big worms?

[Mr. Aquarium]

im going to start fishing big worms and other baits for offshore bass. any tips and advice on big worms? 

[roadwarrior]

Target ledges and humps. If you have current, cast upstream and retrieve slowly on or near the bottom.

My favorite bait is the Rage Tail Thumper (blue fleck).

[Jaderose]

I've had good luck throwing a 9" Culprit Fat Max (I've been liking Grape Shad lately) on 3/8 or 1/2 swinghead around stumps and other structure.  Toss em in by the stump or tree or whatever and let them fall.

[S. Sass]

Mann's Jelly Worm 12" 

Usually Grape or Black Grape do well for me.

I like the Offset Worm Hook or even a Flipping hook usually a 5/0 size might go as big as a 7/0.

Texas rigged of course.  

[d-camarena]

Jelly worm 9 inch and culprit fatmax are my go tos.

I rig them weightless texas. With the smallest weight i can get away with

[WRB]

I would start with 8" to 9" worms and fish them very slowly, you can't be in a hurry.

South shore where? You could be in the northern regional area do to the fact you mention pickerel and smallmouth bass, in that situation 7.75" GYCB Kut tail would be my choice for a big worm.

Tom

[Mr. Aquarium]

massachusetts

 

[jamey1e]

Fish them very slow and when you think your fishing slow enough slow down a little more!  I like them on a Texas rig or big shaky head fished around off shore structure.  

[scaleface]

Bounce them off the bottom as fast as you can and still remain in contact with it . I'd use a minimum 1/4 ounce weight . 

[primetime]

I think most people throw 10" Worms when they think big, I know some guys fish a 16" worm extremely slow especially at night and if you have patience, find a spot you know big bass will be passing through, you can be assured that 90% of strikes will require someone to get the Camera Ready...I personally like to throw the giant 16" worm a few casts every trip but I am not patient enough to fish it properly since it really is meant to be fished Slow at least from what I have seen.

If I had to pick a few worms that I go to it would be a Berkley Power Worm 10",12" either size is fine with me, the big Rage worms are all good, I like to fish the straight tailed worms like the Yum 10" worm, and I hear the Strike King Bull worm is also good....

Another good worm that is great when fishing the main lakes everyone fishes, is a triple tail worm, BPS has a 9" version and it is a really good worm, has great action on a big shaky rig etc....

I think the Rule in Florida is black and blue or blue with silver flake....I like to fish a watermelon Candy color or Red shad, and solid gp or solid black with chart on the tail...Not so sure color matters as much as people think, I think slow is the key, I go with as light a weight as possible with big worms or no weight at all, sometimes swimming a worm over weeds instead of a frog can get big bites and is exciting, usually the hook is big so you don't need much weight if fishing shallow. Straight tail worms are best if looking for a worm to get through cover easy, or the Fat Max from Culprit which is designed to get through cover as the tail is shorter and body is fatter...IMO Culprit has the best colors when it comes to soft baits...They just look so good in the water and they are stepping up their product line to keep up with all the other companies. It used to be Culprit, Manns and Berlkley...Now Strike King, Zoom, and Yum are taking much of the market.....V&M makes a cool worm I look forward to trying out...Just picked up a pack, Big worms help eliminate the little worms for the most part, 10"  will get plenty of action from fish 12" and above....12" you notice a difference...2lbs and up and less strikes....Just my take.

["hamma"]

A big straight shank hook and a  1/2 0z screwlock worm weight texas rigged. fish around deep weeds and brushpiles.,,Mashpee wakeby is a good lake for this as well as long pond lakeville

 

[frogflogger]

I really like the Case Plastics Big Momma - 11" straight tail

[Mr. Aquarium]

2 hours ago, Keith "Hamma" Hatch said:

A big straight shank hook and a  1/2 0z screwlock worm weight texas rigged. fish around deep weeds and brushpiles.,,Mashpee wakeby is a good lake for this as well as long pond lakeville

 

i got some lakes that receive alot less pressure then those spots i plan on using these at!  

i never fished those places! to big for a cartopper

[trick worms]

I like zoom ole monsters Texas rigged with a 3/16 oz. weight(cuz I fish a shallow lake) I use a 5/0 offset round bend hook

[Surfcaster]

On 6/13/2016 at 0:03 PM, S. Sass said:

Mann's Jelly Worm 12" 

Usually Grape or Black Grape do well for me.

I like the Offset Worm Hook or even a Flipping hook usually a 5/0 size might go as big as a 7/0.

Texas rigged of course.  

x2

[mojojojo]

12" Manns Jelly worm or whats becoming my favorite big worm, the Yum Mighty Worm rigged on a carolina/split shot style rig.

 

[CarolinaBoy4Life]

I use a Gambler or Rage tail with a 3/8 or up weight depending on depth. Look for any off sure structure or drop offs/ledges and work it SLOWLY. I see way too many people fishing a worm and think they are fishing slow but in reality they are fishing way too fast. You can catch them like this when they are super aggressive but fish it slow. Drag it or hop it back, I prefer dragging it back 

[Mr. Aquarium]

12 minutes ago, CarolinaBoy4Life said:

I use a Gambler or Rage tail with a 3/8 or up weight depending on depth. Look for any off sure structure or drop offs/ledges and work it SLOWLY. I see way too many people fishing a worm and think they are fishing slow but in reality they are fishing way too fast. You can catch them like this when they are super aggressive but fish it slow. Drag it or hop it back, I prefer dragging it back 

i got a new PB yesterday 7.8 on a swimbait. but reason why im saying this! where i caught it was a deep drop off! 
the pond i was fishing at is small but deep. 30 feet. really steep drops! 
water is stained tho?  does water clarity play a big role? i plan on going back today with big worms deep. i caught a dink on a big power bait worm the worm was bigger then the bass! 

[NoahWatts]

Uptons Custom Worms,  I bought 3 bags on a whim and they are amazing.

[JPascavage52]

Berkley Powerbait Power Worms, 10 or 7 inches. Black or pumpkinseed. 

[CarolinaBoy4Life]

1 hour ago, Mike Dixon said:

i got a new PB yesterday 7.8 on a swimbait. but reason why im saying this! where i caught it was a deep drop off! 
the pond i was fishing at is small but deep. 30 feet. really steep drops! 
water is stained tho?  does water clarity play a big role? i plan on going back today with big worms deep. i caught a dink on a big power bait worm the worm was bigger then the bass! 

When you say stained, how stained are we talking? In dirty water fish usually go shallow and stick to cover, granted thats not a 100% guarantee. I've fished some stained water around here (not dirty but stained) fishing 15-18ft water where there was stumps and brush piles right next to a steep drop off that went up gradually to about 6 ft of water where a shallow flat was. Using a Gambler ribbon tail 10in. worm with a 3/8 oz weight texas rigged I would cast out past the brush and stumps where the bottom really had no composition, I'd drag it back in to the brush and stumps. When I felt it hit a stump or log I would stop and then hop it up and down slowly in place then work it over the structure and that is usually when they would nail it. If not I would drag it up the steep drop off but my larger fish were down in the structure. After a couple fish it seemed the bite on the worm died so I switched to a medium diving crankbait on the ledge where it dropped off and then a shallow crank for the flat. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

i guess clear but with a little stain to it. the shallows are clear! so i guess i would say 3-4 feet viability 

[primetime]

I love stained water....As said above, it almost assures you that many fish will be tight to structure, even just a clump of weeds in the middle of nothing else....Stained water to me is less than 2-3' visibility, and if you get that really green water in summer after algae blooms like we get in Phosphate pits, Big Rage Tail Thumper or Rage Ribbons really seem to work well especially in darker colors....The Rage Anaconda is a great swimming worm when they are aggressive and also a great worm for just casting out, letting it settle with a 1/8-3/16 bullet weight, then I love to do a lift and drop with long pauses in Summer, 10 second pauses at a minimum...Many strikes come as I first move it or are already on when I lift, but I watch my line, Usually they start swimming off to one side, I also make multiple casts to the same spot I had a strike,,,and start fan casting inches to the left and right....If I am fishing on a hot day, I fish a big worm either super slow, or with a weighted hook and strolled about 6" off the bottom, killing it every 10 feet and then start messing around with how high to swim it etc...I have had days when they wanted a 10" worm moving pretty quickly, they follow it and then hit it as soon as it drops in the water column, so I love to use my reel for action, just hitches like when throwing a crankbait in open water....

Weighted hooks are one of my favorite ways to fish Horizontal....I love the Mustad Hooks with the pin and adjustable weight, you can make a worm glide if weight is toward the back, I don't think brand matters, but color does...I like dark natural colors and watermelon seed in clear water and my first cast is always green pumpkin or black regardless of water color.

[papajoe222]

You may need to experiment a little with rigging, but Carolina and Texas are my most productive ways. Experiment with dragging, lift drop and swimming the T-rig and I've found that they can show a profound preference for one over the others.  I like an offset worm hook to start with, but will switch to an EWG threaded a couple of inches into the worm if I feel they're short striking.

[Airman4754]

10" & 12" Power worms for T-rig. 

Rage Anaconda for C-rig

Kicker Fish Hightail 11" ribbon worm for shaky heads. 

When they are in their true summer patters I like to peg a punch skirt on the T & C-rigs.