well..... ive gotten the idea that shakey head fishing is going to work for me.... it seems adaptable enough, i get bites when i use it on the outter edges of the pad beds at my favorite lake, and then when i goto the bigger local res. i use it to fish off the riprap and its gotten me nibled on. but i have a tendency to not catch those fish anyways.....      but my question is this, when i cant tell where my bait is compared to the cover i cant see, how do i know when to "present" and when not to....?

Im using a baitcaster, a medium action rod, and since my gear is limited to what i can carry, and my other rod are my light line spinner, my ultralight, and my braided line baitcaster im stuck using my general purpose 10lbs trileneMAXX         help me get the most outta this rig PLEASE!!!

oh.... and if it helps...... Im using alot of zoom trickworms, yum bigshow paddle tails..... gambler flappin tail worms.... ive been useing my new favorite, the spotremover jighead, and the baggley shakey heads......    i dunno how much that matters....

but i am now a new fan of gambler soft plastics! ;D

I find that I get my bites when its falling right on top of the structure.  I just started using them as well and I've caught a few on them.  I don't really understand what you mean by present.  I always expect a bite so I'm always presenting the lure properly?  I don't really understand.  I use zoom trick worms too.

When you throw a Texas rigged plastic the weight hits the bottom and the worm will float down to the bottom.

As you pop your rod tip, it raises the Texas rigged worm to float upwarad and then sink down to the bottom.

When you fish a shaky head, you know that the goal is to have the worm's tail be floating upward, so it looks like the worm's head is on the bottom, feeding or resting.

Be sure to use a worm that floats.  the 3-X worms float but so do others.

Look for worms that are specifically designed for shaky head presentations, like the Berkley Powerbait Shaky Head Worm and others.

Try a few to see what works best for you.

I personally use the berkley powerbait shakey head worms with 1/4 oz bagley shakey head jigs. I'm not a big fan of the spot remover, as I miss more hooksets with it... not really sure why, possibly a shorter shank

Rio Grande Bait Company Thunder Headz jig headz (shakeys) are what I have the most success with. Made in USA (Texas) company and great prices that are lower than the national brands made in China. Football and round head.

I use the football heads on hard bottom type fishing and use the round heads in heavier cover and for catching suspended fish I can see on my lowrance. I use anywhere from 1/8oz all the way up to a 5/8oz with a 5/0 hook for fishing ledges.

JR

I'm not a big fan of the spot remover, as I miss more hooksets with it... not really sure why, possibly a shorter shank

I take this back... I decided to give the spot remover another chance today. 2 and a 1/2 hours and 31 largemouths later, I'm kinda a big fan now...  ;D

I just bought and used the spot remover about a week ago and had some pretty good results.  I was fishing a river for smallies and wasn't sure how good the bite would be, but with a 6" floating worm I managed 3 smallies in about 2 hours.  I definitely liked the spot!

I much prefer fishing a shakeyhead on spinning gear with 6 or 8 pound line. You  are right about Gambler, their sweebo worm is a killer. There is nothing to fishing a shakey.

You can fish it just about anywhere. I get a lot of strikes with the worm just sitting on the bottom. Then I pull up and let it sink again...and reel in the slack. Nothin to it!

I am still searching for the perfect jighead. I really like spot removers and gamblers. But I think I might give the new Evos a try.

Shak-E2 heads:

http://www.deloscustomtackleshack.com/jigs/evolutionshakeyhead.htm

8-)

yea the verdict is that the spot is an awesome toold..... its not my only tool, but its awesome. what i mean by im not sure when to present is that my lakes limited cover, theres not alot of fish there either, and they burry themselves in the pad beds...... so if i cant get that bait right in the line of sight when theyre taking intrest in it, no catch. thats harder to do than alot of you realize..... i dont own my own boat, and i dont have any electronics..... so im fishing blind. literally, my home lakes ALWAYS a muddy mess.

One thing to look for in a shakey head is a long shank hook and an eye that doesn't stick up far or is at an angle so hookups are better. Remember, you can shake it, drag it, swim it with a curly tail, or even dead stick it.

Use spinning gear with a lift and drop with the occasional twitch. I love this technique, so simple and productive.

                         -searoach