The "MO-WAK" RIG
By: "The
Bass Coach" Roger Lee Brown
I
know it's been awhile since my last article and I certainly appreciate
all the daily emails, phone calls and letters that I have received
(at least 200+ per week), but I have been having a bit of a painful
recovery after my back surgery last Spring. I also wish to apologize
to, and thank all of the 3-day (bass fishing school) students and charter
inquiries that I couldn't schedule this past season due to a full schedule
(along with my recovery.) Lord willing, this season I hope to accommodate
those of you that I couldn't get to this past season. I am scheduling
3-day students and charters at the present for this upcoming season,
so if you wish to enroll into the 3-day bass fishing school now would
be the best time to do it! My teaching and charter season usually starts
around mid April and continues through October or November (depending
on the seasonal climate.)
Now
that that's out of the way, here is the one! Numeral uno! The cat's
meow!..... The rig that will definitely make the difference between
catching fish and not catching any at all. I simply call it the "Mo-Wak" rig
because it's really two different rigs (which are the Mo-Jo & Wacky
rig) put into one.
First,
let me explain what these two rigs are and their presentations. 1.
The "Mo-Jo" rig (or also known by some anglers as the "Mo-Jo
Magic" rig) which is rigged by either using a 1 to 2 foot leader
with a swivel, hook, and a light weight. This rig can be also rigged
without a swivel, using a pegged weight to allow it to slide up and
down for what ever leader size you wish. This is a rig that has been
used by some of the top pros for years but has been a well kept secret
because of how well this rig really works at catching bass. I would
even go as far to say that 80% of my former bass fishing school students
have never even heard of this rig, so the Mo-Jo may be a new rig for
you as well.
The
Mo-Jo rig can be used just about any place under certain conditions
that will allow you to use it. When I rig a Mo-Jo, I usually use the
lightest weight I can get away with due to the conditions where I choose
to fish it. First I will grab a 3/16th oz. slip weight and put it on
my line (always put it on the line point first!); next, I will usually
tie on a 1/0 or 2/0 worm hook to the end of my line. Next I will grab
a tooth pick (or you can use a rubber peg made by some of the different
companies, but a tooth pick is much cheaper!) and peg my weight. After
this is done I will choose my bait to what I feel the bass would want
under the many different conditions and environments that I will fish
the rig. I found that some of these following baits are very effective
on the Mo-Jo rig: (Yamamoto's) Senkos, (Zoom) Centipedes (or also known
as French Fries), (Yamamoto's) Twin Tailed Hula Grubs, Lizards, Worms,
and there are of course, many more. (Yamamoto's Senkos are probably
my favorite!) Now, to complete this rig I will choose one of these
baits and Texas rig it on the hook, and then I will slide the "pegged" weight
up the line to what ever leader size I wish. That's it! We have just
rigged a Mo-Jo rig (-: Now, cast it to where you think the fish are,
let it slowly drop to the bottom, and periodically slowly lift the
tip of your rod, and let it fall again and reel up the slack in your
line. The slower you work this rig the better! If the wind starts to
pick up when fishing this rig you can do one of two different things
which are; use a heavier weight or face the boat into the wind and
cast straight in front of the boat. These two changes will keep some
of the slack (or bow) out of your line.
The
next rig mentioned is the well known "Wacky Rig" made very
popular with the (Yamamoto) Senkos. The difference between the Wacky
rig and the Mo-Jo rig is quite simple. The Wacky rig is usually used
without using any weight, and instead of Texas rigging the Senko, you
insert the bait into the middle of the hook, thus causing a dangling
of plastic on both sides of the hook when working it. This rig can
be deadly in itself and many anglers have been using this rig in recent
years with much success, but again like any presentation you can find
a flaw. Without any weight added with windy conditions makes this a
very tough rig to work. Sometimes a Senko can be very effective just
Texas rigging the bait without any added weight, but again the wind
can be somewhat of a deterrent. This technique can also be used just
about anywhere you can find fish with great success.
Now,
between these two different rigs the best is yet to come. Here are
a couple of short stories that I have encountered in the past couple
of years with some of my students, pros, and a couple of charters.
About
two years ago I had two students from Nevada that fish club tournaments.
Both of them were fairly new at bass fishing and wanted to learn how
to catch bass during the conditions where the bass seem to shut right
down (boy does this happen a lot!), anyway, the second day of the school
sure enough we encountered these same conditions on Lake Champlain
(which is usually where I teach) and found that a good variety of different
baits and presentations weren't doing the job. Normally when you have
a lake shut down the best technique one can use would be about the
slowest presentation one can muster. Well, we tried the Mo-Jo rig without
much success, then we went to the Wacky Rig which we had a couple of
short strikes, but as soon as we went to the Wacky Rig the wind started
to pick up a bit and I knew we needed some weight to fish this rig
consistently. Now, about mid day with a couple of fish caught between
my students and myself I started getting a bit frustrated like most
of us do under these conditions right? Anyway, after taking three steps
back and a deep breath I starting thinking of a way to catch these
stubborn fish so that's when I can up with the Idea of joining these
two rigs together. So, I took a Mo-Jo rig, and instead of Texas rigging
the bait, I took a Senko and Wacky rigged it on the Mo-Jo and made
a cast. A couple of minutes after it settled to the bottom, a fish
just about ripped the rod out of my hand and literally hooked itself,
and guess what? To our surprise about a 3 1/2 lb. smallmouth bass boated
on the first cast. A few minutes after I released the fish Ron, (one
of my students) screamed YEAH! I got one on, and before he even got
it in the boat, Fred (the other student) yelled "It Works!"
Long
story short, we caught several fish in a short time it the same area
where we were getting the short strikes. So, wanting to be sure about
this modification I went to from these two different rigs we went to
another place and the same thing happened...yep!, we caught several
fish there as well, and for the remainder of the class period we caught
plenty of fish for the day. This started me thinking about how to refer
to this modification of the two rigs which I came up with the "MO-WAK" rig.
Since
I have been using and teaching this new rig, all my clients and students
have been amazed on how well it actually works and plan to keep a rod
rigged with it always on deck.
Later
on in the season, I had a well known pro that was going to be fishing
the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament out of Plattsburg, NY and needed
some help, so having a 3-day open slot in the school well before the
cut off period and he enrolled. We went out for a three days and fished
different parts of the lake to get him somewhat comfortable with different
areas to fish, and guess what? He was one of these "Drop Shot" fanatics
that caught numbers more than the quality for weight. The same time
he was using the Drop Shot rig, I used my "Mo-Wak" rig and
my fish averaged at least a pound (if not more) that each of his fish.
Don't
think for a moment that the "Mo-Wak" rig is just a geographical
location technique that works just for us "Frozen Brains" up
here in the North East, because since I have started using this rig,
I have taught students on Lake Anna, Va., Shasta Lake, Ca., Lake Norman,
NC., Don Pedro, Ca., Sam Rayburn, TX., St. Johns River, FL., Santee
Cooper, SC., Lake Lanier, GA., Kerr Reservoir, NC., Candlewood, CONN.,
and a few other places with GREAT SUCCESS!
One
question that I get from students that I forgot to mention about the "Mo-Wak" rig
is how to work this rig in grass or vegetation? The answer is quite
simply by using a hook with a little wire weed guard on it...
I
really suggest that you give it a try and see for yourselves. I think
that you just may become addicted to the "Mo-Wak" rig and
will be using it for years to come....
If you may be interested
in my 3-day bass fishing school, a bass fishing charter on the world
famous Lake Champlain, or spark an interest with the line of Patent
Pending baits. You can email me at rlbrown@capital.net or
visit my site at www.basscoachfishing.com or
if you would like to check out the baits that are now available, you
can find them at www.lakechamplainbaitandtackle.com .
Until
next time, take care & may God bless you "Always!"
"The Bass Coach"
- Roger Lee Brown
www.basscoachfishing.com
