Regardless of where you live, winter can be some of the most difficult fishing of the year. Fish metabolism decreases significantly, and so does their appetite. Gone are the days of fish hitting every bait that moves past them. While some moving baits can still work, one of my favorite techniques to catch winter bass is to fish a shaky head. This finesse presentation can put fish in the boat on the toughest of days. Let’s dive into everything you need to know about how to fish a shaky head.
What is a Shaky Head?
A shaky head is a lightweight jig with all the weight in the jig head. This allows the bait to stand upright on the bottom, so it waves and quivers in the water. This action mimics crawfish and baitfish, and can entice bites on days when other lures are failing.
Setup
While you can theoretically use any soft plastic on a shaky head, a plastic worm is the way to go 99.9% of the time. Some shaky head jigs come with a screw lock bait keeper so the worm does not slide down the hook. Others do not come with a screw lock and can be rigged like a Texas-rigged worm.
As this is a finesse technique, I fish shaky heads on a medium-power spinning rod with 8-10 lb fluorocarbon. This setup ensures your jig is in contact with the bottom and helps you feel those subtle winter bites. Since I mostly use a shaky head in shallow water, I find 1/8 oz to be a great jig weight.
The color of the worm used depends on the water clarity. In his article on the shaky head, Kevin VanDam says he uses colors like green pumpkin and watermelon in clearer water, and darker colors like Junebug in dirtier water.
Techniques
I fish a shaky head the same way I would a Texas rig. I will pop it off the bottom, let it sink back down, and reel up the slack in my line. One crucial point is that, unlike the Texas rig, the weight is attached directly to the hook and bait. This means they are all in one continuous package, so you don’t need to pop the bait nearly as hard as you would a Texas rig. The shaky head will sink directly back to the bottom after popping it up, whereas the Texas rig has to wait for the weight to slide back down the line to the hook. Too hard of a pop could impart more action than necessary, which can turn off sluggish fish, especially in the winter.
While letting it sit on the bottom, you can also twitch your rod tip to make it sway a little more in the water. In addition to popping and twitching, the shaky head can also be dragged slowly across the bottom.
Since the worm is rigged like a Texas rig and the hook is Texposed back into the plastic, a shaky head can be fished around any kind of cover. While most of my success with a shaky head has come around weed edges, it can also be fished around wood, rock, and docks.
The shaky head can work year-round, but is particularly effective for lethargic winter bass. It is a simple lure to both rig and fish, and can make even the toughest days on the water a success. Wherever you find bass, a shaky head is a great bait to throw. When other baits like jerkbaits and swimbaits aren’t working, tying on a shaky head can be just what you need to start catching fish.