Shaky baits?

[efishnc]

My buddy only uses Senkos for shaking and I have used to use almost everything but the Senko-style baits, looking for more action and typically favoring the more craw imitating baits (like the mud bug or flipping gorilla).  However, in the last two or three weeks I have developed a real love affair with the 6" tube worm for this application.  Looking at it in shallow water, the action is incredible and I can see why a bass would grab it; plus, it is very collapsible and the seems to have a good hook-up ratio.  One could argue that a standard (shorter) tube has a  bit of a craw appearance, but I think the tube worm's 6" length and seductive sashay preclude this and might give it more of a lamprey look... (of course we will never know for sure what the fish are seeing it as other than food)... whatever it is, I'm diggin' the success it has been showing me.

Just curious as to what everyone sees as their preferred bait to use with the shaky method of fishing.  I'm interested in sizes and colors of baits, as well as style, and locations of use. 

(FYI: I typically only use shakies on sand bottoms and vary my color with the skies.)

[Muskygary]

I like six inch worms in watermelon red, but being an old timer I usually start out with the Texas rig.

[Justin9j]

If it fits on a shaky head I throw it.  But never the six inch.  I don't have any of these. But I'm thinking I need some. 
I don't just shaky it. I drag pop hop and swim slow.  I'll shaky in a mud puddle if I think there are fish there.  I allows have one tied on. Sometimes two

[andrewlamberson]

I fish a shakey (I use the Do-it mold) with a 4 or 5" Carrot or the 4.5" Dragon Tail worm most of the time. I've also have done well with the MadDad 3xl.

I don't like using long worms (6" + ) because it seems like the Sand Pike or Yellow Perch (maybe Bluegill?) just keep nipping the tail. I get hits...but few fish.

[BareKnuckleJigs]

6" Finesse Worm and 4" Finesse Worm for Shaky.  Choot 'Em in Soft, cure for 2-4 weeks and watch 'em wiggle.  As I'd mentioned a little while back, I poured some 6" Flippin' Sticks with a piece of Floating Foam (bout 1" long) at the Taper so it floats tail-up, and I'll fish these on one of my renditions of the Jig Rig...presentation, Power Shaky.  The Flippin' Sticks are Green Pumpkin that gets a double-dipped Blue Pearl tail (of course, more colors and variations are on the way).  Finesse Worms are reliable in Green Pumpkin and Black.  Try pouring the Flippin' Stick with a generally full Body and a Pin Tail, then if You want, You can dip the Pin Tail (upto or onto the Taper) for a lively 2nd-color Tail Tip.  These will work Wacky or Shaky.

[efishnc]

I fish a shakey (I use the Do-it mold) with a 4 or 5" Carrot or the 4.5" Dragon Tail worm most of the time. I've also have done well with the MadDad 3xl.

Wow, I'm surprised by going so small on a shaky... I use the 4.5 dragon on a drop-shot  (I actually got the 6" tube worm for drop-shotting as well, but then it seemed too big for that presentation and I just never had the confidence in it.)  Anyway, I ended up trying it on a shaky because my buddy was back-seating my craw with his Senko; I didn't want to flat out copy his presentation and grabbed the tube worm as a compromise and it turned out to be a great choice (to out fish him).  My thought on this success is maybe it's just a little more bait for the bass to grab easier as compared to a smaller offering?... not sure, but bigger was better, and they definitely want it shaken on the bottom, not hopped.

[efishnc]

I like six inch worms in watermelon red, but being an old timer I usually start out with the Texas rig.

What kind of tail?

[Denny Welch]

I also use Do-It's shakey head jig mold.  I load it with a red/black flake 6" skinny carrot and fish it a couple times a week in one of my HOA's ponds...low weeds/grass.  No salt, no HDA.  Toss it out and leave it alone.  Give it a light twitch every couple minutes or so. Can be booorrring at times, but it produces fish on a regular basis.

[efishnc]

If it fits on a shaky head I throw it.  But never the six inch.  I don't have any of these. But I'm thinking I need some. 
I don't just shaky it. I drag pop hop and swim slow.  I'll shaky in a mud puddle if I think there are fish there.  I allows have one tied on. Sometimes two

No favorite or "go-to" baits for this? 

I just started doing this last year, and I'm looking for more knowledge than what I have been exposed to from those around here... it seems everybody throws a Senko (or a copy) and I was breaking the norm by using a more craw sized/imitating bait.

[efishnc]

I also use Do-It's shakey head jig mold.  I load it with a red/black flake 6" skinny carrot and fish it a couple times a week in one of my HOA's ponds...low weeds/grass.  No salt, no HDA.  Toss it out and leave it alone.  Give it a light twitch every couple minutes or so. Can be booorrring at times, but it produces fish on a regular basis.

Thanks, Denny, that gives me a completely different picture.  Weeds... (I would have always thought Texas rig)... and dead-sticking... (it just doesn't seem like it is living up to the shaky name)... and the skinny carrot... (again it just amazes me to go with such a small piece of plastic.)

That's the kind of detail I hoping to glean from all those that post here... I'm no novice to fishing, but I am to this technique.

[efishnc]

I'll fish these on one of my renditions of the Jig Rig...presentation, Power Shaky. 

Finesse Worms are reliable in Green Pumpkin and Black. 

Try pouring the Flippin' Stick... These will work Wacky or Shaky.

I would love to hear a little more of your Power Shaky (jig rig).

What size finesse worms do you run, or what sizes in what situations?

I have the whack'm worm, which I make into a flippin stick, a robo worm, a glider, and a ribbed stick for wacky rigging... (I could pinch a piece of foam in the tail section, facing into the body of the worm, to make it float like your design, and depending on how it turns out, I could cut off the flat portion and color dip as you are suggesting)...  I really like the idea of a floating tail section.

[BareKnuckleJigs]

Basicly, Power Shaky just amounts to non-Finesse Shaky...Shaky combined with Power Fishing.  Typical Jig Rig is a weight (like Finesse Drop Shot), Worm Hook and a Split Ring.  One of my renditions is a Worm Hook, in this case with the Flippin' Stick on a Gamakatsu EWG 5/0, my weight, all strung on a Black Nickel Snap.  With the Floating Tail Section...shake it on a moderately-slack line, like You would a Shakyhead Worm.  Shake and Click, tail waggin'.

6" and 4" Do-It Finesse Worms, Shaky and Drop Shot...whatever floats Your boat...I am NOT against the 6" on Drop Shot, either...even better when there's a little grass to stay above.  The 6" Finesse Worm is a little long for short-strikers, but rolled up, it's actually not much bait.  That littl bit extra length also helps to keep the Panfish off my bait.  Serious on Shaky, shot in Soft.

[Justin9j]

Five inch carrot is my go to. When things get tough.  Which is almost every day in Indiana. 

Love a small c tail on it too. 

[efishnc]

Thanks BKJ, that sounds like a pretty neat rig and very simple in design; I may give it a whirl in the future after I make some floating tails.  I'm actually ok with panfish to catfish eating my bass gear with the one exception of the razor-toothed carp we so abundantly have up here.  (Yes, I do fish the esox family on occasion, but I can never seem to exclude their biting to just the times I'm specifically fishing for them... if I could recoup the price of every bait the freshwater 'cuda took from me, I would easily have a new boat.)

Thanks for clarifying J9... it only drives home the point that I should not limit my finesse type worms to just drop-shotting.  Four inch c-tails were my "go-to" for stitching when I fished Denny's neighborhood years ago (but that fell out of that practice for me when I returned to the Upper Miss); it seems all too obvious now that I should be using them on a shaky.

I welcome all the input I can get on this topic, so please chime in if you haven't.

[efishnc]

I was just looking at the tube worm, and it is actually 6.75"... bigger than I thought it was until this post.  Don't let the size scare you for a shaky presentation; if my cold water bass (around the 44th parallel) eat it, those farther south should as well.  In the future, I will be trying some of the smaller worms, but it's gonna be really hard for them to beat my confidence in this bigger bait with the shaky jig.