Flick Shaking for Finicky Bass

The first time I saw the flick shake in action I was an instant believer in how well it worked for catching hard to catch bass.  There are many ways to fish it but the most popular is to cast it out, let it sink on slack line then if you don't have a fish on the line reel it in again.  One of the reason's for its effectiveness is it allows you to downsize your presentation on heavily fished waters.  It gives the fish something new to look at.

I have made this my go to bait the last couple years and have refined the technique to help me catch more fish.  There are several presentations as well as ways to set up the rig.

There are several different jig head options and I have tried several of them.  I keep going back to a black 1/16 oz. crappie jig head since I generally downsize to a drop shot size worm when the bass aren't cooperating.  For the regular flick shake size worms I will use the BPS Flickin' Shimmy head in the 1/16 or 1/8 oz. size depending on the depth I am fishing.  When I am fishing with the crappie jig heads I have to remember to sweep my rod to the side to set the hook.  If I lift up I will generally miss the hook set.

There are several options for worms.  I don't stick with just the worms with the curved body's.  Any worm with a lot of squirm to them works well.  For the smallest presentation, roboworm straight tails work great.  The color makes a difference.  Natural colors work well but sometimes the odd colors will really get them.  Once I zone in on the presentation then I will switch colors to find one the bass prefer more.  Once you find a color, the bass will generally stay with that color for several days or weeks.  You may have to switch up your presentation depending on fishing conditions.

The rod and line for this presentation are critical.  The fish generally bite very lightly and you have to be able to feel that in order to catch them.  I use a medium light action graphite spinning rod paired with 8 or 10 pound flourocarbon.

There are four main presentations that I use and I will try all four each time out to see what is working best.  First, I cast, let the bait settle to the bottom then twitch the bait back to me shaking the rod, pulling an inch or two at a time.  When the jig head lurches off the bottom the worm bends and shakes as it moves forward.  Second, I will cast to a good spot and dead stick the bait.  During the fall, on a cold day, this presentation has worked well.  Third, I will cast and reel the bait back to the boat both fast and slow.  The tips of the the worm vibrate or shimmy as it is pulled through the water.  Fourth, I will jig the bait back to the boat.  I jerk the worm a foot or two off the bottom and let it settle back down to the bottom.

Once you start using this bait tinker with it to make it yours, run it weightless, put nail weights in the ends of the worm, there are numerous things you can do to make this work for you.