Zoomies....All about them.

[mblk181]

Looking at the board lately, we have a slew of new members.....just wanted to share the following information.

For several years now I've been very impressed with a zoom ultra vibe speedworm modified for a slow fall presentation......

I cut off the tails about a half inch up from the flat hooktail and rig the body texposed with a 2/0 worm hook. Watermelon/Red works better for me than any other color zoom makes. Save the tails.

Fishing the zoomie.....

1. The weightless lure casts like a bullet. Will go much farther than you'd think....it just goes.

2. It also skips well under dock, limb and rock. Great for skipping with a sidearm cast.

3. Can be wacky rigged as well as wacky rigging on a dropshot rig.

Once in a great while, I find it necessary to weight it a little. Sometimes, when the boat is drifting a little too fast, I'll texpose it on a Snagless Slider Hook.....the 1/16 ounce original, not the heavier Pro Model. This gets the lure down quickly, but makes it a nose down proposition on the fast fall.

If not drifting quite so fast, I weight with a short piece of clipped finishing nail by placing the nail piece just under the skin near the hookpoint. NOW, it makes a difference how high or low in the side of the worm you place the nail weight....if near the point of the hook, you get a little side to side wobble, if nearer the side of the worm, a more pronounced side to side wobble on the fall. Fun to tinker with.....the different actions and all.

95 percent of the time, however, no weight is needed or desired. Simply cast to likely spots near cover/structure and let fall to bottom...watching line at all times.... If it gets to the bottom without a bass grabbing it on the fall, let it set for 30 seconds...again, watching line at all times......after the 30 seconds, lift slowly about two feet to feel for fish...if nothing, reel in and cast to another likely spot. I've learned from some on this board, that a skipping cast sometimes turns the fish on, and at other times a gentle entry works well....

The tails.......you can weld the tails onto lizards after cutting off the lizard tails. Simply use a pencil soldering iron to heat both pieces to be welded together or the flame of a candle works well also. This makes a lizard that has a buzzbait tail on the surface, and will provide you with a throbbing action underwater when pulled.

The zoomie is about 5 inches in length, and for whatever reason works best in watermelon/red under most circumstances. Looks like a Senko, but behaves much differently on the fall, not being internally weighted.

Just for fun, I welded two zoomies together, nose to nose and then welded on a leftover lizard tail to the back end. I rigged it on a snagless slider hook and fished it like a snake.......caught three bass, all fairly small by moving it slowly across the bottom near brushpiles. Didn't know bass would hit anything that big before.....

Another method of fishing the zoomie..... My wife casts to likely cover/structure, lets it fall to bottom and waits 15 seconds with the line over a finger for feel.....then after 15 seconds she slowly takes half a turn on her reel, then waits another 15 seconds.....again, a slow half turn. She does this until the lure has traveled about 10 to 12 feet across bottom, then reels in and casts to another likely spot.

In heavy weeds, if the zoomie catches and hangs a lot, simply switch to a watermelon/red lizard and fish it exactly the same way as a zoomie....the weightless slow fall, the pause, the slow lift to feel.....

[jglassguy]

[img] http://www.bassbuckandduck.com/uv_sp...m_red_shad.jpg [/img]

Looks like even a bigger hook than you mentioned could be used on this beefy guy

[mblk181]

Yes, you could....but as I've been using them primarily for slow falling in presentation, I wanted to keep the hook small, thus the 2/0. Â*Have done well on that size texposed, but certainly as you say, the hook could go bigger if you want.

[Rich]

JB. that picture shows it to be much bigger than it actually is-it is probably half the size of the picture.

[Big_Hawg_in_Va]

Sorry, newbie question--what does it mean to "Wacky Rig" something?

[mblk181]

Don't be sorry....we all have to learn. Wacky Rig simply means hooking the worm in the middle....straight through one side and out the other usually in the middle of the worm. When you cast, let it go under and occasionally give it a quick and firm jerk....this flexes the worm in half and the two ends make a commotion underwater. Often, bass will detect the worms movement with their lateral line from quite some distance and will often come to investigate as to what is struggling in the water. Some folks prefer a circle hook for wacky rigging, but most any type hook will do.

[Big_Hawg_in_Va]

Thanks for the quick reply Mac!

Through the middle, huh? But then you don't really swim it/fish it all the way back, I'm assuming, because it doesn't look "realistic" ? Just on the drop, and maybe a few feet of retrieve? And can you do this with most plastic worms, or do they make ones especially for Wacky rigging? Thanks again for the info.

[macgyver]

[quote author=Bassgardener link=board=news;num=1117370578;start=0#6 date=05/29/05 at 14:45:44]Thanks for the quick reply Mac!

Through the middle, huh? But then you don't really swim it/fish it all the way back, I'm assuming, because it doesn't look "realistic" ? Just on the drop, and maybe a few feet of retrieve? And can you do this with most plastic worms, or do they make ones especially for Wacky rigging? Thanks Lizardsagain for the info.[/quote]


It doesn't have to look REALISTIC to catch fish Most folks use Stick type baits for Wacky Rigging(Rebasser probably has a picture for you ;D) You are correct, that it's more of a cast, work it some and retireve bait. But you can work it all the way back to the boat. It's a weightless rig, more for finesse fishing. A simple trick, and saves the worm better also, is to put a rubber "O" ring around the middle of the bait. Then put the hook betwen the "O" ring and the bait without piercing the bait. Same action, but less wear and tear on the bait. One other way I like to fish them, when I do wacky rig(not very often at all though) is to actually use an offset hook, and hook it with the "EYE" of the hook in the middle of the bait, and continue to rig it like a t-rig, made weedless. A lot less junk gets caught on it, and has ALMOST the same action as a standard Wacky rig.

Lizards

[mblk181]

Lizards.....like the idea of weedless t-rigging as you suggest. Did you learn that from someone else or is that your stroke of genius????

Good fishing, Mac

[macgyver]

[quote author=Mac10 link=board=news;num=1117370578;start=0#8 date=05/30/05 at 20:08:09]Lizards.....like the idea of weedless t-rigging as you suggest. Did you learn that from someone else or is that your stroke of genius????

Good fishing, Mac[/quote]


Usually I have to give credit to someone else, but that one I did on my own ;D If someone else does it, I don't know about them

Lizards

[mblk181]

Thanks for sharing your inventiveness. I think the shortest wide gap hook of the correct size would allow the most movement......will certainly be trying it out. Thanks again, and good fishing, Mac