Question About Worm Fishing

[(='_'=)]

hey.... a lot of times i have read in here that most of the fish bite during the initial fall.... this makes me believe i am doing something wrong... the way i fish a T rig, i cast it out, and then, with my left hand i peel line off the reel, while using the rod as a whip to lay the line (braid) on the water.... this way i make sure the worm has enough line to fall down vertically.... once the line stops moving, i know im at the bottom, so i reel in the slack, and lift the worm with the rod to see if someone is there... if not, i will let it back to the bottom for a while and then begin hopping it bac to the boat...

 

only ONCE i have seen the line moving to one side while on the initial fall... the rest of the times, i catch the fish when the worm is falling, but not on the initial fall, i catch them because i raise the worm about a foot, and when its falling, they grab it... 

 

i dont understand, or dont know, how can i let the worm fall vertically, but still keeping enough pressure to detect bites... the oly way i have found for the worm to fall vertically is giving it a lot of slack line, but i fear i may be loosing a lot of fish by doing it this way...

 

BTW i use 30# braid with a 5 feet 12# fluoro leader...

[MichBassMan]

"i dont understand, or dont know, how can i let the worm fall vertically, but still keeping enough pressure to detect bites..."

    That's one of the main reasons I don't use braid for bottom contact fishing. Even with mono you can feel a bite on slack line and fluorocarbon you can feel it even better. I use braid for frogging in pads, grass, or slop. Mono for top water and spinnerbaits. My texas rig and jig fishing is all done with fluorocarbon. I did try braid for bottom baits but like you I could only detect bites on a tight line. That wasn't acceptable for me. I'm sure other will chime in as many folks like braid for everything.

[derekxec]

when i worm fish as soon as i cast the worm in i let it sit for a 10 count before i move it the first hop...usually during that is when i get hit the most...i dont have a problem feeling the bites with a slack line with braid but if you do and the water is calm watch the line where your line is entering the water....usually during a hit the water around the line will ripple 

[Ohio Dave]

+1 to the sit and lift.  I have taken a ton of bass on texas rigged worms and craws I have had bass literally take the bait right off the surface as it hit and a fair number on the fall but most come when the bait touches and sits then gets a pop of a few feet.  Lots of bass have taken the bait either slaked on the bottom or just as I start to lift.  fewer swimming to the next drop (usaully small males doing that)

 

hope that helps: I am sure that there are pros and better worm guys than I who might add more insight or tips on what I might not be right about

 

just sharing what has worked for me in the flat part of Ohio

[Highhawk1948]

I use worms that float.  A lot of them sink and lie flat on the bottom.  I like to see that tail/back half of the worm float up.  ( I test them in a pool)  Normally I use 3/16 or 3/8 ounce slipsinkers.

 

Pitch it out, pull some line out let it sink.  Watch for a tick or movement in the line for a pickup.  If no fish, I ease it forward a foot or so, but not by lifting the rod, but by a small sweep sideways, you can still keep your rod tip high.  We use to say that the "bouncers get the ouncers, draggers get the braggers".

I don't think you are missing fish on the fall.  They'll hang on to it.  Now you do have to set the hook though because you can pull it out of their month.

 

I have caught bass bouncing and dragging, but I like to drag or glide it with that floating tail like it's feeding along the bottom. 

 

Now flipping is different, but just pitching it to visual structure that's what I do.

[WRB]

Unless you are using spinning tackle or fishing heavy weed cover there is little reason to use braid with a FC leader. The reson you don't feel anything on the fall is you have lost all contact with the worm. Braid floats on the water surface creating bow in the line as the worm sinks, plus you are stripping more line off the reel while this going on. Unless you are fishing a very steep drop off into deep water (25'+) no reason to be stripping extra line and lose all contact.

A little higher arc in the cast achieves the same goal and you can lower the rod tip to create a little more slack if needed. I would use the 12 lb FC without the braid and keep in touch with the line at all times.

Tom

PS; use V the line cuts in the water as a strike indicator as the worm sinks.

[Kyle Mahaffey]

Unless you are using spinning tackle or fishing heavy weed cover there is little reason to use braid with a FC leader. The reson you don't feel anything on the fall is you have lost all contact with the worm. Braid floats on the water surface creating bow in the line as the worm sinks, plus you are stripping more line off the reel while this going on. Unless you are fishing a very steep drop off into deep water (25'+) no reason to be stripping extra line and lose all contact.

A little higher arc in the cast achieves the same goal and you can lower the rod tip to create a little more slack if needed. I would use the 12 lb FC without the braid and keep in touch with the line at all times.

Tom

PS; use V the line cuts in the water as a strike indicator as the worm sinks.

Are you saying that braid is not the way to go while using a t rigged worm or creature of some kind? I have to disagree with you there I have used braid and caught plenty of fish. In fact I have used 10# and 65# pp and I can feel my lure and what is goes over just fine

[dodgeguy]

get sufix 832 sinking braid.get rid f the leader.most of my texas rig fish are caught dragging the worm.very few take it on the intial fall.

[LARGEMOUTH ANGLER]

a lot of time they don't hit it on the fall. do the same as a jig and hop it on the bottom.

[WRB]

Most or I should say nearly all bass anglers miss both jig and T-rigged strikes on the fall, unless they use light weights. Take the Senko for example, works best weightless or with very little added weight and the majority of strikes are on the fall. The reason is the soft plastic falls slower and the angler is closely watching for strikes, plus the bass has time to eat the falling soft plastic or jig.

The trend today is heavier weights to punch through cover, very heavy wire hooks and 65 to 85 lb braid.

Unless you are fishing heavy cover, you do not need braid to fish jigs or T-rigs, no advantage other than personal preference and that is important.

Unless the bass are guarding a net, you should expect to catch bass the cast as the worm is falling through the water column. If you are missing these strikes, you are missing bass, unless you are fishing very shallow water less than 3' deep. If 99% of the strikes are on the retrieve your weight may be too heavy for the depth of water, unless it is windy. You should target the 25% range for strikes on the fall, 50% on the first hop and 25% on the retrieve with both jigs and T-rigs.

The reason is bass are not bottom feeders, they are sight feeders and prefer to strike prey off the bottom. Like everything in bass fishing there will be exceptions when bass will strike dead stocked jigs and worms, just not often.

Tom

[(='_'=)]

thanx!! thats a lot of good info....

 

im using braid with the leader because, to me, it seems as the most sensitive setup... i tried all fluoro, and all braid, but i prefer the braid/fluoro i have now, besides, fluoro is not visible, while braid is.... 

 

now, im fishing anywhere from 20 to 30 feet deep.... i do the hop and drag methods, but, as said before, i do them after the worm is at the bottom... in other words, when the worm is already in the bottom, i wait a little bit, and then i begin hopping or dragging or whatever, and i dont have a problem detecting strikes or other bottom features this way. when i hop it i let it fall in a semi slack line and i still have good contact with it.... the only problem i have is during the initial fall, where i give it a lot of slack for the worm to fall vertically.... after this initial fall,i have no problems feeling the worm....

 

i have another rod with all fluoro but i used it for other things, ill try them side by side and see if i prefer it, but so fr i have been very happy with my braid/fluoro combo for worms...

[Arv]

I don't get hit much on the initial fall. Like most others have said, its usually after I hop it. Even on weightless senkos, which I fish a lot, I don't get hit very often on the initial fall.

[Nice_Bass]

When fishing structure with no visible "cover" as what it sounds like you are fishing, you most likely will not get hit on that initial fall. 

If you are fishing visible cover, like a laydown, or dock, or whatever a bass may set up to ambush off of, then if the correct cast/cast angle was made you could get hit on the initial fall as it goes into its territory.  

 

When plying structure though like hump, point, or whatever it is you are fishing, then they will be at different spots and angles at different times of the day/year, sun angles, water current, etc.  

 

  Most of the time I would suspect you cast over, along, etc. to the structure and hop your bait into the zone you figure the fish are at. 

 

Sounds like you are doing everything correct, and are comfortable with what you are throwing so I would not change that...and this is coming from a guy that also dislikes braid.

[(='_'=)]

When fishing structure with no visible "cover" as what it sounds like you are fishing, you most likely will not get hit on that initial fall. 

If you are fishing visible cover, like a laydown, or dock, or whatever a bass may set up to ambush off of, then if the correct cast/cast angle was made you could get hit on the initial fall as it goes into its territory.  

 

When plying structure though like hump, point, or whatever it is you are fishing, then they will be at different spots and angles at different times of the day/year, sun angles, water current, etc.  

 

  Most of the time I would suspect you cast over, along, etc. to the structure and hop your bait into the zone you figure the fish are at. 

 

Sounds like you are doing everything correct, and are comfortable with what you are throwing so I would not change that...and this is coming from a guy that also dislikes braid.

 

thats correct, im not fishing visible cover.... on my local lake i have locate several places that almost always produce a couple of fish... however, there is no visible cover, these are rock walls and i just cast parallel to them... i have a general idea of where the fish are, but, they could be anywhere along the wall.... so i try to make a cast as far away as i can, in order to cover more water hopping along the bottom... i have been getting up to 15 fish per outing, which is very good considering my location... but i though if i want to get 20+ i need to change something to raise my chances.... season starts in 2 weeks, so right now im reading as much as i can.. ill be there on the opening day and see what i can do....

 

temp will be in the mid 90s, how good will it be for worm fishing??  since i caught my first few fish on worms, i can barely pick up anything else... 

[Nice_Bass]

thats correct, im not fishing visible cover.... on my local lake i have locate several places that almost always produce a couple of fish... however, there is no visible cover, these are rock walls and i just cast parallel to them... i have a general idea of where the fish are, but, they could be anywhere along the wall.... so i try to make a cast as far away as i can, in order to cover more water hopping along the bottom... i have been getting up to 15 fish per outing, which is very good considering my location... but i though if i want to get 20+ i need to change something to raise my chances.... season starts in 2 weeks, so right now im reading as much as i can.. ill be there on the opening day and see what i can do....

 

temp will be in the mid 90s, how good will it be for worm fishing??  since i caught my first few fish on worms, i can barely pick up anything else... 

Most likely they are setting up on something- may be a ledge underwater you cannot see, or rock sticking out from the wall 20 ft down, depth change, etc. 

The two things I would investigate if I were you are pretty simple and may explain quite a bit for you. 

Check angle of the sun//shade and wind direction along the bluff- when and where you caught your fish. 

 

Two- thermocline level if you can locate it. 

 

 

Worm will work just fine in 90 water.    Do you know what your bottom composition is?  I assume hard bottom?

[(='_'=)]

thax, ill check that.... i have caught fish in there at any time of day, from dawn to dusk, so sun angle has varied and still i catch fish...

 

and i also think its a hard bottom, im new to this and dont know how to recognize it yet, but it feels hard when i bounce the senko...

[WRB]

You might want to consider another presentation for the worms or a modification to increase your catch rate per hour.

I fish deep structured lakes and don't use the traditional Texas rig in water deeper than 20 very often. When bass are on deep rocky structure I change to spider jigs, dart head jigs, shaky head jigs, drop shot, slip shot, nail weight worms and a doodle rig.

A noodle rig is a modified T-rig known as Brass N Glass: adding a faceted glass bead between the weight (painted brass) and the hook. I also lighten up on the line to 8 to 10 lb FC, 3/16 oz weight unless it's windy, then 1/4oz.. It's important that the sinker slides freely on the line and lead doesn't, tungsten also works good.

The technique is similar to a T-rig except shorter casts and more vertical. Instead of dragging and hoping, you shake the weight against then glass bead , pause and move the rig about a foot and repeat shaking.

The nail weight worm is deadly on steep walls; 3/32 oz tungsten or lead nail weight. Cut off 1/4" of the 6" worm nose to insert the weight. Wacky hook, (Owner with worm saddle) the worm about 1 1/4" back of the worm nose. Use 8-10 FC line. Most strikes will be in the fall or with foot after hitting bottom. This rig works down to 20 to 30 feet.

1/8 to 3/16 oz dart with curl tail worm on 6-8 lb FC. Spider jigs are simple; Yamamoto Hula single or double tail grubs on football head jig, 3/8 oz with 4" or 1/2 oz with 5". Fish the spider jig like the T-rig.

Tom

[(='_'=)]

thanx, thats also what i wanted to ask... for worm fishig i only know how to use the texas rig, i have never tried any other presentation... i have never tried jigs either... my goal for this season is to learn at least 2 new techniques, i choose carolina rig and shakey head, but may try drop shot as well... and i also want to begin using jigs... from what i read, these are better deep water presentations, right??

[Tim Cianciola]

i use 20# invisibraid(spider wire) with no problem with worms and creature baits with good success. i do not pull off any extra line just cast out thet it sink then pop and drag back to me with about a 10 sec pause between ea. pop. for texas rig with a 1/4 oz slider weight. or i wacky it weightless and just pull the rod up and let it fall real the slack all the way back to me.