Fall Wacky Rig Bass Fishing (Catch 10x MORE Bass!)

Hey, guys, Derek Hudnall here, Bassmaster Elite Series Pro, and I want to talk to you guys about the fall months in fishing and one of the most effective methods that you can learn to put more fish in your boat in the fall time. That's the weightless wacky worm. I have probably caught more fish on a weightless wacky worm in my career than anything. It's something that's near and dear to my heart, and if you can learn to become effective and efficient in fishing a weightless wacky worm, it can put more fish into your boat, especially during the fall time.

And we're going to talk about how you can catch more fish on this setup, especially during the fall, but the most important thing is the setup. That way you can be more efficient. The one advantage it's going to give you on the water is you can put this weightless wacky worm where nobody else can. This is a bait you can put where you can't put any other bait for those fish that are really, really hard to catch, and let's face it, that weightless wacky worm can catch fish when absolutely nothing else can. And that's why it is so effective, especially in the fall time.

So let's look...I'm going to take you guys through my setup and exactly what I use to become more efficient in my cast and put more fish in my boat. And let's start with the bait. This right here is a Missile Baits 48. And they call it a 48 for a reason. It's 4.8-inches long. Your typical Senko stick style stick bait is around 5 inches. So it's 4.8 inches long. It's a little bit smaller, a little bit more finesse. One of the most important parts of that 48 is either side is a little fatter than the middle.

What does that do? It allows you to cast it and skip this bait very well. And it also, whenever this bait slowly sinks, either side, those fatter sides, it enhances the wobble effect and that bait wobbles as it slowly sinks. And that's just an action that fish absolutely cannot stand and they just have to eat it. That's why this bait can be so effective.

So let's talk about your setup, your equipment behind it. That way you can be more efficient. We're going to start with the hook. And I know guys that are not affiliated with Gamakatsu that use this hook because it is absolutely the key and the best hook for hook-point penetration especially. Because that's the most important part of the entire fish catch is making sure you get a good hook in that fish and you're going to put him in your boat most of the time.

So this right here is a weedless wacky stinger with titanium weed guards from Gamakatsu. You have to be very careful in your weedless wacky setups because sometimes those weed guards are too stiff, and when a weed guard is too stiff, it impedes the hook-point penetration into that fish, and that's why these titanium weed guards are extremely limber. They are stiff enough in order to not get hung up but it's not going to impede the hook set.

And whenever these weed guards bend in, they pop right back out into place to make sure you can use this hook a super long time. Hook's very important, but, guys, every part of this setup is equally as important as the other one in order for you to be efficient and maximize your effectiveness and efficiency on the water.

So let's go to the line, equally as important. I have a braid backer here. This is Sunline XPlasma Lime Green. It's a high-vis braid. Two reasons. Number one, I want that meat in the backbone. Whenever I lean into them, I can get a really good hookpoint penetration. And then also, when you're fishing a weightless wacky worm, line watching is the key. Whenever you skip this thing underneath a dock, underneath a tree, your eyes need to be glued on this line because as it sinks, you're going to know when that fish grabs it. You'll see the line jump or move up a little bit and you know that fish is in it.

It's very important when you see that not to whip, not to set the hook really hard, but reel into that fish and let your setup and let the hook do its work. Reel into the fish. Do not set the hook. Very, very important. You will hook that fish most of the time. So the braid backer...I use an Alberto knot. It's something very easy to tie on the water especially. It's a very small knot. Comes through the guides of the rod very easily.

Whether you throw an FG knot or a uni to uni, you just choose the knot that you can be more efficient with, and effective, that ties easy. So whatever knot you want to use, that is up to you guys. But this Alberto knot has been very, very effective for me. And it is attached to a 10-pound Sunline Sniper Leader. This is an extremely strong fluorocarbon leader that I have all the confidence in the world to. And then all the way down to the hook, I just tie just an improved clinch knot. And it's whatever knot that you have the most confidence in. That's the knot that you need to go with.

So, now, we're going to go into the spinning reel setup of this. Very important. And this right here is the GX Series by SeVIIn Reels. This is a 2500. That's the size that I like to throw. The really cool thing about this is the drag system in here has ball bearings in it. A lot of drag systems are just metal-to-metal. There's just a little oil or grease in there. And sometimes whenever that drag is pulling, you'll find it slipping in catching sometimes. Well, with a ball-bearing drag system, whenever that fish pulls, it's very, very smooth. The drag comes out smooth. And that's what you need. Because if you don't have a good drag system, you're going to either be putting too much pressure or not enough on there whenever that fish is running. You want a very, very smooth drag system. So this GX Series by SeVIIn, it checks all the boxes. Incredibly important in my setup.

And then we go to the rod. The rod is very important for two different reasons. Number one is your castability. In order to get this bait where you need to get it, in order to be efficient, you need to have the right rod. You need to have enough backbone. You need to have the correct tip. This right here is a St. Croix Legend Tournament 7'3" MLXF. That stands for medium light, extra fast. It gives me the backbone I need to get a good hook in that fish to keep him pegged up. And it has an incredibly good tip.

You need to make sure that rod has a good tip on it because you want that rubber band effect. Whenever you're skipping a weightless wacky worm underneath docks or under limbs or under trees, tip speed is very, very important. And this setup right here, this 7'3" MLXF is absolutely a dream come true when it comes to a weightless wacky worm. But play around with this sometimes. Guys, look, I'm 5-foot-9. This 7'3" MLXF is going to be absolutely perfect for most of you guys. If you're very tall, you're 6'5", 6'7", have long arms, you might want to go up to a 7'5" or a 7'6", just depending on your leverage points. We're all different when it comes to that.

So this 7'3" MLXF down to the GX Series SeVIIn Reel, the Sunline line down to the hook to the Missile Baits 48, this is something that you need to practice at because one of the ways that you can be more efficient than any other angler on the water is being able to put a bait where you want it and where nobody else can. And that's where this weightless Missile Baits 48 wacky setup can be very important and very important to your success on the water. Whether you're a tournament angler or you're just somebody that likes to go out and have a good time, you need to make sure this is on your deck any time of the year, but especially in the fall.

The fall can be an incredibly humbling time to fish. It can be very, very tough, but that's the time of the year that we start to get a little bit of cooler weather, a little bit more rain so the water temperatures in your body of water start to drop. And what does that do? It starts to push a lot of the fish that are deep up shallow. It's not as hot up there. They can get up there. The shad start moving back in pockets and they get underneath docks, and that's where this can be effective. There is more fish in the fall time than people think. A lot of people are so set on in your mind, so focused on those winter patterns and a lot of fish are deep and you're not realizing that some of the biggest fish in the lake start pulling up in the fall time.

So what am I looking for in fall time? Kind of some of the same situations you do in the summertime, but in that late fall, I'm looking for high-percentage things, especially boat docks. You know, if you have a boat dock that's on a point that's stand-alone, that's by itself, you have one overhanging tree that has shade underneath it, you know, those are the types of areas that you need to be very, very accurate with this thing, and put it where those fish are going to be in shade when those fish start moving up shallow. You get in the middle of the day or early, you know, mid-morning, late, you know, kind of mid-afternoon, you know, when that shade lines become prevalent on the bank, this is where this thing can be ultra, ultra-effective in order to put more fish in your boat than the guys around you.

Now that's a time of the year that a lot of people don't like to fish because it can be really tough on the water during the fall time. But if you target that individual dock, that individual tree, you know, somewhere a big fish, when he starts coming up, he's looking for a home. He's looking for somewhere to sit. He likes to get into the shade because it's a little bit cooler. But these are some fresh fish that are just coming up, and that's why the fall can also be one of the best times to fish if you fish it effectively. Look for that individual cover.

And I don't care, guys, if you have a dock that's over 80 foot of water, that does not mean that a weightless wacky worm cannot be effective because a lot of times, especially largemouth, if you're on a lake with a lot of largemouth, they like to get just underneath that shade line underneath the dock. So you'll skip this weightless wacky worm over there, you know, and especially a floating dock and it won't go down 12 or 18 inches, and all of a sudden your line stops or you see that jump and you know that fish is on it. And a lot of times that's some of the biggest fish in the lake too. So don't be a sleeper on a weightless wacky worm, especially in the later months of the year and we're talking September, even going into October and November, when a lot of those fish start to get up shallow.

And then remember, there's never a time of the year where there are not bass shallow. Weightless wacky worm is an incredible way to catch those fish, especially under boat docks, because those fish love to come up and suspend underneath them. Whether it be largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass, this weightless wacky worm will catch any of the species any time of the year, especially in the fall time. But, guys, those fall months, when it gets tough, pick up that weightless wacky worm, make sure you have the right setup so you can put that bait where you want it to be more efficient on the water and catch more fish. So, guys, I hope this helps to put more fish into your boat, especially during the fall months, tight lines. Talk to you guys next time.