Shaky Head Setup 2025
Fishin24/7 reply :
I would like to know the rod brand, size and action, line and the reel you use for shaky heads. I'm looking for a new setup as I'm fishing this rig more and more now. I mostly use a 3/16 and 1/4 ounce heads if anyone has some recommendations. Also pictures of your rods would be nice if y'all have them.
kickerfish1 reply :
Do you have a budget for this outfit? You will hear anything from and NRX/stella to a Berkeley lightning rod and cheaper reel.
I have two outfits I use for this technique.
1) cabelas XML ti 7 foot medium/fast action rod with a shimano 2500 series sahara FD.
2. Fenwick elite tech 6'9 ML fast action rod with a 2500 shimano symetre.
Both reels have 8# invisix.
Fishin24/7 reply :
Oh yeah I forgot about the budget. I would like to spend between $150 to $250. Mainly I'm just seeing what everyone uses so I can kimd of get an idea of what I need. I'm thinking about a dobyns champion series but I haven't found anyone who has fished the spinning model yet.
kickerfish1 reply :
It may be a bit out of your comfort zone but if you are serious about the dobyns rod options I would give the good folks at dobyns a call since there may be only a few guys on here with experience with dobyns spinning rods that will see your post and chime in. It is very family oriented business so you will likely be speaking to Gary or a family member. I wish I could help you out with their spinning rods but I haven't used one despite owning 5 of their casting rods. I would think a 2 powered rod may be the ticket or a 3 powered rod. Gary and crew can defidently point you in right direction!
On a side note even if you purchase the champion rod on sale (20% off) ... it will still cost you about $180. This only leaves $70 for a reel assuming the $250 max end of your budget. If this is the way you are thinking you have a few choices here. Wait for the okuma RDX spinning reel which is super light and under $100. Secondly look for a symetre or a sahara in the 2500 series. If you got these on sale for 20% off or wait for the spring when BPS has their reel trade in program and spring sale you can get one of the above reels for under $80.
roadwarrior reply :
If you already have a spinning rig for soft plastics that is all you need for shakey heads.
My suggestion is 61/2' - 7' Medium Power/ Fast Action. If you are patient you should
be able to buy "gently used" higher end gear on our Flea Market> Here is my specific
recommendation:
St. Croix Avid AVS68MXF ~$125
Shimano Symetre 1000 or 2500 ~$75 or Stradic ~$125
Ima Bass Ninja reply :
Rod-h2O xpress ethos 6'8 medium power. $59.99
Reel-BPS pro qualifier 20 $70.00
$130ish for the setup and its been great so far.
retiredbosn reply :
I've personally witnessed ninja catch a 5lber on his, but it was a catfish, lol.
Mine is a quantum set up, Tour rod 7mf, and Catalyst reel 20.
Fishin24/7 reply :
On 12/28/2012 at 2:08 PM, kickerfish1 said:It may be a bit out of your comfort zone but if you are serious about the dobyns rod options I would give the good folks at dobyns a call since there may be only a few guys on here with experience with dobyns spinning rods that will see your post and chime in. It is very family oriented business so you will likely be speaking to Gary or a family member. I wish I could help you out with their spinning rods but I haven't used one despite owning 5 of their casting rods. I would think a 2 powered rod may be the ticket or a 3 powered rod. Gary and crew can defidently point you in right direction!
On a side note even if you purchase the champion rod on sale (20% off) ... it will still cost you about $180. This only leaves $70 for a reel assuming the $250 max end of your budget. If this is the way you are thinking you have a few choices here. Wait for the okuma RDX spinning reel which is super light and under $100. Secondly look for a symetre or a sahara in the 2500 series. If you got these on sale for 20% off or wait for the spring when BPS has their reel trade in program and spring sale you can get one of the above reels for under $80.
Thanks for the advice . I will defiantly call them to help me with which one i need if i chose dobyns but I always like to hear the unbiased opinion of someone who has actually paid for the rod if you know what I mean. Also I have decided to make that budget just the rod and i will slap my pfluger on it for now.
Arv reply :
Dobyns 702c, Curado 51e, Sunline Sniper 10#. I use it for other applications as well (weightless plastics, wacky rigs, finesse jigs, etc.) but I love this set up for shakey heads up to 1/4oz.
skeletor6 reply :
I second the notion of a 2 powered rod with a fast action. My NRX 822 SYR I would call a fast action, although somewhat unique in its tip strength.
Hard to go wrong with the AVS68MXF. The rod sets the benchmark for versatility, its action is softer than a cusx68m, can be had very reasonably as well and can handle almost all of your spinning applications well.
Do you already have a spinning rod? Complimentary rods are always nice to fish a wide range, if your looking for an ideal technique specific rod you will get closer with more rods. There's usually a spectrum I feel with my spinning applications going from the softest (dropshotting) to the firmest (light jig, t-rig work). Shakeyheads falll somewhere in the middle of that range imho.
KYntucky Warmouth reply :
I use several different setups for shakey heads but the ones I use most are
1. 7'M-XF Damiki Dark Angel/ 2500 Shimano Stradic CI4/ 8lb P-line Flouroclear
2. 7'M-XF Daiwa Zillion/ Daiwa Alphas 103/ 12lb Seaguar InvisX (Far Right)
3. 7'2''M-XF Shimano Cumara/ Shimano Chronarch 50e/ 12lb Seaguar Red Label
My rods and reels usually fall into the $150-200 category each
tbone1993 reply :
not so pro tip: The round ball shaky heads have their time and place and most of the time they are garbage. I like using the custom cast closer shakey heads found at TW. Go champion , awesome rod series , wait for some of their pro staff on the forum to chime in on the best rod for that application my suggestion would be the 702SF or the 703sf depending on the type of sensitivity and power you are looking for.
iabass8 reply :
St croix legend xtreme 69mlxf
Stradic fj 1000
7# fluoro or 6/2 suffix 832 /w leader
1/16-3/16oz is tue highest i go for shakey heads. Anything higer im using somethng different. Jeff kriets shakey head and secret lures wide gap are the only two i use.
Fishin24/7 reply :
Yeah I've think I've decide to go with the champion series. I just can't decide between the 702 vs the 703? I usually fish a 3/16 or 1/4 head if that helps. Also what's wrong with the round head design?
Sam reply :
1. Any medium heavy graphite spinning blank with fast action tip.
2. Any 2500 size spinning reel.
3. Any 8 or 10 pound test flourocarbon line.
4. Smallest jig head you can keep on the bottom.
5. Any "floating" type worm like a trick worm or Swamp Crawler in the color of your choice.
6. MegaStrike smeared on the plastic.
7. Patience.
8. Lots of fun fishing this technique.
Everyone has their favorite brands and setups which can be confusing. You need to have a generic set up in your mind and then purchase the equipment you can afford.
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's rods and reels are excellent options at very competitive prices.
May I suggest waiting for the January and February sales at both outlets and make your purchase then? In the meantime, go to various manufacturer web sites and the Tackle Warehouse reviews and read, read, read and take notes, notes, notes.
Remember, the pros will hawk their brands so don't be taken in by what they say. If you visit the G. Loomis or Megabass sites you can read about their shaky head rods and then use that data to help you find a lower price option.
Post pics! Happy New Year!!!
tbone1993 reply :
On 12/30/2012 at 2:18 AM, Fishin24/7 said:Yeah I've think I've decide to go with the champion series. I just can't decide between the 702 vs the 703? I usually fish a 3/16 or 1/4 head if that helps. Also what's wrong with the round head design?
I would say 702. The reason the round ball suck is because they fall over way more than the flat standing heads. The round ball are good in rocky situations but your best presentation is with a standup head so that bait floats up and doesnt lay on its side.
Arv reply :
On 12/30/2012 at 2:18 AM, Fishin24/7 said:Yeah I've think I've decide to go with the champion series. I just can't decide between the 702 vs the 703? I usually fish a 3/16 or 1/4 head if that helps. Also what's wrong with the round head design?
702. Perfect for what you're using it for. I use it for the same thing and it handles awesome.
Felix77 reply :
I use a 6.5 Medium Rod with a 300 series Abu Garcia. I spooled it with 10lb PowerPro braid and use an 8lb Fluoro leader. You feel everything with this setup and if you use a light wire hook on your jigs you can catch them with a simple reel set. Caught me lunker of the year (5.89 Smallmouth) last season. :-)
retiredbosn reply :
That's a beautiful bronze back. Congrats
Fishin24/7 reply :
Well I just ordered a 702 dobyns champion and I'm a little worried it won't have enough power for 1/4 ounce heads and nice fish but I will just have to wait and see.
endless reply :
On 1/1/2013 at 3:11 AM, Felix77 said:I use a 6.5 Medium Rod with a 300 series Abu Garcia. I spooled it with 10lb PowerPro braid and use an 8lb Fluoro leader. You feel everything with this setup and if you use a light wire hook on your jigs you can catch them with a simple reel set. Caught me lunker of the year (5.89 Smallmouth) last season. :-)
You're a confused puppy aren't you, lol. Ray Lewis avatar but a NY skull cap. Just joking. Beautiful smallie.
To OP I have and 6'8 M-XF Carbonlite with a 8035mg Pflueger Supreme reel. I'm using the BPS CarbonGold flouro which I don't like so I'll be replacing the line.
Arv reply :
On 1/4/2013 at 7:04 AM, Fishin24/7 said:Well I just ordered a 702 dobyns champion and I'm a little worried it won't have enough power for 1/4 ounce heads and nice fish but I will just have to wait and see.
I was worried about that too, but it handles them well IMO. I like the YUM Punkin' Ed which has a 3/0 hook on the 1/4oz size and I have no trouble setting the hook on fish.
Fishin24/7 reply :
On 1/4/2013 at 7:33 AM, Arv said:I was worried about that too, but it handles them well IMO. I like the YUM Punkin' Ed which has a 3/0 hook on the 1/4oz size and I have no trouble setting the hook on fish.
I'm just worried because I've never had a med/light before. The specs on the rod are the same as most other companies medium action. I'm sure I will like it though and thanks for your help.
War Eagle 44 reply :
I see you've already made your choice but you also said earlier that you just wanted to get an idea of what others were using so here's mine. Symetre 3000FJ (I think this is the correct letters) on a Powell 683 rod. It's designed for shakeyheads and the like, says so right on the blank and I couldn't be happier with it. I've used it for at least 3 years now with zero complaints. I've used straight 8 and 10 pound fluoro on it but wasn't happy with my casting distance so I switched to 30# Power Pro with a 15# fluoro leader. I know most of you will think that is WAY overkill for a shakyhead rod, and it is normally, but I also use this rod to skip docks and boat houses with and some of the spots get pretty big and mean around here and I want to be able to get them out.
I again know some will disagree with this statement as well but I've not seen a drastic drop in the number of bites I'm getting with the 15# leader. If I had, or do in the future, I will drop line both braid and leader until I start getting a decent number of bites again. I'm actually already planning to drop back to 20# Power Pro on the spool up, thirty was the smallest I had the day I decided to switch from all fluoro.
This rod is excellent for finesse jigs and light texas rigs as well as weightless trick worms. I frequently skip PJ's Lil Brush jigs with Zoom swimming chunks on this setup to docks, boat houses, over hanging limbs, and anywhere else that looks "fishy" and love the performance I'm getting with it.
This is the best (sorry for the quality) pic I have of that rod right now.
Fishin24/7 reply :
I almost went with another powell rod because I really like my powell casting rod, I see you must like them too.
ww2farmer reply :
Nice fish Felix77!!!
I pretty much fall in with the group here , on what type of rods/reels I fish shaky heads on. My set up is St Croix Mojo 6'8" M/XF spinning rod, paired with a Shimano Sonora 2500 spooled up with 10lb braid with an 8 or 10lb fluorocarbon leader.
War Eagle 44 reply :
Fishin24/7, it's true I really do like my Powells. Those are the 5 rods I fish the most, nothing fancy about them or the reels but they get the job done for me. What's most important is that I enjoy my time fishing with them and I don't worry about them getting scratched or boat rash, I just go fishing and totally concentrate on the fish. I'm the type of guy who worries about these sort of things when I use my expensive gear, just can't help it.
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