worm style

[beargrape]

when do you use the different styles of worms ( curly tail ribbon tail paddle tail and flat tail)?

[BASSclary]

The fish tell me.

[NorcalBassin]

Aggressive fish = curly tail

[Daddyodo]

BASSclary what does that mean? You try one, no luck you move to another? Elaborate please :

[brushhoggin]

he means exactly what he says. for example dude thinks aggresive bass bite curly tails. bass will "tell" you if they are aggresive or not. some folks think finiky bass prefer a paddle or straight tail. i personally don't think it matters as much as color choice

[kikstand454]

well in general...

i personally fish curly tail worms mostly on the bottom. t-rig. shallow or deep thats just what i feel confident doing with them.

straight tail worms...to me thats a trick worm...i generally fish either on a shakey head or small t-rig around docks finesse style... or i carolina rig it out deep. deadly.

paddletail worms are awesome in grassy areas. put a 3/16oz sinker on and t-rig it... and then fish it like you would a spinnerbait. you can cover serious water with this rig and if you come to a stump in the grass you can also let sink around it and fish it on the bottom too.

thats in general though. all these lures and techniques are interchangeable. ive done well with a giant t-rigged paddletail worm and ive killed with swimming a trick worm over grass... so it is what it is.

"color" isnt so much as important as "shade". water clarity and sunlight conditions should narrow down your color choices. (i.e. dark colors in murky water, natural greens and browns in clearer water) and then let the fish tell you what exact color is hot...like if your fishing dark colors... are the fish hitting junebug or black neon better?

jmo

[BASSclary]

BASSclary what does that mean? You try one, no luck you move to another? Elaborate please :

I use what I think will work best, then change to what I think will work second best until I get my best result. Then I think for a moment and ask myself "Why are they hitting this?" Then I may mod that a little bit to see if it gets better or worse. If they're short biting they may want a different color. Basically, every fish you catch, analyze what you did on that whole cast, when the fish bit, how it bit, etc etc. And if you keep analyzing you'll develop a pattern. Once you get that base pattern down you can modify your pattern for better results. And then when you get better results analyze again. If you continually tweak the pattern and keep analyzing the pattern, you will end up catching every fish in that lake because you found the "Perfect" pattern.

I hope my blabber didn't confuse you! ;D

[iceintheveins]

That's a really good question. I think straight tails are better after cold fronts pass though and definately early in the year with cold water.

[Daddyodo]

Thanks BASSclary that makes alot of sense.

[I.rar]

i always thought paddle tails give off more vibration than the others. i also work them a bit faster than the ribbon tail type worms.

[tennsopher]

Just my .02 cents.Curly,drop worm by verticle cover.Ribbon, covering horizontal structure.Paddle ,dingy water or swimming over grass and straight tail clear shallow areas or colder water conditions.

[grimlin]

i always thought paddle tails give off more vibration than the others. i also work them a bit faster than the ribbon tail type worms.

Paddle tails...My number one weakness in worms. I think this is the only worm that confuses me how it's suppose to be reeled in.Does the stop and go retrieve work for these paddletails? Some odd reason i cannot get a bite on these things.

[KC Bass Fanatic]

A lot of good replies here.  Don't forget about matching the hatch.  If fish are feeding heavy on shad a straight tail worm (think Zoom trick worm) is awesome.  I've found that when fish are feeding mainly on craws a curly tail worm works better.  Just another thing to consider.

[BASSclary]

A lot of good replies here. Don't forget about matching the hatch. If fish are feeding heavy on shad a straight tail worm (think Zoom trick worm) is awesome. I've found that when fish are feeding mainly on craws a curly tail worm works better. Just another thing to consider.

Hell, if they're feeding on shad and craws heavy forget worms, throw Football head and a soft swimbait  8-) :

[I.rar]

i always thought paddle tails give off more vibration than the others. i also work them a bit faster than the ribbon tail type worms.

Paddle tails...My number one weakness in worms. I think this is the only worm that confuses me how it's suppose to be reeled in.Does the stop and go retrieve work for these paddletails? Some odd reason i cannot get a bite on these things.

i like to throw them with at least a 1/8oz weight and work them in like i would a trigged ribbon tail. only a bit faster. i drag or hop them , just enough to get the tail going , through weeds and up drop offs and both the peacocks and LMs seem to like it. they are almost as weedless as they come imo.