Brand New Method For Wacky Rigging Large Stickbaits

[Elijah.Loves.Fishin]

Hey guys!

So I am almost 100% sure that I have just invented a brand new way to wacky rig Large stickbaits! By Large I mean 9" stickbaits. I haven't even seen any 9" stickbaits on the market. However, by cutting half an inch off the end of two 5" stickbaits, and bonding them together with Mend-It, I have created 9" stickbaits from home.

I thought to myself, "How am I going to rig this thing so that I can optimize my chances for a hookset?" Immediately, I already knew that if I simply wacky rigged it, the chances are more than likely that 2 things would happen. 1, the bass bites one end and steals the entire worm. 2, the bass short strikes and avoids the hook. So I needed to come up with a solution that would allow me to fish this 9" stickbait and guarantee me a near 100% chance to hook the fish.

I present to you what I am calling the Elijah Rig. Until proven otherwise that somebody else has created this exact same rig from home before me, I am claiming ownership of this rig and it's invention.

To see it and for an explanation on how I did it, view this brief video.
Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXFEqiWuens

Here is a picture of the 9" stickbaits that I created.
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/417515_183050465136334_173891249385589_318675_105297950_n.jpg

[G-Man]

Not a bad looking rig, although I don't think that you need to worry about a short strike when it comes to fishing stickbaits. Bass inhale their meals, which is why the strike isn't always easy to detect until after they start to run off with your bait. On the other hand, trout and perch will rip your bait apart, piece by piece, if it is too large to fit in their mouths easily. Here is a vidoe of what I'm talking about. The goldfish are never really hit, they just "dissapear" when sucked in by the bass.

[Elijah.Loves.Fishin]

Not a bad looking rig, although I don't think that you need to worry about a short strike when it comes to fishing stickbaits. Bass inhale their meals, which is why the strike isn't always easy to detect until after they start to run off with your bait. On the other hand, trout and perch will rip your bait apart, piece by piece, if it is too large to fit in their mouths easily. Here is a vidoe of what I'm talking about. The goldfish are never really hit, they just "dissapear" when sucked in by the bass.

i'm aware of how bass eat however, being in washington, there aren't a whole lot of bass that can easily swallow a 9" stickbait with ease. you'd have to weed through a lot of the smaller one and two lbers. and i've seen several bass even in the 3 lb range come up and suck up one side of the bait while i had to wait for them to take the second bite or gulp before i could set the hook. especially since this 9" stickbait was created by joining 2 separate baits with mend-it, they'd likely tear one end off before getting to it. but i'll have to test both methods out in the spring

[SculpinKing]

i'm aware of how bass eat however, being in washington, there aren't a whole lot of bass that can easily swallow a 9" stickbait with ease. you'd have to weed through a lot of the smaller one and two lbers. and i've seen several bass even in the 3 lb range come up and suck up one side of the bait while i had to wait for them to take the second bite or gulp before i could set the hook. especially since this 9" stickbait was created by joining 2 separate baits with mend-it, they'd likely tear one end off before getting to it. but i'll have to test both methods out in the spring

This begs the question, if there are no bass big enough to inhale this bait in Washington (or likely anywhere, since if the monsters in Florida could swallow it someone would likely sell one), why go through the trouble of making one? Just for fun, or do you find the fish more likely to strike a bigger stickbait? I'm always amazed the people in Washington apparently buy the 7" ones when I see them in stores, much less an even bigger one.

[Fish-N-Fool]

This begs the question, if there are no bass big enough to inhale this bait in Washington (or likely anywhere, since if the monsters in Florida could swallow it someone would likely sell one), why go through the trouble of making one? Just for fun, or do you find the fish more likely to strike a bigger stickbait? I'm always amazed the people in Washington apparently buy the 7" ones when I see them in stores, much less an even bigger one.

I don't think a 7" or a 9" bait is to big for the size of bass we have in the N.W. here. I fish a 10" version of my Sink-N-Fool bait quite a bit and do very well with them. They are about an ounce and a half of heavy salt plastic. Sure you don't catch any 12" bass on them, but I get a lot of fish in the 3 lbs. and up range. When it comes to fishing for trophy size L.M. in this area I don't think you can throw a bait that is too large. Granted you will not catch the numbers of fish that a 6" bait would, but when a bass eats a 10" bait it's gonna be a toad. I was Muskie fishing last year in Newman Lake near Spokane with a 10" Perch swimbait and hooked into a fish. I thought it was a small Musky at first, but it turned out to be a 5 lb. L.M. Bass. This about 21 " fish ate a bait that was half it's size!!!! Sure catching numbers of fish can be fun, but if you want to catch the biggest fish of your life throw a over sized bait all day long sometime and see what you can catch. Here is one of my 10" Sink-N-Fools with a 7/0 EWG worm hook and a penny in the middle of it for scale.



Go big or go home!

[Amx]

At the Sportsman show this past weekend someone threw in a 6" or 8" trout Sat evning/night/Sun morning. The bigger, 3-4 lb, largie ate it and had the tail sticking out a little. Then on Sun she followed another bait during a seminar and looked like she might want to eat that, and the tail was still sticking out. 10" to 15" is nothing for a 4 pounder and bigger largie.

[Elijah.Loves.Fishin]

i'm aware of how bass eat however, being in washington, there aren't a whole lot of bass that can easily swallow a 9" stickbait with ease. you'd have to weed through a lot of the smaller one and two lbers. and i've seen several bass even in the 3 lb range come up and suck up one side of the bait while i had to wait for them to take the second bite or gulp before i could set the hook. especially since this 9" stickbait was created by joining 2 separate baits with mend-it, they'd likely tear one end off before getting to it. but i'll have to test both methods out in the spring

This begs the question, if there are no bass big enough to inhale this bait in Washington (or likely anywhere, since if the monsters in Florida could swallow it someone would likely sell one), why go through the trouble of making one? Just for fun, or do you find the fish more likely to strike a bigger stickbait? I'm always amazed the people in Washington apparently buy the 7" ones when I see them in stores, much less an even bigger one.

they do make a lot bigger worms. but the 9 - 10+ inch worms are typically ribbon tail worms. i have yet to see a stickbait on the market that is bigger than the 7" original senkos. they are typically 5" stickbaits.

show me a 9+ inch stickbait that sells on the market and depending on the price i may purchase it. but there are so many 5" stickbaits that are readily available and for a low cost that there really isn't much of a need to buy them in 9"+ even if they were available.

[Elijah.Loves.Fishin]

I don't think a 7" or a 9" bait is to big for the size of bass we have in the N.W. here. I fish a 10" version of my Sink-N-Fool bait quite a bit and do very well with them. They are about an ounce and a half of heavy salt plastic. Sure you don't catch any 12" bass on them, but I get a lot of fish in the 3 lbs. and up range. When it comes to fishing for trophy size L.M. in this area I don't think you can throw a bait that is too large. Granted you will not catch the numbers of fish that a 6" bait would, but when a bass eats a 10" bait it's gonna be a toad. I was Muskie fishing last year in Newman Lake near Spokane with a 10" Perch swimbait and hooked into a fish. I thought it was a small Musky at first, but it turned out to be a 5 lb. L.M. Bass. This about 21 " fish ate a bait that was half it's size!!!! Sure catching numbers of fish can be fun, but if you want to catch the biggest fish of your life throw a over sized bait all day long sometime and see what you can catch. Here is one of my 10" Sink-N-Fools with a 7/0 EWG worm hook and a penny in the middle of it for scale.



i guess i should have been more clear. i don't consider them too big for ALL of the bass that we have here in the northwest, but the majority of them. while there are plenty of 3,4 & 5+ lbers to be caught, a ton of 1's and 2's are caught more frequently. and when you throw your bait, there isnt' always going to be a 3, 4 or 5 lb bass that is capable of inhaling a 9" stickbait. Especially since stickbaits are a much thicker profile than most worms and depending on the density of the plastic and how heavily salt impregnated it is, it may or may not fold over easily and get sucked straight into a bass's mouth. i just came up with this rig to tripple up my odds of actually hooking a fish that decides to take a swipe at this lure. I've had 6" bass come up and bite a 6" swimbait and there is no way that bass is ever going to get hooked.

Go big or go home!

[Fish-N-Fool]

they do make a lot bigger worms. but the 9 - 10+ inch worms are typically ribbon tail worms. i have yet to see a stickbait on the market that is bigger than the 7" original senkos. they are typically 5" stickbaits.

show me a 9+ inch stickbait that sells on the market and depending on the price i may purchase it. but there are so many 5" stickbaits that are readily available and for a low cost that there really isn't much of a need to buy them in 9"+ even if they were available.

Look at my 10" bait above. Some of us do make them and fish them a lot as well.

[Elijah.Loves.Fishin]

they do make a lot bigger worms. but the 9 - 10+ inch worms are typically ribbon tail worms. i have yet to see a stickbait on the market that is bigger than the 7" original senkos. they are typically 5" stickbaits.

show me a 9+ inch stickbait that sells on the market and depending on the price i may purchase it. but there are so many 5" stickbaits that are readily available and for a low cost that there really isn't much of a need to buy them in 9"+ even if they were available.

Look at my 10" bait above. Some of us do make them and fish them a lot as well.

i've seen that, but that's not exactly what comes to mind when i think stickbait. it's a different profile but that's just my opinion. the 7" yamasenkos are super fat and thick and like other "stickbaits" they have a round ribbed profile. i don't want to have to fish a single monster hook like a 7/0 to increase my chances of a hook up.

[Elijah.Loves.Fishin]

At the Sportsman show this past weekend someone threw in a 6" or 8" trout Sat evning/night/Sun morning. The bigger, 3-4 lb, largie ate it and had the tail sticking out a little. Then on Sun she followed another bait during a seminar and looked like she might want to eat that, and the tail was still sticking out. 10" to 15" is nothing for a 4 pounder and bigger largie.

the thing with a trout of a swimbait is that one they get to a certain size, bass are well aware that they can't swallow it tail first and will hit them head first. that's why big swimbaits like the huddlestons have a big single jig hook towards the head of the bait. a stickbait doesn't have a head or tail when wacky rigged and if the bass decides to strike either end and doesn't get the whole bait in it's mouth, your chances of a hook up aren't very good.

[Fish-N-Fool]

i guess i should have been more clear. i don't consider them too big for ALL of the bass that we have here in the northwest, but the majority of them. while there are plenty of 3,4 & 5+ lbers to be caught, a ton of 1's and 2's are caught more frequently. and when you throw your bait, there isnt' always going to be a 3, 4 or 5 lb bass that is capable of inhaling a 9" stickbait. Especially since stickbaits are a much thicker profile than most worms and depending on the density of the plastic and how heavily salt impregnated it is, it may or may not fold over easily and get sucked straight into a bass's mouth. i just came up with this rig to tripple up my odds of actually hooking a fish that decides to take a swipe at this lure. I've had 6" bass come up and bite a 6" swimbait and there is no way that bass is ever going to get hooked.

My answer was to SculpinKing he was the one that didnt see the point of fishing big baits in this area.

[Elijah.Loves.Fishin]

no offense, but go big or go home is probably the dumbest thing i have ever heard when it comes to bass fishing. you can tell that to bill siementel who caught a 17 lb largemouth on a spro phat fly which was either 1/16th or 1/32nd oz. that bass is probably 10 lbs bigger than most people will catch in washington. especially in states like washington, finesse is key.

[Fish-N-Fool]

i've seen that, but that's not exactly what comes to mind when i think stickbait. it's a different profile but that's just my opinion. the 7" yamasenkos are super fat and thick and like other "stickbaits" they have a round ribbed profile. i don't want to have to fish a single monster hook like a 7/0 to increase my chances of a hook up.

Any bait that is fished on the fall like my Sink-N-Fool or the other "round bait", is a stick bait or deadstick bait is named more for how you fish them then the shape of the bait. My Sink-N-Fool is just a better version of a stick bait as it has a lot more action on the fall.

[Elijah.Loves.Fishin]

i've seen that, but that's not exactly what comes to mind when i think stickbait. it's a different profile but that's just my opinion. the 7" yamasenkos are super fat and thick and like other "stickbaits" they have a round ribbed profile. i don't want to have to fish a single monster hook like a 7/0 to increase my chances of a hook up.

Any bait that is fished on the fall like my Sink-N-Fool or the other "round bait", is a stick bait or deadstick bait more for how you fish them then the shape of the bait. My Sink-N-Fool is just a better version of a stick bait as it has a lot more action on the fall.

i will agree with that about stickbaits. perhaps i should have further clarified and said "senko style" baits. i'd be curious to see the action of the sink n fool on a fall. i've seen some pretty dang good action on the fall from various brands of senko style baits. i refuse to use the actual yamasenkos because they tear too easily and cost way too much. a lot of people say they're the best but i disagree. the best action and durability i have seen and used on a senko style bass is from a mister twister comida. caught a 3 a 4 and then 2 2 lbers on one of them wacky rigged through the middle and it didn't tear off.

[Fish-N-Fool]

no offense, but go big or go home is probably the dumbest thing i have ever heard when it comes to bass fishing. you can tell that to bill siementel who caught a 17 lb largemouth on a spro phat fly which was either 1/16th or 1/32nd oz. that bass is probably 10 lbs bigger than most people will catch in washington. especially in states like washington, finesse is key.

I never said that you can't catch big fish on small baits, I have myself many times. Heck the 42 pound Idaho state record pike was caught by some guy trolling a tiny wedding ring and a worm. What I said was if you want to only catch big fish use a big bait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never caught a 8" bass using one of my 10" baits.

[Elijah.Loves.Fishin]

no offense, but go big or go home is probably the dumbest thing i have ever heard when it comes to bass fishing. you can tell that to bill siementel who caught a 17 lb largemouth on a spro phat fly which was either 1/16th or 1/32nd oz. that bass is probably 10 lbs bigger than most people will catch in washington. especially in states like washington, finesse is key.

I never said that you can't catch big fish on small baits, I have myself many times. Heck the 42 pound Idaho state record pike was caught by some guy trolling a tiny wedding ring and a worm. What I said was if you want to only catch big fish use a big bait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never caught a 8" bass using one of my 10" baits.

fair enough sorry but i wasn't trying to come off as a jerk. i've been in an annoyed mood today :P

[G-Man]

fair enough sorry but i wasn't trying to come off as a jerk. i've been in an annoyed mood today :P

Elijah - Please don't apologize for voicing your opinion, we would still be stuck in the stone age if folks never questioned the status quo.

F-N-F - could you please tone down the color and size of your font? It is hard on the eyes and doesn't make for an easy read.

[MarkFromSea]

"F-N-F - could you please tone down the color and size of your font? It is hard on the eyes and doesn't make for an easy read."
Also, email messages being what they are, msgs are often misinterpreted as angry or argumentative, with the BOLD type, looks like you are yelling.......... LOL I'm sure I'm wrong in your attempt to convey your thoughts... Just saying,,,, It's all good cause we all just want to catch more fish....

[Fish-N-Fool]

I tend to think bigger is better cause I'm half blind without my reading glasses, but I agree it was harder to read, so I fixed mine. So from now on I will only use this font, still gotta have my color!!