“Tony Stacy Catches Summertime Bass on Mister Twister’s Worms and Super Lizards and Crappie on Mepps’ Spinners”

Part 3: Do a Little Jig Shaking

Editor’s Note: Tony Stacy of Andalusia, Alabama, a tournament bass fisherman in the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League (WBFL), a part of the Forrest L .Wood (FLW) tournament circuit, is an avid fisherman, who is on lakes and rivers 2 to 3 days every week.

Question: I understand you started fishing the shaky-head jig with the Mister Twister Finesse Jig Worm. Tell us how you’re doing it, and why you’re doing it.

Stacy: I like to fish the Mister Twister Finesse Jig Worm with a No. 1 or a No. 2 hook in the jighead. I usually fish it on either a 1/4- or a 1/8-ounce jighead. I fish it primarily in open water on drop-offs and ledges or just out away from the bank. You can keep that bait in one spot and shake it to create an awful lot of action and draw plenty of attention. However, you’ve got be to be willing to fish the bait slowly. And most fishermen won’t sit in the same spot and shake a worm.

I was fishing a WBFL tournament in Demopolis, Alabama, in June, 2002, in hot weather. I threw that shaky-head jig with the Finesse Jig Worm behind a bridge piling out in the middle of the river, expecting to catch a spotted bass out there in that current. But a big ol’ largemouth jumped on it. I had already caught 8 or 10 bass, but on this particular lake there was a 14-inch size limit. None of these fish would have made the limit. I was fishing in 15 or 20 feet of water, which was pretty deep for central Alabama. I noticed that the worm went through some type of brush. I felt sure it was a brush pile because it didn’t feel like metal. I’d let the worm fall down into the brush and then shook it.

Now oftentimes I think we primarily use the shaky-head worm, or at least I do, in open water on points, drop-offs and places where fish can see from a long way off. But I dropped that Finesse Jig Worm right in the center of the brush, and I shook it. As soon as I shook the worm, a 4-pound bass jumped on it. I learned that the shaky-head jig and the Mister Twister Finesse Jig Worm wasn’t just an open-water tactic or lure. Once again, I think we may be missing an opportunity to catch some really-good bass by not fishing this Finesse Jig Worm through brush and cover, much like you’d fish a regular jig or Texas-rigged worm.

What I’m doing a little different to the jig worm when I’m fishing it through brush is I’m bringing the point of the hook out of the worm and then skin hooking the point of the hook to the worm. This way, I’ve got a weedless bait that I can drop down into cover and shake. If a bass doesn’t take it, I can pull that Jig Worm up without getting hung up. But if the bass does take it, it will put enough pressure on the worm to pop the point of the hook out of the skin of the worm and allow me to get a good hook set. I like watermelon seed or June bug in the summer for my Finesse Jig Worm.

I’ve been in love with the Mister Twister Finesse Jig Worm for quite some time. The first tournament I ever fished, I fished on Lay Lake in Alabama. My partner asked me to try the Finesse Jig Worm, and I said, “Okay, I’ll try it.” The Finesse Jig Worm just drove those spotted bass crazy. I caught and released more than 20 bass on that bait the first day I fished it, including a 5-pound largemouth. This big bass came up out of the water, looked at me, shook its head and threw my jig and worm out of its mouth. I can still see that bass jumping and that lure coming out of that fish’s mouth. I’ve learned that shaky-head fishing with these Finesse Jig Worms not only will produce a lot of bass but also big bass.

Something else I’ve learned about the Finesse Jig Worm is that you don’t have to just shake it for it to be effective at catching bass. Sometimes I’ll rig the Finesse Jig Worm on a shaky head, and if the bass aren’t biting the bait on the fall, or when I shake it, then I’ll start dragging it. If the bass start biting the Finesse Jig Worm when I’m dragging it, on the next cast I’ll cast it out, and I won’t even shake it. I’ll start dragging it immediately.

This worm has helped me learn that just because a bait is designed for a particular style of fishing doesn’t mean that’s the only way it can be fished productively. Because the Finesse Jig Worm is only 4-inches long and rather small, most people think the only way you can fish it is on a shaky-head jig or on a drop-shop rig. But I’ve learned it can be just as effective being drug on the bottom on a shaky-head jighead, just like you’ll fish a bigger worm on a jighead.

The advantage that the Finesse Jig Worm on a shaky-head jig gives you is you have four different ways to catch a bass. The bass can take the Finesse Jig Worm on the fall; take the worm when it hits the bottom and stays still; attack the worm when you shake it; and bite the worm when you drag the Finesse Jig Worm.

By being able to give this worm four different actions with the same head, you can let the bass tell you which way it’s most likely to take the bait. Because this is a little worm, and it primarily has been recognized as a shaky-head or a drop-shot worm, don’t think you can’t fish it successfully by dragging it on the bottom. The Finesse Jig Worm really produces for me, and it will for you too.

Here’s another lesson I’ve learned: this worm can solve the problem of short-striking. I was fishing in another tournament with the Mister Twister Phenom Worm, which is a 6-inch worm. I was getting strikes, however I wasn’t catching the bass. They were short-striking me. I was using 10- and 12-pound-test line and getting really frustrated. So I laid aside that bait-casting rod with the 12-pound-test line and the Phenom Worm, picked up my spinning rod with my shaky-head Mister Twister 4-inch Finesse Jig Worm and started fishing some of those same areas where the bass had been short-striking me.

At the end of the day, by downsizing to the Finesse Jig Worm and the shaky-head jig, I produced a five-bass stringer that weighed 17 pounds. This little worm is an excellent follow-up bait to a bigger worm. And, if you’re missing numbers of bass because they’re short-striking the bigger worms, downsize to this 4-inch worm, and you can catch more bass.