I think it all depends on what your fishing with. Most guys when you say shaky head they use light line and 4 to 6 inch stick type worms. It's nothing for me to take a 12 inch ribbon tail worm, 3/8 football shaky with 20 pound fluorocarbon and fish a rock pile 10 to 20 feet deep. I use the heavy weight to give me a longer cast and the 20 pound test to give me a good hook set. With this setup I can fish it with a bait caster and do just fine. I normally use two different types of shaky heads. The ball type for fishing weed lines and the football for fishing just about everything else. I will fish the 6 inch dragon tail on an 1/8 shaky if it's a tough bite. I've caught a ton of fish on that bait.