The FlickShake concept may have originated in Korea, but it was the Japanese who took the concept and refined the technique into the art form of catching fish that it is today. As for who the fisherman was who invented the technique, my hat is off to you, because once you have mastered this technique, you will be able to catch more bass than any other technique in your fishing arsenal.
First, it is important to note that FlickShaking is a “finesse technique” and it will be your presentation skills, which I will explain in detail, that will make this technique so successful for you. Since Japanese seabass fishermen have already done all the research and development to perfect the technique, all you have to do is implement it.
The Japanese found that this technique works best when using an ultralight or lightweight carbon fiber swivel rod, which is between 5 ‘and 6.5 “feet long. They prefer shorter rod lengths because they feel, and I am According to his reasoning, you can feel the bait, bottom, and fish more easily with a shorter rod length. A flexible rod tip and ‘whip’ is best for this technique, so the ultra-light or light spin Rods work best for this technique. Next, you need to wind your spinning reel with a 4-6 pound fluorocarbon line. They have found that the lighter line allows the bait presentation to drop and look more natural in the water. After months of using this technique and trying different brands of line, my own conclusion is that the Seaguar “InvizX” 4-pound lines or the Sunline FC Sniper 5-pound fluorocarbon lines are by far the best for this technique. Both are strong lines with less memory and are invisible in the water. new lines on your spinning re el, be sure to treat your new line the night before you go fishing with Kevin Van Dam’s lure and line conditioner. Eliminate line memory and keep your line soft and flabby. I use it every time I get my rods and reels out of the car and periodically while fishing. As they say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, and this product works best to prevent the line from tangling and rolling in on itself.
Below are the templates you will need. The best templates for this technique are made by a Japanese company called Zappu. These templates are called “Zappu Inchi Wacky Heads” and can be found online at the Tackle Warehouse on the West Coast and many other online vendors across the country. These templates come in 1/8, 3/16, and 3/32 ounce. Depending on the water conditions and the depth at which you are fishing, you will always want to go with the lightest jigs you can. You will need all three sizes, especially if you are not fishing in flat water. Lake Police’s “Jackall” co-invented the fretwork heads for this technique, but what makes Zappu better, in my opinion, is Zappu’s use of a 60 degree angle of view on the tungsten head. This angle gives the worm a better action in the water. Zappu has also created a flat curve behind the hook that catches the bait better than Jackall’s jig head. Don’t get me wrong here, Jackall makes a great jig head too, I just think the action is a bit better on Zappu’s version. Another company called “Skinny Bear” makes a jig head that works great for this technique too. The jig head I’ve been playing with lately is Gamakatsu’s crazy head that you can see in the bass’s mouth in the picture in this article. This pendulum action works like the Zappu template and I like the red color they added to it. Kinda makes the bait look like it might be bleeding and in trouble … but who knows?
Now let’s talk about the bait. I have been very successful using 3 baits; Jackall’s 4.8 “FlickShake worms in” Watermelon Candy “,” Cinnamon Solid “and” Sunburn Melon “, the 4.8” Flick n ‘Shimmy “worm from Bass Pro Shop. It’s an exact copy of Jackall’s version but for less money I have had a lot of success using the color “Plum”. Lastly, there is Gary Yamamoto’s 4 “Shad Shape worm in” Natural Shad “color. These are all the baits you will need.
The technique. Once you put one of these crazy templates on your line, build any of the Jackall FlickShake worms as follows. The worm, as designed, has a thick end and a thin end. You will notice that the fat end curves in one direction and the tip curves in the opposite direction. Turn the worm so the fat ends up pointing down. Take the tip of the hook and work your way up the bottom through the middle of the worm’s egg sac at a 90-degree right angle right through the center of the worm. Then slide the worm down into the hole in the hook just past the tip of the hook and you’re good to go. Next you want to launch this worm and ride it as far offshore as you can launch it. The longer the cast, the more area a hem can find as you work the template towards you. Let it sink in and do nothing for the next 30 seconds except slowly remove our excess slack from the line. Sometimes a sea bass hits the worm in the fall, but that has only happened to me a couple of times in the months that I have been fishing with this technique. Now, just like the drop shot, roll up the excess slack until you have an arc on the line from the tip of the rod to where the line enters the water. Hold the tip of the reed at the 10-11 o’clock position and begin shaking or moving the tip of the reed back and forth approximately 4 to 6 inches in a steady up and down rhythm. That beat in your head and the speed of the shaking should be in line with that Christmas classic, “Jingle Bells.” Don’t laugh … that’s how fast the tip of the reed should be shaking, about 3 beats per second. Think about shaking the tip of the reed 3 beats per second and you will have the correct slap tempo. Now while you shake the worm, what you won’t see is the worm dancing like crazy underwater instead. Shake, shake, shake for about 20 seconds then stop in dry for 15 seconds and keep looking at your line. If you see it move now, place the hook as you do when you throw the shot. Just start pulling the rod back and reel man, reel. The fish will hook on its own and will usually be just inside the lip. In any case, if the line is not moving when you stopped the shaking, start shaking again in rhythm while turning the reel half a turn. If nothing happens after 30 to 40 seconds, turn the reel a half turn again as the bait moves forward and towards you in the water. You can stop every now and then to see if a bass might have been following the bait, but it’s waiting to see if it’s dead before hitting the bait and starting to swim with it. Work your casts like a clock face. You can start at the 9 o’clock position and work your way up to the 3 o’clock position before moving on to another section of the urban lake to fish.
The Bite: When a bass hits this worm, it is usually a “hit, hit” or “hit, hit” sensation. When this happens, I stop moving the rod and look at the line. Sometimes a bass will pop your bait like it’s hitting or stunning you, but still won’t accept your offer. Sometimes after a “hit” I stop and wait and maybe 5-10 seconds later he takes it and starts swimming with it. That’s when you pull back and on the rod and you start to wobble and the fight begins. What you will normally feel when a bass bites the hook is a feeling of spongy pressure coming from the tip of the rod, almost as if the hook is caught in something. When that happens, look at the tip of the rod and you will see it begin to pull down. Let him pull down until you start to feel the weight of the fish, because he is holding it in his mouth and is starting to swim with it, then pull the rod back and start to wobble rapidly. Fish On, at that point and the rest is bringing that bad boy. If the tip of the reed doesn’t start to pull down, just gently pull back towards you and the jig will free itself of whatever is snagged and you can start FlickShaking again.
Lately I have been using, as you can see in the picture above, Gary Yamamoto’s 4 “Shad Shaped Worm in the Shad color. At one of the local urban ponds here in Phoenix, about a month ago, I started casting this bait. rigged. style by inserting the tip of the hook starting at the bottom of the middle of the bait body and pulling the hook straight through the middle of the flat surface at the top. It should look like a dying minnow or shad for bass because in That day I caught 10 wolves in 10 sets with that bait. The total number I caught that morning was 35 wolves in about an hour and a half. I personally practice catching and releasing so someone else can have fun. It was amazing fishing time. Since I discovered this technique, I have caught literally hundreds of Bass FlickShaking. If there are seabass swimming in the area where you cast this rig, I can guarantee that you will catch them with this technique when you can’t. catch them with a crank bait or any other rig. I have taught this technique to some of my old school fishing friends who thought the idea was crazy, but after they started fishing for bass one after another they became converts to FlickShaking. Give it a try and you’ll thank me for the rest of your fishing days.
