Using larger worms?

[rboat]

I normally fish with the 7" worms. Recently, I purchased some 10" and 12" worms to hopefully attract some larger fish. Do you fish these big guys any different than the smaller version? Any tips or tricks for bigger worms would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Shane J]

Nope, don't fish them any differently. I usually go for the 10 inchers in lower light conditions, but they work all the time. You'll be surprised how many small fish eat those huge worms, though, so just don't expect to only catch bigger ones.

[aarogb]

No I don't fish them any different.  The only thing I switch up is the hook size.  For 10" and 12" worms I usually go with a 7/0 hook.

[MMan16]

No I don't fish them any different. The only thing I switch up is the hook size. For 10" and 12" worms I usually go with a 7/0 hook.

x2 i use  7/0 as well. I think its a great size for the size of plastic.

[s13john]

keel weight anni and ole monster are killer.

[RoLo]

One angler is using a 7.0" worm and bags (two) 1-lbers, (one) 2-lber and (one) 5-lber.

Another angler is using a 12.0" worm, and bags (one) 5-lber.

Now you can see how much better the large worm is?

The average bass-weight using the 7" worm was a paltry 2¼ lbs

but the average bass-weight on the 12" worm was 5 lbs, more than TWICE the weight!  :

All kidding aside, anglers generally agree that we should always let the fish tell

us what they want, but if you're not catching fish, the door to communication is closed.

Roger

[Sam]

I throw the 8" Jelly Worms.

I catch more smaller bass than larger bass on them.

Go figure????        

[tholmes]

I've been using 7.5" Culprit worms a lot lately. I've caught everything from dinks that were barely as long as the worm to a 6.1 lb. (my best this year).

Location is far more important. If you throw that big ol' worm in an area where there's nothing but small bass, that's what you'll catch.

Tom

[Vinny Chase]

Just upgrade your size hook to a 5/0. Other then that i dont fish them any differently. I usually use 10" worms on days where the fish are very active, because in these situations I feel as if I have a you have a better chance of catching quality fish even though thats not always the case.

[Vinny Chase]

No I don't fish them any different. The only thing I switch up is the hook size. For 10" and 12" worms I usually go with a 7/0 hook.

x2 i use 7/0 as well. I think its a great size for the size of plastic.

Wow I have never used that size hook for anything....Guess I havent needed to yet.

[Gangley]

7/0 .....wow, that is large, but if it works for you, then awesome.

As far as long worms are concerned, I mostly fish ZOOM ol' Monsters and Berkley 10" Power worms, but add others to the mix on occasion. I use 4/0 EWG Gammy's for both and have never had issues. A common myth is that longer worms require bigger hooks. The selection of hook size should be rendered based upon the thickness of the lure, not the length. I try to maintain a hook width to worm thickness ratio of 2.5 or 3 to 1. Basically, I want the hook width to be three times that of the worm. Now, that is purely personal preference, if a 7/0 is working for you, then keep at it, that's what matters.

An interesting point to note though, my average fish size has not increased dramatically using a longer worm. I do catch larger fish more often, but I still catch all of the little dinks as well. I have caught more 8-10 inch bass on a 10" worm than I care to admit. The reason I say that my average size hasn't changed much is because I still catch tons of smaller fish. The bigger fish that I do catch simply don't adjust my average very much when figured in with the multitude of smaller fish. However, before I started fishing with big worms, i didnt catch nearly as many large fish.

Also something that I have noticed with larger worms, is that the fish generally bite the head of the worm first. With smaller worms, I get a lot of torn tails from where the bass will bite the tail and try to drag the worm off somewhere else, but with the big worms the bass generally hit the worm head first. Because of this, I can generally slam the hook home with a big worm on the first tap and come up with a bass, while if I do that with the smaller worms i sometimes come up empty handed or with a torn off tail.

As far as fishing styles, I generally fish both size worms the same. However, I do not fish the 10" worms on drop shots or carolina rigs. I'm not saying that it couldn't be done or isnt a good idea, but I personally haven't had any luck with them presented that way.

If you want to look at some other larger worms or worm-like plastics, check out the Rage Anaconda and the V&M Bayou Giant (14")....its a big bertha worm

[WanderLust]

Ol' Monster in black is hard to beat in low light conditions. Recently the Rage Thumper has been my go to.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Big worms are a staple of south Florida fishing.  Generally on worms around 10" I'll use a 5/0.  I've never run into the need a hook bigger than that on that size worm.  For larger worms that are 14"+, I'll use an Owner oversize worm hook.

[lynyrdsky1]

hey u can pretty much use the same size hook cause i use a 3/0 or 4/0 on a 10 or 12 inch worm and have no problems. But what i do is instead of sticking the end of the hook back directly into the bait i kind of put the end of it to the side instead of straight in the middle.

[roadwarrior]

I fish the Anaconda and Thumper on either Gamakatsu

5/0 Round Bend, Owner 5/0 EWG Offset Worm Hooks,

XPoints or Moaner 6/0. No issues.

These would be my #1 suggestion:

http://www.moanerhooks.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=68_65

8-)

[fishfordollars]

I guess I'm strange, I fish a 5/0 and a 6/0 on a senko.

No issues, just like to use the hook to add weight instead of something else.

[river-rat]

I mostly use the Bitter's Bait and Tackle 10" worm t-rigged with a 3/16-5/16 slip sinker and 4/0 - 5/0 Denny Brauer Flippin' Hook.

I fish it the same way as I would use a 7 1/2" worm but I also swim it through cypress trees and laydowns quite a bit during the summer and into the fall season.

[bocabasser]

Big worms are a staple of south Florida fishing. Generally on worms around 10" I'll use a 5/0. I've never run into the need a hook bigger than that on that size worm. For larger worms that are 14"+, I'll use an Owner oversize worm hook.

exactly! i only fish 12 inch worms and i use a gama 5/0. i also use a shimano curado with a gear ratio of 3.8:1. that reel makes me fish the worm super slow and i also use a 5/8 ounce tungsten. gambler has a new worm out that looks exactly like the delong. look out when the ledge bit is on.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Big worms are a staple of south Florida fishing. Generally on worms around 10" I'll use a 5/0. I've never run into the need a hook bigger than that on that size worm. For larger worms that are 14"+, I'll use an Owner oversize worm hook.

exactly! i only fish 12 inch worms and i use a gama 5/0. i also use a shimano curado with a gear ratio of 3.8:1. that reel makes me fish the worm super slow and i also use a 5/8 ounce tungsten. gambler has a new worm out that looks exactly like the delong. look out when the ledge bit is on.

Ooh, I need to find some of those.  Hopefully they're a little cheaper than the Delongs.  Those get pricey.

[Catt]

Thickness of the plastic lure should be first consideration when selecting hooks not the length of the plastic lure.

A Senko is short but thick so a bigger hook is required while a Zoom trick worm is longer but thinner so a smaller hook is required.

[RoLo]

Thickness of the plastic lure should be first consideration when selecting hooks not the length of the plastic lure

Exactly.

To that I would add, when fishing an unweighted worm,

I'll choose the hook-size based on the 'descent rate' I want.

I Have A Question

When I lived in New Jersey, my favorite plastic worm was the 7½ Culprit worm

and my favorite soft jerkbait was the 5 Zoom Super Fluke.

Now that I live in Florida, I throw worms up to 10" long (1/3 longer),

and use the Zoom Magnum Fluke, which is 7" long. Strangely enough,

every Floridian angler I know throws the little 5 fluke (4-penny nail),

yet, the same anglers won't hesitate to pitch a foot-long worm.

This is my question:

If 5" is long enough for a fluke, why does the plastic worm need to be a foot long?

Roger

[Catt]

Interesting question Roger, the majority of my bass are caught on a 7 ½ worm    

[.ghoti.]

A worm "needs" to be longer because we've been convinced that we have to throw bigger baits to catch bigger fish.

Most of the worm fish I catch are caught on a GYCB 6 1/2" CutTail.

I still carry around 10.5", 12" and 14" worms. I don't catch any bigger fish on them, but I feel better having them. :D

[Captain Obvious]

If 5" is long enough for a fluke, why does the plastic worm need to be a foot long?

Just for me I fish a smaller fluke because I want to match the bait size. I feel that if the water is clear enough to fish a fluke then I'll pay more attention to the size. Sure you can fish a big fluke for bigger fish but I feel that they are a little more wary of a lure that doesn't make the hatch in clear water

I'll fish the  a larger worm to catch big fish but not in gin clear water.

[piscicidal]

I think Captain Obvious hit on something with his "match the hatch" comment.

Bocabasser and SoFlaBassAddict mentioned that big worms are a staple of South Florida fishing. I think that stems from the fact that snakes are an important food source down here. The "King Of The Glades" winner crushed everyone throwing 16" worms swam on the surface like a snake. I fished in a couple of these qualifiers and I've come to the conclusion that you HAVE to go big to compete. Bocabasser qualified for the KOTG finals and as he mentioned he throws 12" and up.

You come out here throwing 8" worms you'll weigh an 8lb bag while the contenders are weighing +20lbs. Of course a big bass will eat an 8" worm if given the opportuntiy...in this case, though, I think the bass are specifically keying on the snakes. IMO, The bigger worms are more effective because the bass are specifically targeting them.