Published: November 03, 2008 07:47 am      

How to fish the shakey head

There is only one way to learn a new fishing technique, and that is to spend an entire day on the lake practicing.

This week I teamed up with Frank Lusk and headed to Lake Palestine to get an education on how to effectively fish the Shakey Head worm.

One of the deadliest methods to catch bass under tough conditions is the Shakey Head. A Shakey Head doesn’t look very impressive at first glance. After all, it’s basically a small lead head jig with a small hook. Unlike a big bass jig with a thick skirt the Shakey Head utilizes a small Finesse worm. A lot of fishermen use a five-inch, Zoom Finesse worm in light to dark colors.

Lusk and I launched at the deep end on Lake Palestine and immediately started fishing a Nichols’ 1/8 oz. Shakey Head in the rip-rap there at the launch.

On the Shakey Head, a spinning rod loaded with light fluorocarbon line is a must. Some pros fish six or seven pound test. We used 10 and 12 pound test mostly. Lusk has been fishing the Shakey Head seriously for over a year. He had several spinning rods on the deck of his boat, including one that had 10 pound fire line.

Minutes after we started fishing, Lusk began putting fish in the boat. A lot of the fish we caught that day were small, but one bass topped the five-pound mark. Lusk caught the vast majority of the fish that day. He really has perfected that technique.

The Shakey Head technique is totally different from fishing a Texas Rig worm where you drag and hop the worm. When you fish the Nichols’ Shakey Head you want to leave a bow in your line and simply shake the line, causing the bait to quiver and shake. Leave the lure in one spot and shake it. Don’t hop it or drag it. How long you leave the bait in one spot will be determined by how active the fish are. In cold water situations (about 45 to 53 deg. F) you need to leave it in one spot much longer.

On Lake Palestine with the surface temperature at 69 deg. F, we left the bait 10 or 20 seconds in one spot before inching it ahead a little at a time, stop and shake it, etc.

We mostly targeted one to 10 feet. We fished rocky areas and clay points. We found a lot of shad in the mouth of Cobb Creek and caught several Kentuckies up to 1 1⁄2 pounds in that area. According to Lusk, the Shakey Head method is a fast way to get you a limit of 14-inch fish in a tournament. Then you can upgrade using other methods.

A Nichols’ Shakey Head is a good bait for locating fish and catching numbers. On clear, blue bird days, when bass don’t seem to bite other lures, a Nichols’ Shakey Head will put fish in the boat.

This winter when you’re faced with clear water, cold water or cold front situations, the Nichols’ Shakey Head should be your top choice.

Lusk uses mostly Zoom, straight tail Finesse worms. Watermelon/Candy is a good color, but darker colors are good under low light conditions. In shallow water Lusk uses a 1/8 oz. As you go deeper you need to increase the weight.

Bites are very subtle. Most of the time you don’t feel the traditional “tap-tap-tap.” Often you will see your line moving off to the side. Many bites you’ll get appear as a little resistance or weight on the line.

After fishing from daylight to about 3:00 p.m. with Lusk, and catching over 20 bass, I’m convinced that the Shakey Head will get you a lot more bites, especially under tough conditions.



Jerry Miller can be contacted at: gonefishing@suddenlink.net