Things we take for granted ...

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Originally Posted by Spoonminnow

Like the lure you used. Wacky rigged?

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Funny you should reply about this picture. Just the other day I read a prior post of yours:Wacky rigging isn't just for bass. I have been tailhooking 2 1/2" stick lures using craft needles since panfish will nip at tail of larger diameter bait. I also tried it with small diameter 2 1/2" plastic worms but found that fish inhale the small diameter worms & hooks were buried way down in. Hooking small diameter worms in front seems best as far a removing hooks.

The lure pictured was included in some plastics I purchased years ago. They are about 2 1/2" and super dense. I have bent craft needles trying to thread thru them. Super durable, you can stretch them like a rubber band and they wont snap. They last forever. That is a #10 fly hook that was threaded in with a needle to the middle of body. Right now, I'm messing with making the smaller worms weedless using jig hooks and #4 wide gap worm hooks. Also will try what you referred to in your post about wacky rigging. Thanks for your reply.

You might be surprised how semi-weedless the min-sticks are wacky rigged with a jig's hook - especially those of a 1/32 oz., 1/24 oz or 1/16 oz ball head jig. Hook size that works best on a 2.5" stick is #4. The weight of the jig creates that tip quiver on the drop but also allows mid depth quivers with slight rod tip jerks that provoke some serious strikes! Even rigged the regular way the stick has a nice body/tail quiver.

This is a stick made fusing two grub bodies together - one of my absolute best design discoveries.
https://i.imgur.com/HZYaNJG.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/TCb7eij.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/pZKHakr.jpg?1https://i.imgur.com/ytUHw9d.jpg

and another using a slightly larger grub body fused to a smaller one:
https://i.imgur.com/g7Bfvo6.jpg

wacky rigged:
https://i.imgur.com/sPVWI6v.jpg?1https://i.imgur.com/tBTsn1D.jpg

The stick is a phenomenal design that comes in many shapes:
https://i.imgur.com/15Ux0Nh.jpg?1https://i.imgur.com/NT7j4lc.jpg

Glad to see someone uses them beside me. Keep catch'n !

Spoonminnow,

Here is where I am with the stickbaits and worms right now. Just recently tried the sticks with some success after reading a article on tailhooking cut down bass baits for panfish. Need to give them some time and haven't used with any weight so far. Everything in pics is in the 2 1/2" range. Have always done well using the small plastic worms with a split shot 12-24" up in front drug slowly across bottom. Hang up in weeds some, so that is why I am going to try the ones pictured rigged weedless with jigheads. I enjoy using so many other types of methods/ lures for panfish that it takes me some time to really give new stuff a good look. When a panfish takes your wacky rigged ones, they can't help but get hooked right at the lip. Really like that. I'll have to give them a try. Thanks again.Attachment 385690Attachment 385691Attachment 385692

It is sad to see the loss of prime habitat of any kind over the progress of the modern-day. I too have seen many instances of this over my life... and it only saddens me more as time goes along.

Very interesting (Moon and Spoon) that you would post this response to this thread showing the stick bait and shakey head (scaled down) configurations for crappies and other panfish... and those are some really good lookin' baits for sure. Great minds must surely think alike because I am actually pooling together some bait configurations such as those and some other heads for attempting a bit of a ned rig and neko rig presentation that I want to try when crappies are favoring the bottom in the deeper water over the next couple of months. I can't wait to try it although I am a bit concerned about losing the feel for the baits in the deeper water. I have already resigned myself to using the same baits on a heavier weighted drop shot rig if that proves to be the case. Thanks for sharing.

Guess great minds DO think alike ! LOL
Who woulda thought a shape that resembles nothing in nature would cause such a ruckus underwater. Action-wise these lures exhibit just that something fish seem to want to attack. Remember the Zara Spook swagger-wake on the surface? If you'll notice, the thick sticks you showed do the same when rod-twitched mid-depth and so do many other shapes regardless of size and diameter.

When it comes to your paddle tails, the action is more whip-like as the lure darts back & forth when given strong rod tip twitches - also like the Spook. Besides that, the worm/stick undulates slightly when fished slowly near surface or mid depth. These are just a few examples of paddle tail worms that have caught buku fish of all species:
This one was formed using a Tom Mann worm body/tail added to a thicker grub body:
https://i.imgur.com/KWcHhlK.jpg?1https://i.imgur.com/VG6wKpk.jpg?1

I poured the bottom part from a mold and added it to a thicker body at top:
https://i.imgur.com/R5QXvHi.jpg?1
..it caught this foot long crappie:
https://i.imgur.com/2UskQ8Q.jpg
and bass:
https://i.imgur.com/n7ZxkhF.jpg?1

and another using a paper hole punch to make this a cello-tail shape (just for the fun of it):
https://i.imgur.com/HdREck8.jpg
This bass seemed to like it:
https://i.imgur.com/9XpU0i1.jpg?1


This nose-hooked worm/stick caught a crappie on the first cast:
https://i.imgur.com/0T8XGge.jpg?1

You can also use your paddle tail worms with a Beetle Spin:
https://i.imgur.com/REtk8Tx.jpg?1
..also used with this Slider Worm:
https://i.imgur.com/NtSQeHF.jpg
The blade makes the whole bait quiver on the retrieve.

Gary Yamamoto's Kut Tail worm is in a class all by itself (here it was added to a thicker grub body):
https://i.imgur.com/3HjkDaC.jpg
Worms like this have a long taper that goes from top-to-tail when looked at from the side as does this stick/worm I found on Ebay:
https://i.imgur.com/35juB8h.jpg

Food for thought........