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The "MO-WAK" Rig
By Roger Lee Brown
“The Bass Coach”
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 have any questions about the “Mo-Wak” rig, or wish to enroll in my
3-day bass fishing school at your home lake or mine, or just wish to charter a
day of bass fishing you can call me at 518-597-4240 or visit my website at
www.capital.net/~rlbrown or email
me at rlbrown@capital.net.
Until next time, take care and God bless you always!
“The Bass Coach” – Roger Lee Brown
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