Looking for some advice. Fished a nail weighted (1/16th oz) 6th sense Divine Shakey Worm on a VMC weedless wacky hook yesterday and missed 5 fish all on the hookset. I usually fish a jig or a Texas rigged weightless senko or weighted worm/creature. With those baits when I feel the "tap" reel down and cross their eyes. With a jig that usually results in a fish caught in the top of the mouth. With the wacky hook it resulted in me getting the hook back without the worm that was on it (assume for the fish to spit it out while laughing at me). Do others just reel down? Do you wait a bit longer for the line to get moving?

Most are probably picking it up and moving it away from a nest right now. Hence why your losing the plastics with no hookups. Give them a little bit longer before sticking them.

You “reel-set” a VMC wacky jig head. Also, take the weed guard and bend it to just behind the worm. It will help keep the hook stuck. Use a medium moderate rod. Set the drag according to the weight of the line, but never so tight that a 4-5 pounder can’t pull it easily.

I fish this hook with a Senko year round. I also have caught fish to 10 pounds on it quite often and two over 10 pounds over the years.

I concur with Steez. I don't cross their eyes at all, I reel into them & sweep the rod once I feel the tension. Hooks these days are plenty sharp enough for penetration.

Chance makes a very good point as well.

I like the Divine Shakey Worm on a Carolina Rig. I've used it in shallow water, using a 1/2 ounce weight and a 2 foot leader.

Switch to the VMC Weedless Neko and you can go back to immediate eyeball crossing!

Thank you for the thoughts!

gama wicked wacky hooks

Are you using mono or braid?

I've had the same issue with the vmc wacky hook and like steez said I think if you reel into the fish the hookups are better. I tried these hooks because I liked the weed gaurds better than the gammy weed gaurds,.but my hookups are better with the gammy.

I use the same hooks and have always done fine just reeling into the fish no hookset. However the last three times ive been fishing ive lost over 10 fish on these hooks each time. Its driving me crazy. I stopped using o rings and went back to hooking the senko sideways and still missed a bunch today. I have ordered several different types of hooks to try and replace these, from what I have read straight shank seems to be the most recommended. I love these VMC hooks because I can toss it directly into a bush and not get hung up, I just cant keep losing all these fish though. Will send you a message if I find a better hook.

Steez, are you using the weighted weedless VMC wacky jig head that's like a Zappu, or the unweighted hook with the wire weed guard that connects to the hook point?

The 1/16th weighted hooks.

I also found that EagleClaw makes a really really good version. Same hook shape, same weed guard, just a flat head weight. It skips a little better and the hook seems a little sharper. Bought one package to try, now I’m gonna go back and buy the whole stock of them from the store.

Bad93 in response to your question, I'm fishing on a Dobyns Xtasy 723c (Dobyns Med/Heavy which to me feels like Loomis 2 power vs a 3) on 15 pound Yozuri Hybrid (have given up on pure Fluorocarbon)

Will give the Gamakatsu and EagleClaw a shot and report back. I love the quantity of bites I'm getting on the wacky rig vs just a texas rigged weightless just missing the fish is frustrating!

I use the Falcon K whacky hook in 3/0 3/32. The weed guard isn't too stiff and the wide gap is perfect for a stick or worm. It has the drawbacks of the wire getting bent up after a few fish and you don't want the guard to go past the barb. After the wire is shot I cut it off and use it around rocks and docks. If I need more weight for a faster fall I wrap the shank with solder wire.

That's what I thought, Steez. The weed guard on the unweighted VMC hook is way too stiff and will cost you fish. JVC, if you want to stick with an unweighted short shank hook, Owner and Trokar make versions with soft plastic fiber weed guards. The VMC Neko hook also uses that style of guard. Not quite as weedless, but you'll hook the fish.