Curly tail worms anyone ?

[Bird]

Getting ready for a week long trip with the wife " and dog " to my favorite lake in VA.

Was taking inventory of the large amount of tackle on the boat and NOT a single curly tail worm , no Zoom, no Culprit.

 

Seems the trend has shifted to straight tail which I have an abundance, Senko, Zoom finesse, Jackall flickShake and others.

So went to my storage locker inside the house and grabbed a few packs of Zoom curly tail " watermelon red " to take along and maybe reinvent the past when every worm I threw was a curly tail.

 

Are they still legit ? And y'all still throwing them ? 

 

[PourMyOwn]

I've never stopped throwing them. Mann's Augertails (down to my last 100 count bag) and the ones I pour-which are a lot like the 7.5 Culprits are my favorites. 

[Log Catcher]

I still use the Zoom U Tail worms and Culprit worms. 

[OmegaDPW]

I like them because I feel that I can fish them a good bit faster than the stick baits and Trick Worms that I also throw. My preference is actually lizards, though, with the curly tail- only because I bought a TON of different colored lizards when some on-line shop closed years ago. I probably have 700+. Possibly even more.

 

Hope my kids and future grandkids like to throw lizards. 

[Big Swimbait]

A 4 inch Chartreuse Pepper curly-tail Ringworm is a limit getter for me.

[tunaman]

Roboworm curly tail 5 1/2” FTW.

 

I like big ribbon tail worms for t-rig also.

[Mobasser]

I still like the Mr. Twister Phenom 6" curly tail.

[Bird]

It's not necessarily the fault of the worm but rather the technique that seems to require a straight tail....... wacky, Neko, mojo, dropshot, weightless Senko.

 

Glad to hear the curly is still kicking.

[MN Fisher]

If I'm doing a jig-worm, naturally it's a curly tail. Berkley Power Worm, Zoom UV Speed Worm or Zoom Curly Tail.

[LrgmouthShad]

I absolutely still love ribbontail worms

 

While I like and use many, the sneakiest ribbontail worm in a size that will get larger bass to commit is the zoom mag 2. The mag 2 is a very thin worm measuring 9.5” long. Whats sets it apart? Since it is thin, you can use this worm with a small hook and light line, if you wish. I have used this worm for years and I find that it works well in every body of water I fish. 
 

Catches fish like this dandy:

[Pat Brown]

Caught my PB 11.5 lb largemouth on a 10" ribbontail worm!  Caught too many bass over 5 lb to count on em.  I like them a whole heckuva lot.

[Mike L]

Got my PB (11.32) on a 7” Red Shad Fat Max. 
(It’s still my 2nd favorite)

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[jdr99a]

My favorite bait for small ponds is a little Berkley lunch worm. If I’m just looking to get a bite that’s what I’m reaching for. 

[Big Hands]

I liked curly tails a LOT back in the day. Currently, I use more straight tails, but I say don't be sleepin' on a good curly tail plastic. Right now my two best baits are a 5" Senko (which pretty much rules every year at this time) and a Zoom Tiny Brush Hog. 

 

The other day, I caught 8 bass in a very short amount of time. The first one tore one of the curly tails off of my Tiny Brush Hog, but the next seven bass didn't care before it finally gave up. I am fishing on BFS, Texas rigged with a 1/16 or 1/8 ounce tungsten sinker on 6 lbs mono. 

[WRB]

The popular tournament finesse worms were Mister Twister curl tail worms out west on a split shot rig.

Dick Trask and Don Iovino were winning the events but Trask had a edge he boiled the Twister worms to make them softer.

Trask found another worm maker willing to make worms softer and make a 4” ribbon tail worm Dick named Screamers and was his secret weapon.

Screamers disappeared when Flutter closed and Dick passed away.

A San Diego worm maker started up and bought the Flutter Craft tooling selling them in local shops for about 2 months then  disappeared. Actually the company moved to Texas and last year I found them on eBay. US Bait Company making custom colors in Reapers and Screamers that worked as good as ever. 4” Screamers on a split shot is deadly finesse  rig and the 3 1/2” Reapers both forgotten.

Tom

 

[Tackleholic]

Years ago my favorite curly tail was a 4 inch in the color of Tequilla Sunrise made by Rattlesnake.  I caught more small river smallmouth on that than anything else.  Don't know if Rattlesnake is around anymore.

[Big Hands]

3 minutes ago, WRB said:

The popular tournament finesse worms were Mister Twister curl tail worms out west on a split shot rig.

 

Back in the early 80's I caught my first several plastic worm fish dragging black 2" Mister Twister curly tail worms. I thought I'd never catch a bass on a plastic worm. Now, they are undoubtedly my most consistent producer.

 

7 minutes ago, WRB said:

Trask found another worm maker willing to make worms softer and make a 4” ribbon tail worm Dick named Screamers and was his secret weapon.

Screamers disappeared when Flutter closed and Dick passed away.

A San Diego worm maker started up and bought the Flutter Craft tooling selling them in local shops for about 2 months then  disappeared. Actually the company moved to Texas and last year I found them on eBay. US Bait Company making custom colors in Reapers and Screamers that worked as good as ever. 4” Screamers on a split shot is deadly finesse  rig and the 3 1/2” Reapers both forgotten.

 

Fluttercraft Screamers and Twin T's are still fish catchers. I used to purchase Screamers by the 100's in cinnamon blue/black flake and salt-n-pepper. The Twin T's (a Yamamoto bait from long ago) in Pumpkin Pepper and salt-n-pepper were staples too.

 

I still occasionally break out one or two from the few I have left just to see if they still have that magic. . . . They do.

[Texas Flood]

2 hours ago, OmegaDPW said:

I like them because I feel that I can fish them a good bit faster than the stick baits and Trick Worms that I also throw. My preference is actually lizards, though, with the curly tail- only because I bought a TON of different colored lizards when some on-line shop closed years ago. I probably have 700+. Possibly even more.

 

Hope my kids and future grandkids like to throw lizards. 

If you need to get rid of even more, feel free to adopt me. 

[Jar11591]

Culprit ribbon tails are my favorite summer time soft plastic. I throw em up to 12” but my most used size is 7.5”. 
 

A Texas rigged ribbontail is how my dad taught me how to fish and it’ll always be a mainstay in the tackle box

[WRB]

My favorite 7  1/2”-10” ribbon tail worm is Berkley Power worms on a T-rig for night fishing. Tequila Sunrise and black w/blue flake Power worm have work very good during night bass tournaments. Our night events start around dusk and last 6 hours. 
The tequila works before dark and black after dark where I fished.

tried lots of other worms with Uptons 9” and 13” straight tails in midnight also a good choice. Sometimes the bass want a ribbon tail other nights a floating straight tail, so try both.

Tom

 

1 minute ago, WRB said:

My favorite 7  1/2”-10” ribbon tail worm is Berkley Power worms on a T-rig for night fishing. Tequila Sunrise and black w/blue flake Power worm have work very good during night bass tournaments. Our night events start around dusk and last 6 hours. 
The tequila works before dark and black after dark where I fished.

tried lots of other worms with Uptons 9” and 13” straight tails in midnight also a good choice. Sometimes the bass want a ribbon tail other nights a straight tail, so try both.

Tom

[GRiver]

I usually have one tied and on deck, junebug or watermelon pearl. 7 1/2 ribbon tail, ether Bass Pro or Culprit 

[Catt]

11 hours ago, Bird said:

Are they still legit ?

 

You are kidding!

 

Why would they not?

 

The bass didn't decide not to eat em, y'all decided not to throw em.

 

I got way more Curly Tail & Ribbon Tails than straight. 

[Mobasser]

11 hours ago, Log Catcher said:

I still use the Zoom U Tail worms and Culprit worms. 

The Zoom U Tail is one I can still get at my local Academy store. It's always been good.

[Mobasser]

After all the years, you realize that all these worms are killer. I would try one, and it would become a new favourite for two or three years. I went through Zoom, Culprit, Ditto Gator Tail, and Mr Twister, which I'm still using.                                                  I don't see very many curly tail worms at my local tackle shops. This tells me that our technique specific fishing calls for straight tail worms. We don't have to follow these trends to catch a bunch of bass. Curly tail worms will still catch lots fish, as they always have.

[PourMyOwn]

@WRB, thanks for the history lesson. Love reading these kinds of posts.