By: Casey Martin

When it comes to finesse fishing having the proper set up can be as important as the bait itself. I think just about everyone knows what a pain it can be to try to skip an 1/8 oz jig 3 feet under a dock with any type of accuracy even with the right rod/reel/line and jig combo let alone even trying to get within 10 feet with the wrong set up. I am writing this article because I believe I have found a rig that I refer to as the "savior rig" that will allow you to more accurately place your bait in an area where you will get more bites. There are 4 extremely important keys to this system:

The right rod

The right reel

The right jig

The right line for the application

First off let's discuss what I believe is the best rod for this application, like many others I have long been a fan of G Loomis rods as they are the most sensitive rods on the market. There are many rod builders that claim they are comparable to a Loomis but everyone knows G Loomis is the standard by which every rod is judged and that is because they are the best in the business. So let me tell you about the new shakey head rod from G Loomis, the model SHR822 for me is the best rod I have ever used when throwing a shakey head. With just a short time of practice with this rod I have improved my accuracy with a shakey head 10 fold. The SHR822 has a very soft tip that allows you to sling a small bait under docks and cover very easily but has a strong enough backbone to pull the fish out of the cover. I can not say enough about this rod, once you fish this 822 there is no going back to any other rod. I was introduced to this rod(actually most of this set up) by FLW tour pro Craig Dowling, Craig said "this is rod and this rig is being widely used by quite a few pros on tour but has not made it to the main stream of fishing, yet".

Next time you guys are in a tackle shop that carries Loomis rods definitely take the time to check out the SHR822 if you get a chance, you won't be sorry that you did. A few choice dealers in the St. Louis area where you can check out these rods are Denny Dennis(www.dennydennis.com) in Fenton, MO and Gateway Outfitters (www.gatewayoutfitters.com) in St. Charles carry a wide selection of G Loomis rods.

Another important factor in this set up is the right reel, the best priced reel (under $200) I have found for this application is the Daiwa Sol 2500, the key to this reel is that the spool is large enough to hold a good amount of line even when using fluorocarbon the line doesn't just off this reel like other spinning reels. Some of the benefits of this reel is a 7 bearing drive system and corrosion resistant bearings. To check out the Daiwa Sol, visit www.daiwa.com.

The third component of the savior rig is the Omega Custom Tackle Savior head jig, this jig is available in 2 sizes, the 1/8 oz and 3/16 oz. I prefer the 1/8oz Omega jig with a zoom trick worm as a trailer, depending on water clarity but the majority of the time I will use a green pumpkin jig with a watermelon candy worm. There are a couple of benefits to using this jig over others on the maket, the 3 benefits I see with this rig:

The head design

The hook

The worm keeper

Craig Dowling helps explain the features of this jig "the 3 major factors that I like about this jig are the head, the hook and the corkscrew. The head has a flat surface on the back of the head that allows this bait to skip better than others on the market and when skipping a jig you need a good worm keeper, the cork screw allows the worm to stay in place when skipping across the water". Craig explains "when I do hook up with a fish on this rig, I am confident that the fish will not come unbuttoned, the savior has a slightly larger hook which keeps the fish buttoned and the Loomis shakey head rod has enough backbone to get the fish out of cover". To check out the Savior head visit www.omegacustomtackle.com.

The final component to the system is using the right line for the application, if I am fishing open clear water, I will throw 6 pound Seaguar Invisx but if I am fishing docks then I will use 10 pound braid as my main line and a 6 foot, 6 pound test Invisx leader. 

The next time you are looking for a few more bites try this rig, it will help you get your bait in the right area where you can get more bites and hopefully take home more cash.