So, do you want a vertical presentation or horizontal?
It all started for me years ago at Eldred Preserve in the Catskills, roughly 1996. That’s when resident bass pro Mike Delvisco introduced to me this new lure called the Senko. I remember Mike calling it the hottest thing around and all you do is just cast it out, let it sink and hang on! Although it wasn’t quite that easy, bass had never seen anything like it, so they bit it, and they bit hard.
As it turned out, there was a lot more you could do with the soft stick plastic; it’s great for skipping docks, flipping into bull rushes, or fishing on a Texas Rig. You name the style, and more than likely a Senko can be used.
This is not an “advertisement” article for Senko as many manufacturers out there make their own versions, including Yum Dinger, Berkley General, KVD Ocho, Big Bite Trick Stick, and many more. Instead what I hope to do here is differentiate between a Wacky Rig and a Neko Rig, and show you where they shine in your local bass waters.
Wacky Rewards
Early on the rewards were bountiful as anglers using this new-found method – Wacky Wormin’ caught a load of bass, and they did not even have to be that good at fishing, this lure was that good. I really do not know if it was the subtle shimmy, salt impregnation or just the “different” look, but bass ate it.
There isn’t a huge difference between wacky and neko worming where bass is concerned. A wacky rigged worm will sink slow and stay horizontal in the water column. It looks very similar to a crayfish at is floats through the water column with its appendages flared. When a crayfish flees, it folds these back, similarly to what a wacky looks like if you pull hard while retrieving. The neko style on the other hand is a vertical presentation where the bait shimmies towards the bottom but on more of a vertical plane. Also this “different look” for bass, and one also allows you to fish deeper water. A wacky fishes horizontally in the water column while a neko fishes vertically, it’s that simple.
When wacky worming began back in the early 70s as the Jersey rig it never really gained momentum until the early 90s. When Senko came about, it took off like a wild fire. What I love about the wacky set up is its simplicity and wide array of options where it can be utilized. When Mike first showed it to me on the clear lake of Sunrise at Eldred Preserve, the lake was clear with an average depth of 15 feet. We made casts in the 5- to 10 -foot areas next to bluegill beds where we had both smallmouth and largemouth bass at will, and of different sizes. As I used the wacky more and more, I found the versatility was immense.
The next option was skipping under docks. If you are like me – and most bass anglers I know -skipping a jig is a tough act, but skipping a wacky is simple. When you skip that worm way back under, you are almost guaranteed a bite. Then of course you also have fishing in lily pads. This might take a little more time and patience to hone as the snags on the lily stems can get a little aggravating. Once I learned that the key was dropping it into holes, and using a circle hook, which actually came about a bit later. The key was to allow the bait to sink; when it was time to reel if you did not get bit, reel very slowly. With this, the worm would bounce off the stems of the pads rather than hook them.
In my opinion, one of the best times and places to use a wacky is open water, just outside grass or lily fields. The most important item is dragonflies however. If there are dragonflies dipping onto the grass, lily or water, this is prime “Wacky Rig” time. A wacky worm perfectly imitates the body of a large dragonfly!
Along Came Neko
The Neko Rig is relatively new to me, but I have been using it now for about 15 years. From the web, and Optimum Baits, I learned that Haruhiko Murakami, a Japanese lure designer, is credited with developing and advancing this technique, adding tungsten nail sinkers to the heads of soft plastic worms. The name Neko comes from the Japanese phrase “Neko-Sogi,” which translates to “the rig that catches all the fish like a vacuum cleaner.”
For me, I don’t remember whom, but I think it was my good buddy Rick Holmberg that got me started. He was always experimenting with stuff! We used the rig whenever we fished Lake Ronkonkoma or Fort Pond on Long Island in the deeper areas where we felt the wacky just took too long to reach the bottom. It started out as a small split shot added to the wacky hook, but with my carpenter experience, we began using small steel nails jabbed into the end.
Although the neko is best suited for deeper water, and has a certain straight-down shimmy bass love, I also use it in shallower areas to pinpoint an exact location I want the worm to fall. As you are fishing, especially amongst grass or lily pads, there may be distinct “holes.” These holes are usually made from where a bass blew through the cabbage to snag a bug, bird, snake or frog. A wacky most of the time would slither left or right, and slowly, whereas I have found the neko drops straight to the bottom, and quickly. I do not know why, but this appeals to bass lying in or near that hole.
In deeper water areas, a neko allows you to pinpoint where the worm will end up. If you are working a steep drop-off, you may want the worm on the ledge in 10 feet. With the neko, you can get it there more easily and quicker than a wacky. The neko is also easier to “walk” up a ledge or drop down one, depending on your desire. With a good set of electronics, you can actually watch the bait, hop and walk down or up the ledge. If you are like me, “feel” is what I use.
Whether you Wacky Rig or Neko Rig is your choice, but hopefully they will both find a way into your arsenal, and become a favorite way to score trophy largemouth and smallmouth this season.
