“There’s a fish,” I said to my son. I had just tossed my Senko, rigged wacky style, along the outside weed edge and saw my line jump as the bait was falling. I set the hook and soon hoisted an 18-inch largemouth aboard the boat. “Nice one. How did he hit?” asked my son. “Gulped it down on the fall and then just sat there,” was my reply. 

“The bait is still good,” I added as I slipped the fish back in the water and lined up another cast. “Wow! Look at him go,” my son said a few casts later. A small largemouth had grabbed his wacky-rigged Senko and was running down the weed line. A good hookset and a brief battle had a 15-incher in the boat for Parker. “Looks like they are cruising the outside edge of these weeds pretty good,” I observed as Parker released his bass. “Gonna be a good morning,” was Parker’s reply.

There are many lures and ways of presenting them for modern bass anglers to choose from. They all work in certain conditions, and some of them seem to always work. What lures to choose and how to fish them often depend on the location a bass angler chooses to fish. 

Depending on time of year, water temperature, sunlight conditions, wind, barometric pressure, fishing pressure, boating activity, and frontal passings, a bass angler can choose to fish shallow, deep, or in between. Once the spot is chosen, he/she can choose to fish vertically or horizontally, slow or fast. Bass chasers can also choose to fish on the inside edge of the weeds, in the weeds, on the outside edge of the weeds, in wood, or over rocks. Largemouth and smallmouth bass can even be caught suspended at times, chasing pelagic baitfish.

I have my favorite techniques for spring, summer, and fall. I have favorite lures for fishing in weeds, along weeds, and over weeds. I have faith in other baits for fishing in wood, under docks, and over rocks. I like to fish horizontally to start, trying to cover water to find and catch active bass. Spinnerbaits, topwater baits, chatterbaits, weedless spoons, jerkbaits, swimbaits, and crankbaits all inhabit my tackle storage boxes in good numbers for actively searching for aggressive fish. 

Sometimes, when the conditions warrant it, you must slow down and/or fish more vertically to catch bass consistently. A lot of baits and techniques do this as well, but my favorite finesse presentation is a stick worm rigged wacky style. When bass are less aggressive, it seems that I can always catch some of them on this presentation. I fish this bait in many depths, along weed edges, around emergent weeds and wood, over rocks, and around docks. This simple presentation has saved the day many times when bass were reluctant to chase other baits.

What is a stick worm? The Yamamoto Senko is a well-known brand that often has this category of soft plastic baits called “Senkos.” It is a 3.5- to 5-inch heavy, soft plastic worm with no action appendages or tail, shaped much like a stick or cigar. They are available in a multitude of colors and offered by many manufacturers. Rigging it “wacky” means using a size 1 to 2/0, short-shank “wacky” hook run once through the center of the worm. I mostly use this presentation without any added weight, but you could add weight for deep-water applications.

Fishing this rig weightless, I incorporate a small barrel swivel separating the super line on the reel from a 12-inch leader of Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon tied to the VMC wacky hook. When cast out, this setup falls slowly towards the bottom, with the worm bending around the hook in a “U” shape, the two ends flopping and pulsating as the bait slowly falls to the bottom. Often, the strike will occur on the fall after the cast, as bass come charging after this tantalizing, subtle, tail-waggling fall. If the bait gets to the bottom without a strike, I lift it up off bottom toward the boat, and let it fall again, working it back to the boat. 

To fish deep water with this presentation (weighted), rig it Carolina style with a light, sliding bullet sinker above a swivel attached to a 6- to 12-inch fluorocarbon leader tied to the hook. Fish it the same way back to the boat. If you are fishing weeds, brush, or wood, you can replace the open wacky hook with a weedless version sporting a wire weed guard.

For fishing a wacky Senko, try a 7- to 7-foot, 6-inch spinning combo. I personally use a St. Croix Mojo Bass 7’ 1”, medium-power, fast-action spinning rod, paired with a Pflueger President spinning reel spooled with 14-pound test Berkley Fireline Crystal. A longer spinning combo makes casting this relatively lightweight bait easier, and the fast tip takes up slack line and gets a good hook set. As mentioned, I like adding a small barrel swivel to help with line twist, between the Fireline and a leader of Berkley Vanish 14-pound test fluorocarbon extending to the hook, for stealth and abrasion resistance.

Most of the time. I toss a 5-inch version of a stick worm, but for finicky fish and cold-front conditions will go to smaller baits. As far as colors go, you will have to figure that out each day on the water. Sometimes it is about “matching the hatch;” some days it is about more natural colors in clear water or brighter colors in stained water; and some days it doesn’t matter. I have a selection of pumpkinseed (tan), watermelon (green), blue (bass just love blue soft plastics), black, and combo colors including baits with orange or chartreuse tips for darker water. I like to spray these baits with Berkley Gulp! Nightcrawler or Crawfish Scent in a spray bottle. 

You can fish almost any type of area with these baits, but my favorite spots to fish them are along the inside and outside edges of weed lines. I also fish them around docks and over rocks. They can be fished through sparse pencil reeds early in the season, with a weedless hook being a good idea for this situation. 

I like to move the boat slowly with my MinnKota Ulterra, casting and looking for fish. If I get bit, I hit the Spot-Lock and anchor in the area, saturating it with casts. Sometimes you can find a pretty good school of bass and catch several before having to continue moving. If you have multiple anglers in the boat, try different sizes and colors of Senkos until a pattern is established. Sometimes, it won’t matter what size or color bait; but many days you will find a preference by the fish.

Wherever you fish this presentation, the sensitivity of a superline is essential for feeling light pickups. You need to be a line watcher, looking for your line to jump, or to stop falling too soon for the bait to have reached bottom. Strikes are most common on the fall, or after popping the bait free of a weed, branch, or rock.

If you haven’t tried fishing wacky for bass, you should add the technique to your bass arsenal. The equipment is relatively inexpensive, and it is an easy presentation to fish that can be used in many situations. Some of my largest bass, both largemouth and smallmouth, have come on this presentation. That opening day in central Minnesota, Parker and I lost count at around thirty largemouths, with one pike landed and a couple pike biting us off. We caught several fish over four pounds, and my son got his personal best at just under 22 inches and 6.5 pounds. 

Bass will hit different baits on different days in different conditions, but I haven’t had a day where they refuse to grab a wacky-rigged stick worm. Give this presentation a try; you won’t regret it.