Fish Biting At Trick Worm Tail?

[Joedodge]

So I was fishing one of my local small ponds the last two mornings and notice that I was getting a ton of hits but there grabbing the tail and running and letting go. This pond does produce pretty small bass but has anyone else ran into this?

[F14A-B]

Sure have, Bluegills, panfish ( juveniles ) will take a small bite whenever they get a chance! It can be annoying as well.

[HoosierHawgs]

Maybe it was panfish? Most bass will hit from the front.. But, they could be really finicky fish, and you may have to fish them with an exposed hook like a Ned Rig.

[BassinLou]

Extremely common. Learning this now will help you know when its bass down the road. 

[Dylcook91]

Yeah I have the same problem when fishing with plastic worms, but it usually bluegill/crappie that are the culprits. Can you confirm that it is bass? The only other thing you can do is try down sizing lure size.

The only time ive be seen bass pick up a lure and move it is when they are on their nest during spawn

[Joedodge]

It's a pretty shallow pond, that's all I've caught in it it 1.5 pound or less bass. Lots of lil guys. I guess it could be pan fish just haven't caught any. I as assuming it's juvenile bass but come to think of it I've caught some real tiny bass in there and hooked them

[HoosierHawgs]

I this a private pond? Or is it public water? I know it doesn't sound relevant, but in terms of fish size, you may be able to help with that depending on whose water it is....

[BrianinMD]

do not assume it was panfish. I get this periodically, downsize to a finesse worm and slow down a little. You may get surprised with some decent size bass. Another thing to try is a color change, sometimes this will get them to commit faster.

[HoosierHawgs]

do not assume it was panfish. I get this periodically, downsize to a finesse worm and slow down a little. You may get surprised with some decent size bass. Another thing to try is a color change, sometimes this will get them to commit faster.

Color change can be a bigger factor than most people think. This along with a change in cadence like mentioned above can definitely help. BTW, love the avatar picture.

[Joedodge]

It's a public pond at a local community center. The fish there are hungry lol I've had them hit on watermelon seed, black and white trick worms, and red shad culprit ribbon tail worms. They won't hit rattle traps, spoons, or flukes or swim baits lol. It's a fun pond to fish I've had a few bigger ones 1-2 pounds all on trick worms yum dingerz where a no go also lol. Just casting out and a twitch and retrieve and pause for a few seconds I've fished it slow and fast. Just thought it was odd. Thanks for the help guys

[Fishes in trees]

Strike King makes ( or used to make) a trick worm style bait out of their elaz-tech material.  You might try fishing something like that wacky style, on one of those wacky jig heads.   The elastic worms last forever, it seems and the exposed wacky hook, in the middle of the bait might get some more hits.  I don't know, maybe something to try.  Option B might be to down size.   Back in the day when I was a bank fisherman, I had access to a few ponds that were in the shape yours seems to be in, i.e. lots of little fish.   6 lb line - 1/8 or more likely 3/16 oz slider hooks and a 4" worm got me lots of bites.  Back in the day, I was keeping and eating those 8" to 11" fish.  I got pretty good with a fillet knife.

[Senko lover]

I typically don't buy into the whole "nipping the tail thing," but I have seen some vids of wintertime fishing where people had to wait longer to set the hook. So that could be true for winter fishing. The way you can usually tell if it's a panfish or not (at least for me) is how fast they bite. The bluegill hit it really hard, your line jumps about a foot, and then it goes slack, no fish on the end. Bass typically (not always) hit it more drawn out.

[ward131]

I hate the Tail bitters!  I find them to be very small bass and blue gills. Usually I move away from them to deeper water or switch to a hard bait that they don't bother.

[Joedodge]

Yeah I can see the bite marks on the worm tail. It's deffinatly tail biters, and since I switched to braid I can feel every lil thing now. Now whether they are bass or not idk but I know that pond produces some small bass along with a few large ones. I find myself fishing that one area of the pond due to the hits. I probably need to venture around a lil to try for some bigger guys in the deep water

[5fishlimit]

Break out the UL rod, and try fishing for panfish. If you catch Bluegill you've solved the answer to your question.

[Joedodge]

Well that's a possibility also. I've never really pan fished much except as a kid with worms lol

[kikstand454]

Throw a beetle spin in that area and catch all those panfish.

But know this..... if the area is holding such a strong and reliable population of small fish, no matter the species, then there are bigger fish around. Next time you find the tail biters, switch to a jig or crankbait and fan cast around looking for the thing EATING those tailbiters!

[Joedodge]

Just looked up the beetle spin im gonna grab a few colors and give it a try and see what I get. I really do need to explore more of the pond. I've always caught fish in the one area and stuck to it lol.

[kcdinkerz]

When they are like that I let some slack out as soon as I feel a bite and watch my line carefully. I usually feed line out until I think its got the hook in. Just so the bass doesn't feel any resistance. But don't wait to long or you'll gut him them.

[Bluebasser86]

If I'm getting bites from a fish that can't even get a trick worm in it's mouth, I'm not worried about catching it because it's not the fish I'm looking for.