Worm Fishing Advice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jacob Krahenbil]

hey i wanted to start worm and lizard fishing what setup should i use and how should i fish these worms?

[Jake P]

 

[LgMouthGambler]

I texas rig with a 3/0 widegap hook, and a 1/32 to 1/8 oz weight depending on depth/action wanted.

[Sherlock 60]

When you think you are fishing too slow... slow down.

[Jacob Krahenbil]

thanks for the info

[LVLDVL]

Don't count to 3. Don't lift rod to feel the weight of the fish. When you get the thump! or thump, thump!, reel slack and reach for the sky.

One tip: regardless of the cover, start with a lighter weight like 3/16 or 1/4oz. You will learn faster and your lure will stay in the strike zone longer leading to more strikes. Not only that, it doubles as a slop swimmer! A heavier weight is like having a Corvette as your first car drive. Unless you have a gift of extreme sensory perception, it's very daunting, It will feel like during the whole retrieve, your lure is under mud and you'll have alot of "I don't understand this is texas rig? I don't understand am i on a weed stalk or on the bottom?" moments.

[shimmy]

not sure i agree with much of the advice thus far. With a worm you don't always want to go painfully slow. A regular pace works great and triggers great bites. Always change speeds and see what's biting. Plus on the hook set, if you pull back immediately, that is not always the best approach. Colder water, i wait longer. Even in warm water, i lift till i feel weight and then slam em. Using 10 inch worms and slamming away the second you feel the bite will limit your catch rate. Furthermore, if your fishing 3-4 people in a boat and keep setting the hook on sunfish, you will get behind on the bass count and will pass up good spots by yanking away. Unlike a jig, the worm gets coiled on the hook set so you ruin the rest of the distance you have with the cast.

[Marty]

There are a lot of setups that can be used. I've used medium spinning rods with 10# mono or 15# braid. You can crawl the lure along the bottom or use a lift-and-drop retrieve, in addition to others. If you fish surface weeds, such as lily pads, you can let the lure drop into holes or at the edges. Watch your line closely. Much of the time a bass will move off with the lure without the angler feeling anything, so you need to watch for line movement.

[roadwarrior]

Spend some time in "Fishing Articles" at the top of the page.

Here is one to get you started: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/worm-fishing.html

[unionman]

I will agree that slow isnt always the best. Ever heard of speed worming? It works great when bass are suspended in tall weeds.

[logan9209]

Worms are by far one of my favorite soft plastic to fish. You can dropshot them, wacky rig them, shaky head them, you bounce them along the bottom (my favorite) like a jig, weightless some worms can be used like a jerkbait, ribbon tail worms can be swam fast or slow, my buddy crawls it across the bottom with a slow but steady crank, you can pitch them, flip them, or even skip them. Oh, also carolina rig them.

With weights I wouldn't go too heavy. Sometimes a heavier weight will spook the bass when he picks the worm up. Also, the bigger weights tend to get hung up (like in the fork of a submerged branch or roots). My standard weight is a 1/8oz bullet weight. Since I have a lot of slop in my lake it's not to heavy for it on an 8lb test line, but it's light enough to give me the option to swim the worm. Senko's and the alternatives, on the other hand, are always fished weightless by me. The reason is that most of them are salt impregnated which makes the lure heavy enough to cast while still having a slow fall rate.

Lizards are just like any other soft plastics. You just have to figure out what color they want. I've actually had them pulverize a fire orange lizard one time. It was one of those $1.96 trial packs made by Yum that I got at Wal-Mart.

[logan9209]

Oh, one other thing. Setting the hook is a judgement call. Sometimes I would set the hook when there was a thump thump (or my line started tightening up). Other times I would wait to see if the bass would take off with it. Both work and both have disadvantages. Sometimes when you set the hook too early it could have been a bream (sunfish) or the bass just had it by the tail. But, if you wait too long sometimes the bass practically swallows the darn thing (including the hook) which can potentially harm the bass (as far as I know of all of mine lived but you never know).

[Jacob Krahenbil]

thanks guys i really appreciate it