Dead sticking is a recently popular bass fishing technique designed to capitalize on the habit of larger bass to lurk under balls of baitfish and wait for a wounded or lost shad to head for the bottom seeking safety. The larger bass simply wait patiently and vacuum up all the unfortunate shad attempting to hide among the rocks after losing contact with the bait ball.
Their only safety is in numbers, in the ball itself, and getting separated from it is certain to place them in the sights of a patient bass.
The technique uses a straight tail worm, often a Senko, weightless or on a jig head. The goal is to get the bait to drift, after casting to the edge of the bait ball, slowly down toward the bottom where it remains motionless till scooped up by a patrolling bass.
The "dead stick" rig is very much like a "Wacky" rig but differs in its presentation and hook style.

 

Wacky fishing has proved successful around flooded bushes, in shallow grass and dropped down bluffs. As it falls the ends of the bait (almost any straight tail worm will do) undulate up and down. In fact, though tradition calls for long, straight lures, there are today many different type of lures being used in this technique as well as a wide range of hook styles.





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