Entry 147-1
Shaw Grigsby on Freshwater Fishing
Me and the Shaky Head Worm
Editor’s Note: Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Florida, is one of Strike King’s most-visible pros with his TV show, his participation in Bassmasters tournaments and the promotions he does at boat shows, fishing events and anywhere sportsmen gather. This week, Grigsby will tell you some of the ways that Strike King lures have helped him to catch bass.
The shaky head worm really became a major fishing technique this year. It’s been around for several years, but this year this tactic really seemed to catch fire. About the third tournament of the year this last season, pro fishermen seemed to be catching a lot of bass on the shaky head worm. The enthusiasm for the shaky head worm gained steam all year long, and now I would say that shaky head worm fishing is one of the top techniques on the professional bass-fishing tournament circuit. Most pros have a shaky head worm tied onto one of their rods at all times.
I went to Atlanta, Georgia, this season to film a show catching spotted bass. Most people would use a regular finesse type worm on their shaky head rigs, but I knew that Strike King had a great finesse Worm in its 3X product line that should work well as a shaky head worm. I put the floating finesse worm on the shaky head jig head and decided to try it out.
The shaky head jig head is different from other jig heads because it’s a ball-shaped jig head with a 60-degree eye. Some fishermen like 90-degree eyes in their jig heads, but I don’t believe 90-degree eyes hook fish as well as 60-degree eyes do. So, instead of having an eye that sticks up 90 degrees from the shaft of the hook, you now can have an eye that sticks out 60 degrees from the shaft to the hook. Now when you set the hook, you have a much bigger gap and much more hook penetration than you do when you have a 90-degree eye in a jig.
The two jig heads that I use are D’s Jig Heads and Bite Me Jig Heads. I super glue the Strike King floating finesse worm on that jig head so that the worm will actually stand up off the bottom. By using the floating finesse worm on the shaky head jig, I’ve got a worm that stands up off the bottom and jiggles when I shake it. Most other worms will just lie on the bottom, but I’ve found that by using the Strike King floating finesse worm on a shaky head jig, I can put on a show with that worm on the bottom that really calls spotted bass to bite.
My favorite color is the green pumpkin, a good color to use when you have a clear-water reservoir to fish. I usually fish the shaky head on either 6-pound or 8-pound test Stren Original. Another thing I do is I use Spike-It 3X spray in the chartreuse color to add a little different color to my green pumpkin worm.
Spike-It has a special spray that’s designed just for 3X soft plastics, and it really works well when I spray the tail of my Strike King finesse worm when I’m fishing the shaky head worm. When we’re fishing under high, clear, blue skies, I don’t use the Spike-It spray. But on an overcast or dark sky, I think that chartreuse really makes the difference in the bass being able to find and take the worm.
Contents:
- Part 1: Me and the Shaky Head Worm
- Part 2: The Birth of the Short Shaky Head
- Part 3: Wacky the Zero
- Part 4: A Sneak Peek at the Mini 3
- Part 5: She's Got a New Skirt
