Shaky heads are great winter baits. The deal in the winter is that you need to downsize the heads so that the rig falls slower. Also, the lighter weight forces you to work the bait slower to keep it on the bottom. That’s very important because you’re not looking for a reaction bite like you do in the summer; the bass are going to have to think about it a while in cold water.
I like a 1/32- to 1/8-ounce head, depending on the depth and whether there’s any breeze or not. This is a technique to use when the weather is cold and still. About 90 percent of the time, I rig up some kind of green-pumpkin variety of Zoom Trick Worm with a 4/0 homemade football head. My tackle is a G. Loomis 6-foot, 8-inch spinning rod, a Shimano Stella 2500 spinning reel and 6- or 8-pound-test Berkley 100% Fluorocarbon line. As far as the presentation, I just throw the shaky-head rig as close to the bank as I can and drag or pull it back, keeping it on the bottom. It’s a shaky head without the shaking, but the fish seem to want it that way in the winter.
— Ranger pro Keith Monson of Burgin, Ky.