We caught up with pro bass angler Randy Howell on Lake Guntersville to learn about his magnum shaky head and drop shot 1-2 punch for offshore bass on calm sunny days. Howell always starts with the magnum shaky head to target the biggest bass in the school and mops up with a drop shot rig when the bite slows.
FEATURED TACKLE
MAGNUM SHAKY HEAD
- PLASTIC – Yamamoto Kut Tail Worm, color – June Bug
- JIG – Football jig, 3/4-ounce
- ROD – Daiwa Tatula Elite AGS Casting Rod,7’6″ Heavy Monroe
- REEL – Daiwa Tatula Elite 8:1 P/F Reel
- LINE – Daiwa J-Fluoro Samurai Fluorocarbon Line, 16-pound
DROP SHOT
- WORM – Daiwa Yamamoto Neko Crawler, color – Brown Purple Laminate
- ROD – Daiwa Tatula Elite Spinning Rod 7′ 3″ Medium Action Dropshot/Shakey Head
- REEL – Daiwa Tatula LT 4000
- LINE (braid) – Daiwa J Braid X8
- LINE (leader) – Daiwa J-Fluoro Fluorocarbon Leader Line, 12-pound
Ledge bass respond to a huge range of baits, but bluebird conditions often require fishing slowly with plastics, but a shaky head doesn’t need to be a dainty setup. Howell advises upsizing to a 3/4-ounce football jig so you can easily transmit the bottom composition. A big jig coupled with an upsized worm dragged across the bottom produces big bites when more aggressive offshore baits fail to deliver.
Howell doesn’t leave a school before trying a downsized finesse setup — either a conventional shaky head or finesse drop shot worm to catch a few more. Lastly, Howell shares his preferred rod, reel, and line setup for each presentation.
