Jeremy from Fishing the Lonestar breaks down the shakey head and why he thinks you should be fishing it more for post spawn bass that have moved offshore. Bass go deep to recover from the rigors of the spawn, and feed on just about anything that crosses their path. Slow-dragging a shakey head across rock or gravel is a great way to trigger strikes from bass that have seen their fill of crankbaits and ned rigs. 

Video transcript:

Jeremy Francis:
Oh, that's a good fish. Oh, that's a great fish.

Speaker 2:
Whoa. Awesome.

Jeremy Francis:
That's another four pounder.

Speaker 2:
That's got to be five.

Jeremy Francis:
Crushed it. Yes. Yes, baby. Look at that.

Jeremy Francis:
What's going on guys? Welcome back to the Monster Bass channel. Today, we're talking about a specific lure and technique that is going to help you catch fish on those days that are extremely tough days. And I'll explain what a tough day is, in my opinion, in just a moment. I'll also tell you what lure it is in just a moment. And yes, every catch that you saw in the intro leading up to this video, or leading into this video, was on this [inaudible 00:01:09] lure.

Jeremy Francis:
But first I want to introduce myself. My name is Jeremy Francis. I run the channel Fishing the Lonestar. You can follow me on Instagram, TikTok. Yes, even on TikTok, and also here on YouTube. [inaudible 00:01:20] link below. But if not, check out Fishing the Lonestar.

Jeremy Francis:
All right, guys, let's talk about the lure that I believe is going to help you catch a lot of fish on very tough days. We're going to talk about the equipment that I use for it, that I believe helps in a couple different ways. We'll talk about the specific lure itself and qualities or characteristics to look for in this soft plastic that will actually accelerate your bites, and your hookup ratios, and landing more fish. And we'll talk about one big enhancement that you can make as well, to help you get some really big fish certain times of the year.

Jeremy Francis:
And the lure that I'm referring to is, the Shakey Head. Yes, the Shakey Head. This is a six inch worm. I'll come back to the soft plastic in a minute, but I like to throw this on a 3/16th ounce to a quarter ounce jig head. Again, I'll come back to that in just a moment, but let's talk about the equipment and the gear that I use to fish the Shakey Head.

Jeremy Francis:
And again, it's 3/16th to a quarter ounce. Really I'll step up to a quarter ounce if it's windy, otherwise I'm throwing a 3/16th ounce. And the gear that I like to use, first of all, the gear ratio reel is somewhere between around a 7.51 gear ratio. Really doesn't matter because you're not moving the worm itself. You're not moving it with your reel. You're just going to move it with your rod. And as I'm explaining some of this, I want to show some on the water footage as well. So you're going to see some catches, some footage, et cetera, that I'll overlay into this video.

Jeremy Francis:
But you're going to move the worm with your rod, kind of hop it or drag along bottom, or just dead stick it. Letting it sit there is going to be highly effective if you're using one particular type of plastic. Again, I'll come to that in bullet point number two, but still on bullet point number one.

Jeremy Francis:
The reel, 7.51 gear ratio, or even faster. You can go faster. You can go slower as well. But 7.51 is about what you want. I also use a medium heavy rod, but I will tell you this particular medium heavy rod has a lot of tip. You see how there's a lot of bend here. So actually is probably a little bit more of a medium power, but a medium heavy will work fine. If you're going to be throwing lighter, 3/16th or even a 1/8th ounce, I would even go with a medium power. Fast action's fine, but a medium power rod. It's just going to allow you to get more casting distance on your cast because you're going to have more of a parabolic bend in your back swing to help launch the cast forward on your lighter lures.

Jeremy Francis:
The line that I like to use is 14 pound floor carbon. That's just what I use here in Texas. If you're fishing clear waters, I maybe go to a 10 or 12. Just know you really aren't going to be able to really jack them with that type of line. But 14 pound is usually what I use, with the exception of the third bullet point I'm going to get to in a minute. So stay tuned for that.

Jeremy Francis:
The reel itself, all right, this is the Lew's Custom Lite. This is a pretty new reel for me. I really like it because it's light as the name implies, but be because it's light and it's meant to cast lighter lures, whether it be a weightless soft plastic or any type of Shakey Head, Nico Ray, things like that. This reel works really well. But previously, before upgrading to this one, I did use the Lew's LFS. So this is just a standard $100 Lew's reel, aluminum frame. This also worked really well. This actually is what I just took off of this combo. So Lew's LFS works really well. I prefer the Custom Lite. I can just cast a little bit further with it. It's a little bit lighter in hand. So it depends on if I'm going to be using this a lot in a particular day. I'm probably going to go with the Lew's Custom Lite, but the LFS is a great reel as well.

Jeremy Francis:
All right, let's talk about the soft plastic. Now this particular soft plastic is called the MB for muscle back. But MB Fat Finesse Worm by Xzone Lures. And let me show you the jig head that I have here. I'm just going to take this off. And what you'll see here with the jig head is just a screw lock here. This is a tungsten, but you can throw lead as well. It's just tungsten allows you to go a little bit of a smaller head. But pretty compact head design. This is a 1/4th ounce. Again, I like to throw it with 3/16th ounce as well.

Jeremy Francis:
But one thing about the screw lock is you're literally just going to take your soft plastic, just stick it right in the middle. Just screw that right in. Helps if I do it actually holding it this way to get it started. Okay. So you're just going to screw that right into your soft plastic. Really until the soft plastic comes up to the head right about there. I like to lay my hook across to see about where it's going to go in. And I'm just going to almost kind of bury that hook right into the plastic. You'll notice it doesn't even come out. Obviously, unless I push on it. Doesn't come out, that's so I can stay extremely weedless as I'm dragging this along bottom.

Jeremy Francis:
But one thing is you really want to look for in your Shakey Head Worms, I'm telling you, this is going to get you more bites. Is you want a worm that has very little to no salt in it, and is going to float just like this, right? So when this Shakey Head hits bottom, if I dead stick it, which means I don't move it at all, this tail is going to float up. It's not going to fall down and just lay on bottom. A worm with a lot of salt will do that. Instead, this worm is actually going to stand up just like this.

Jeremy Francis:
So the MB Fat Finesse Worm by Xzone allows that worm to float, or it's a floating worm. The Airtail Wiggler by Grande Bass Fishing that came in a recent Monster Bass Box does the exact same thing because it has air in the tail. So either one of those, I would recommend that you can use as a good Shakey Head Worm that is going to stand up just like this on the bottom. And I promise you, it's going to help you get a lot of bites.

Jeremy Francis:
Now, almost every fish that you've seen me catch so far in this video, the highlight clips, et cetera, have come on this exact color, which is a plum color. It works extremely well. It's like a darker red with some blue flake. Whether you're fishing colder temps, warmer temps, normal water temps, doesn't really matter. Something about that red and that blue flake, just really gets fish to bite in some of the toughest conditions.

Jeremy Francis:
Now, what I consider to be tough conditions is when the barometric pressure is rising, you've got a very high sun, meaning there's little to no clouds. Maybe there's some extreme temperatures. Whether it be really hot, really cold, or just a crummy day and fish aren't biting. Slow down, throw the Shakey Head. Throw it around hard bottom or around timber. And you should be able to catch some fish and get a lot of bites, and it should work really well for you.

Jeremy Francis:
All right, now I mentioned one really big upgrade that you can use in certain times and certain conditions to catch even bigger fish. And that is going to a Magnum Worm. Now this is an 8 1/2 inch worm. Again, no salt. So it's going to float even 8 1/2 inches. It's going to float and stand up. This particular worm is made by Smash Tech Custom Baits. It's actually a company based out of Texas. I really like their worms, but several other companies make worms that are similar. Zoom makes one. Strike King makes one.

Jeremy Francis:
And then speaking of Strike King, what I like to use with this big worm is going to be your tour grade magnum jig head. Now this will come in several different sizes, both in hook size and weight size, but this is a 7/0 hook and a half ounce head. Now that looks ginormous, I get it. I understand. It may seem like it's a little daunting, but when you pair these two together, when that goes in there and the hook comes in here, you'll see that actually gives you a good amount of bite if you will. Where that worm can still slide down and you got a big hook that can still penetrate fish.

Jeremy Francis:
So again, this is a 7/O half ounce. They make it 3/8th ounce and a 5/O. Several different combinations of hook size and weight size, but in they're really hot summer months, or sometimes just when you feel like there's big fish around, you need that big bite. Say your tournament fishing, that 8 1/2 inch worm. Again, other companies make one as well. The Bull Worm, I believe by Strike King as well. It helps draw in bigger bites, bigger fish, et cetera.

Jeremy Francis:
Now, obviously, if you're upgrading to the bigger hook, you're going to want to upgrade your line. This is where I go to 20 pound floor carbon. I'll also throw in a heavy to extra heavy rod. Gives me a little bit more power on the hook sets. So something to consider if you're stepping up to the bigger hook, but just to kind of show you size comparison between these two. I'm laughing because there's really not a size comparison. They don't really compare at all, but there's your differences of worm size. And then here's your difference in hook size.

Jeremy Francis:
So this is what I throw probably 90% of the time, a six inch worm on a 3/16th to a half ounce weight. But there are times that I will step up to the bigger worm and it works. You get a lot of big bites.

Jeremy Francis:
All right, guys. So that's it. When you need bites, when the day's just tough. High barometric pressure, maybe post front conditions, high sun. Just those tough days, break out the Shakey Head, and I think you'll have a lot of success. Use the right equipment and the gear for it, and you'll have some good hookup ratios. And I promise you'll catch some good fish.

Jeremy Francis:
Make sure you stay tuned right here to the Monster Bass YouTube channel where we're going to provide you lots of great tips and videos to help you make the most out of your time on the water, and to help you fish better. Monster Bass, go catch one.