Two finesse techniques dominate bass angling: the drop shot rig and the shaky head.
By contrast, the Texas and Carolina rigs use the same soft baits but are entirely different techniques.
That doesn’t stop a lot of questions about the Texas rig versus the shaky head, but that’s an apples to oranges comparison that misses the point of the differences between finesse and non-finesse worm techniques.
The shaky head is essentially a light jig with an asymmetrical head. It can be rigged weedless, but it doesn’t have the weight to punch grass mats or lily pads, and it’s not the most visible presentation in heavy cover.
Instead, like the Neko rig, it excels in relatively open water, on hard bottoms, and around sparse vegetation. By forcing your worm or creature bait into a head-down position, it really lets the action of your soft bait strut its stuff, and that shaky head lets you stick to the bottom, working your bait slowly for pressured, spooked bass.
Devastating when fished properly, the shaky head is a must-know technique for bass anglers.
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What is the Shaky Head?
The shaky head is nothing more than an asymmetrical jig head, typically armed with a bait screw to hold a soft plastic like it’s welded to the hook.
When paired with the right bait, you get some real magic.
That head nails your worm or creature to the bottom, letting you drag the rig without losing contact. It also forces your bait into that attractive head-down position, letting the fluttering tail do its thing without you needing to impart any action of your own.
That subtlety puts the “f” in “finesse,” and when the bass are pressured, spooked, or struggling with the heat, gentle action is the key to getting a strike.
But – and this is a big but – the shaky head is often misunderstood by bass fishermen.
Someone, somewhere got the idea that it was essentially a pegged Texas rig, and this idea spread. And while you can see why some anglers think that the shaky head is just a simple way to rig a worm or creature Texas-style, that’s not true at all, and they’re entirely different techniques.
The Texas rig is great for heavy vegetation, and it can be weighted to punch grass and weeds really well. It’s typically rigged weedless, and when fished properly, it really draws strikes in the thick stuff.
But it’s not a finesse technique at all, and it’ll get its lunch eaten on an open, hard bottom by finesse techniques like the shaky head.
In short, these are techniques suited for entirely different situations and purposes, and cosmetic similarities aside, they’re nothing alike.
Awesome shaky head jigs are easy to come by, and one of my favorites is Owner’s Ultrahead. This unpainted lead head is available in 1/16-, 3/16-, ⅛-, and ¼-ounce weights.
If you take a close look, you’ll notice immediately what sets a sky head apart from a standard jig head.
The bait screw is in-line with the point of the hook, leaving the head of your soft plastic in place and orienting it properly for rigging. The head itself isn’t round but asymmetrical, and the eye is oriented 90 degrees from the screw rather than the shank.
All of that adds up to create the finesse presentation this rig is known for, something you just can’t get from a standard jig head or Texas rig.
Another one of my go-to shaky heads is Reaction Tackle’s Tungsten.
Available in a nice range of colors, you can really see the asymmetrical design of these compact tungsten heads. Available in 3/16-, ⅜-, 1/8 -, ¼-, and 1/2-ounce weights, Reaction Tackle has you covered for pretty much any situation and depth. The shaky head is best fished with the lightest weight that gets you to the depth you need, so start on the small end.
But don’t forget Chompers’s Shaky Pro Heads.
That weird head shape really delivers when you drag your bait over riprap and boulders, across logs, and over stumps. Available in ⅛-, ⅜-, and ¼-ounce weights, you can pick black or green heads.
In deeper water, the “old style” shaky head has an advantage.
It can be rigged to create a spiraling descent that really attracts the attention of bass. We’ll get to how to do that in a moment, but my choice for this presentation is the VMC Shaky Head Jig. Offered in ⅛-, 3/16-, and ¼-ounce weights, those heavier sizes reflect its ideal use.
How to Rig a Shaky Head
Rigging a shaky head is easy.
With a screw-down shaky head, just feed the head of your soft plastic onto the screw, then pass the point in through the body and feed it just out over the skin.
You will get a more secure soft bait this way, and you’ll lose a lot fewer worms during the fight.
With the traditional style shaky head, you run your worm onto the hook about ½ an inch, pull the head up flush, and find the place where the point should pass through the body.
The Drag
The other technique relies on the bottom as much as rod tip movement.
In the drag, you cast and let your shaky head settle to the bottom.
With your rod at about 8 to 10 o’clock, gently shake the rod tip while pulling your rig very, very slowly over the bottom. It’s essentially the shake with a bit more forward movement, keeping contact with the bottom, and allowing any features like bumps, ridges, rocks, boulders, sticks, or logs to impart a bit of action to your worm.
But in this case, keep your line tight rather than semi-slack.
See how it’s done: