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Across the board, our
pro's agreed that their most frequently used outfit was the standard
'Texas' rig (a
bullet-shaped slip sinker ahead of a worm, with the hook imbedded
in the body). Even with this most simple
of all setups, some very logical variations were advised. Obviously,
the use of different size slip sinkers was
one technique employed- a heavy one for deep water and lighter ones
for shallow areas and grass beds.
However, it was a consensus that in the Winter an angler should
ALWAYS use a very light weight. The
reason being that the majority of bass hit a worm on the drop and
cold weather fish are sluggish and not
prone to take a fast moving lure. Whether fishing deep or shallow,
a light sinker (one-eighth ounce was the
most recommended) was their overwhelming choice when the frost is
on the pumpkin.
Another variation involved
the style of worm. With unanimous vote, our panel suggested using
a 'swimming-
tail' worm, such as the Mister Twister's Phenom, anytime we are
fishing around cover features such as grass,
brush, trees or boat houses. In these areas, they agreed, a full
90 percent of the strikes normally come on
the drop of the initial cast and the action of that fluttering tail
is considered highly effective at inducing those
strikes. If the cover is fairly heavy, to the extent that we would
be pulling the worm up and over it (such as
tree limbs), we are advised
to 'peg' the slip sinker in place with a toothpick. This keeps the
sinker from sliding
down the line as it comes over the obstruction in front of the worm
and allows us to maintain good contact
with the lure. Another variation of this was the use of a weedless
jig head in lieu of pegging.
Fishing the plastic worm
in heavy grass, such as milfoil, is usually a pain in the tackle
box for most of us,
but our distinguished advisors had some great solutions. First,
they noted that, when fishing grass, a standard
weedless hook produces better than one with the point buried back
in the worm body and caused far fewer
snags. While hard structure, such as rocks and brush, often cause
the wire guard to slip open, the yielding
grass rarely does so. Second, and fairly obvious, they suggest going
to a very light split shot weight, rather
than a slip sinker. The technique employed is to fish the lure very
slowly across the top of the grass, pausing
to let it quietly sink into any gaps or holes. Two of the guides,
being from Florida and highly experienced at
fishing in heavy growth areas, indicated that they often use no
weight at all and just employ the worm, alone.
Other times, they offered, when the bass are prone to taking top
water lures, they use a small cork or balsa
'head' in lieu of a weight. When working the worm in this manner,
purely on top, the recommended technique
was short, erratic pulls on the lure, followed by periods on stillness.
In this situation, the weedless hook option
was considered mandatory.
A new lure of this style
was recently marketed. The "Hannon Snakebait", by Burke
lures, has a floating
head that is shaped and colored like a small snake. It has a permanent
hook imbedded in the head and our
testing shows it works extremely well.
When using a top water
worm rig, it was advised to delay setting the hook until we are
sure the fish has
actually gotten the lure. This is done by immediately pointing the
rod tip at the area of the strike and waiting
until we feel the bass take the slack out of the line. Then, haul
back hard!
Another method of rigging
is referred to as the 'swimming worm'. Some of us recognize this
configuration
as one which had its start, and has for years enjoyed great success,
in tidal water areas. Our pro's indicated
that they often employ this lure on the edges of heavy cover, particularly
in the heat of Summer.
Even following implicit
directions, it normally takes an unfamiliar angler three or four
tries to properly set up
this lure. Start out with a two-foot piece of 17 or 20 pound test
line and tie on two hooks, one at the end of
the line and another about three inches above the first. ( 2/0,
barbed shank hooks are best.) Now, tie on a
good ball bearing swivel to the opposite end. Add a small split
shot approximately six inches in front of the
upper hook and tie the swivel onto your main line.
The actual plastic worm
employed with the swimming worm rig should be as hard, or stiff,
as can be found.
The 'Super Floater' worm which is shaped like an earthworm and very
firm, is the best we've run across. The
upper hook of the rig is inserted into the head of the worm in the
normal manner, leaving the point exposed.
The lower hook in simply placed through the lower body of the worm,
far enough down to cause the worm to
lay in a crescent shape. When pulled through the water, the lure
will roll and look just like a live creature.
This is one of the most effective bass lures ever devised and, after
you've seen its action, you'll understand
why.
Often faced with the task
of guiding a client who is not practiced at worm fishing, our panel
noted that the
Carolina rig, also referred to as 'long rigging', was a valuable
configuration. It is simple to set up, easy to use
and strikes are readily detectable, making it ideal for the beginner
or individual who has not yet developed
his worm fishing skills. It is also one of the most effective rigs
around and is consistently used, but little
publicized, by the tournament Pro's.
A one-half ounce slip
sinker is threaded on the line and a swivel is tied to the end.
Next, a two foot leader
is tied to the swivel. The hook and worm are then added. A weedless
hook, or a standard type with the point
buried back into the worm body, is employed. The heavy sinker gives
excellent feel of the bottom structure,
allowing the angler to stay in contact with the lure and readily
feel the strike. The fishing technique advised
was to simply pull the lure across the bottom with a slow, steady
retrieve. It was noted that any time the lure
seemed to hang on an obstacle, we should gently apply pressure to
see if it might be a hungry bass holding
on. The increase in pressure will usually cause the fish to tug
back and then we can set the hook. The
Carolina rig, in conjunction with an extremely buoyant worm, was
also recommended when the bottom is
mucky or covered with a fine grass. Experience has shown that bass
tend to inhale the free floating worm
on this rig and the ratio of hooked fish to strikes is very high.
Short strikes have long
been recognized as a problem with worm fishing. The experts said
that this condition
normally occurs after a cold front when the bass are fairly inactive.
To counter this problem, the use of a small
'stinger' hook was recommended. This involves the addition of a
short piece of line to the main hook and the
attachment of a small, strong number three or four salmon egg hook
to the end of it. This stinger is then
embedded near the tail of the worm body. If the areas intended to
be fished are relatively free of potential
snags, the stinger hook is considered good insurance and is recommended
for use at all times.
If the waters have a high
population of crawfish, a trick often employed involves the addition
of 'legs' to the
plastic worm. This is done by inserting short strips of rubber bands,
or similar materials, through the upper
half of the lure body. Another recommendation was to add a fine-strand
spinner bait skirt between the worm
and the slip sinker. One guide indicated that he regularly used
the skirt addition when employing the worm
in a top water role, primarily to add body to the lure.
When faced with
finicky bass, such as during mid- Summer or the bitterness of Winter,
two very special
worm rigs can often save the fishing day. The first is Charlie Brewer's
Slider, a four inch piece of plastic on a
flat jig head. The Slider is made for light tackle angling and is
one of the most effective lures available today.
In the hands of a knowledgeable angler, this bait will out-fish
any other worm rig three to one. Simplicity is
the name of the Slider game, in that the lure is simply retrieved
in a straight line back to the boat. When
using the Slider correctly, absolutely no action is imparted by
the fisherman. Instructions are packaged with
the lure.
The second of these 'special'
worm configurations is Jack Chancellor's "Do Nothing"
worm. This is sort of
a combination of the Carolina rig and the Slider. It consists of
a four inch worm with two small, razor-sharp
hooks imbedded in it and it is fished approximately 20-24 inches
behind a large, one ounce sinker. Basically,
the rig is allowed to sink to the bottom and then slowly retrieved,
staying in constant contact with that bottom,
back to the boat. This is a great lure for fishing deep water areas,
since it sinks very fast and gives maximum
feel of the bottom structure and any strikes.
A recent newcomer to the
world of worm fishing is the Uncle Josh Company's "Pork Worm".
Long famous
in fishing circles for their fine pork trailer products, the Uncle
Josh folks decided to solve one of the dilemmas
of plastic worm anglers, that being the high mortality rate of plastic.
The result was a seven inch strip of pork
which is virtually indestructible. I have personally caught over
100 bass on one of the lures and it is still in the
jar, ready to do battle again.
Due to its toughness,
a hook point cannot be imbedded in the Pork Worm to make the lure
weedless.
Therefore, it must be fished using a weedless hook or a weedless
jig head. We found the pork body to be
a bit stiff, but scoring the fatty side a number of times with a
sharp knife solved that problem. Don't let the
newness this lure fool you. It is just as effective as its plastic
cousins and the fish seem to hold onto it
longer. Use it in any configuration that you might use plastic.
One particular item which
generated a good deal of debate among our panel was the best worm
size to
use. After a good bit of give and take, it was agreed that the six
inch plastic worm, with a 2/0 or 3/0 hook,
was the most continually productive size. It was further concluded
that, immediately after a cold front, a five,
or even four, inch was more apt to bring a limit to the boat. However,
if the angler's goal is quality, rather than
quantity, our panel members were unanimous in recommending the large
lures.
Color choices in worm
fishing have generated more arguments than a bass has scales. Our
questioned
panel was no exception, but did agree that dark colors are usually
the most preferred. In order of priority,
they recommended purple, black, dark blue and violet. However, if
your waters are exceptionally clear, light
blues and greens were given the nod as a most probable first selection.
A few miscellaneous modifications
to plastic worms were noted as being employed under special conditions.
For example, a small sliver of balsa wood can be inserted into the
tail area to get it to stand up off the bottom
better. This was considered a good trick when fishing in an area
of current, in that the high tail would give more
action. Another was the insertion of a small rattle device (a glass
vial filled with metal shot) into the body of the
worm. This was a preference of only one individual, while another
was heard to remark that he had never heard
a live worm rattle!
As with any other
family of lures, the tackle selection depends on the type, or configuration,
of lure being
used. For example, if you were using the Slider, light gear and
eight pound lines would apply. For nearly all
other rigs, 10-14 pound line on medium tackle is quite sufficient.
When fishing heavy cover, 17- or even 20-
pound lines and heavy action tackle may be necessary to horse the
bass from the area. While bait casting
and spinning reels work equally well, there is the requirement that
the rod, no matter what action category it
may be (light, medium, heavy), be stiff and have little tip action.
When setting the hook, we must overcome
the natural stretch of the line and still have sufficient force
to drive the hook into the fish's mouth. Fast taper,
soft tip rods are, therefore, unacceptable.
Contrary to anything else
you may have read or been told, the time to set the hook with a
plastic worm is
as soon as you know the fish is there. I have worked with aquarium
bass at length and can tell you, quite
truthfully, that you rarely ever feel the actual strike. That 'tap-tap'
you feel on the end of your line is the bass
gently tugging back at the resistance he feels after he has taken
the lure. A bass takes a worm, normally,
by flaring his gills and sucking water and the lure into the mouth
cavity. By the time you feel him, he has the
lure. Quickly lower the rod tip towards the fish, take up your slack
line and haul back with an upwards snap
of the wrists.
While the worm, whether
plastic or pork, is a simple lure, we see that they lend themselves
to a great
number of variations. Adapting the lure to suit the fishing conditions
can often spell the difference between
the success or failure of a bassin' trip.
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