slack line. With my no salt Senkos I have a bulky worm sitting at a 60 degree angle at the bottom of the lake and nearby bass have a hard time resisting it. Watermelon Candy is my most consistent color.

I mentioned this in another thread but the Rage Shellcracker on a Jika Rig 1/4 oz weight 4/0 Trokar EWG hook has been producing very well this spring. If they don't hit it after the initial fall I will shake it and drag it. Thanks to the suggestions of other Bass Resource members I used the Cut R worm last week for the first time and it produced some solid fish, looking forward to fishing it more. I like the Rage chunks as a jig trailer.

I agree, would probably be decent for small treble hooked baits .

Totally agree, the best spinnerbait I have ever used.

Thought I would pass this on that I'm having good luck this spring fishing the Rage Shellcracker on a Jika Rig using a 1/4 oz sinker with a 4/0 EWG Hook. If they don't hit it on the fall I will drag it and stop every couple of feet, really ticks bedding fish off.I will also get the occasional strike shaking it. First year fishing this rig for me and I'm very impressed, shellcracker is legit and I will be buying more .

I have not fished my Cut R worms yet as most of my fish have come on swimbaits/ jerkbaits and traps so far this season. May I ask of the guys fishing the Cut R worms how are you rigging it, size of weight , retrieve etc ? I have a few ideas but I'm curious to what has been successful so far. Thanks

If I had to narrow it down to 2 brands that would likely be my choice.

I just got a few bags of these in, I was intrigued when I saw the ICAST promos.

I've bought a couple but haven't thrown it yet, I appreciate your report. The 7" Rago BVD line through has been my most consistent producer for the larger soft swimbaits .

I agree, can't go wrong with that color anywhere.

I agree with A Jay regarding 17 lb BPS Floro. I have been using this line for years on my jig rod and it has worked out well for me and is very reliable. I have several baitcasting combos with BPS. I prefer TATSU for a couple of spinning rigs as this line fishes almost like Trilene XL in terms of manageability with all the benefits of Floro. The reason I don't use it on all my rigs is because it's pricey and the BPS works out fine for casting reels.

Smalljaws thanks for the post, well done. I talked to a guy at a local tackleshop this winter who mentioned that he had success with the Magic Swimmer fishing it like a jerkbait but he did not go into detail like you did. I appreciate the info.

Strike King Red Eye Shad, Sebile Flatt Shad & Xcalibur 1 knocker would be my choices if I had to pick 3.

I like the Rapala Rippin' Rap for this technique. I also like to slow roll 1 oz plus traps in deeper water, the Xcalibur 1 oz One Knocker is my favorite for slow rolling in deeper water.

I fish a few different brands in various sizes, in addition to the good baits already mentioned I also like the Sebile Flatt Shad & Yozuri Rattlin' Vibe.

You might like the Megabass Trick Darter 80, similar size with more action. http://www.***.com/Megabass_X-80_TD_Trick_Darter/descpage-MBX80TD.html

Fans of the R.I. Skinny Dipper & Berkely Grass Pigs might want to try the Strike King Swimmin' Caffiene Shad, I was very impressed with this bait last year.

I have never had a lip break on a DT crank and I've been fishing and doing well with them for several years, I must be lucky. The DT6, DT 10 & DT Fat Wake bait are my 3 favorites from that line.

The River to Sea Live Eye Bottom Walker is often overlooked but is an excellent bait for slow rolling in deep water, I like the 150 size which run about 7$ for a 2 pack. The 3:16 lure company 6.5" Rising Son is another proven fish catcher.

Just saw this thread, in my opinion the most under rated and possibly best jerkbait around.

I hope not, I really like his spinnerbait.

http://bassgold.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f77d7e4bdee78dd55a299e813&id=25d96e9a19&e=2f41e300b2 I saw this on BassBlaster. What size hook comes on the 1/4 oz ? Thanks

I throw both on a Dobyn's 795 swimbait rod, Curado 301 and 20 lb Trilene Big Game. Very pleased with the performance of this combo for a variety of swimbaits up to app 3-1/2 maybe 4 ozs.

That's a good bait and gets some explosive strikes.

X2 on the RTS Bottom Walker, I like the 6" size.