Shrink Tube Instead of O-Rings for Worms

[RRocket]

Lots of worm discussion today which reminded me of this! 

 

Does anyone else use shrink tube in lieu of O-Rings to prolong worm life? As you know, shrink tube is quite tough.

 

I find a shrink tube diameter that fits snugly around the egg sack. I then cut tiny pieces of shrink tube off and put them on the whole bag of worms ahead of time.

 

I do not actually heat and shrink them, I just use It as a sleeve and pass the hook through the worm AND the sleeve.

 

I presume this would also work for Neko rigging.

[Jig Man]

I use heat shrink tubing for lots of things but haven’t tried it like that.  It also works as a trailer hook keeper.  I think you are on to something there.

[bloom]

that's a great idea! I'm gonna go check out my shrink wrap selection right now.

[Team9nine]

Do a forum search for “heat shrink” and you’ll pull up about 25 pages worth of examples and ideas. Member WayneP was a big proponent of this, and used it for weedless rigging around heavy cover. Seems to work well once you get the diameter of the shrink matched properly to the diameter of the baits you use regularly.

[Jig Man]

Just be sure to look for heat shrink tubing.  Shrink wrap is a whole different thing.

[RRocket]

2 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

Just be sure to look for heat shrink tubing.  Shrink wrap is a whole different thing.

Excellent catch! 

 

Correction made! 

[Bass Rutten]

Shrink tubing helps a little, but silicone tubing is way tougher and transparent.

[RRocket]

18 minutes ago, Bass Rutten said:

Shrink tubing helps a little, but silicone tubing is way tougher and transparent.

I think you're right! 

 

The difference being I have a decent supply of shrink tube on hand in various sizes.

 

Not so much with the silicone tubing, unfortunately.

[VTFan]

I have a few worms with the shrink tubing on them.  I will admit it does make the worm last longer but the one problem I have with using tubing is that once I place the hook through the tubing and worm it is hard to remove the hook if you want to change worm colors.  Other than that, it works great!!!

[Bass Rutten]

2 hours ago, VTFan said:

I have a few worms with the shrink tubing on them.  I will admit it does make the worm last longer but the one problem I have with using tubing is that once I place the hook through the tubing and worm it is hard to remove the hook if you want to change worm colors.  Other than that, it works great!!!

That is true, and hooks are even harder to remove from silicone tubing. I keep a bunch of neko and flickshake worm options pre-rigged and just re-tie when changing presentations.

[33oldtimer]

I have no trouble using 2 O-Rings crossing them and putting the hook between them.

[gim]

On 7/5/2024 at 5:48 PM, 33oldtimer said:

I have no trouble using 2 O-Rings crossing them and putting the hook between them.

 

I did this for a long time.  Last month, someone posted information about these and I've been using them instead.  I think they make the stick bait last longer.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sink-Ring-Needed-Fishing-Rings/dp/B07HSLWKCH/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_pd_sbs_rvi_d_sccl_2_1/132-7155904-9305016?pd_rd_w=Z2tf8&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c71db11-3b2f-49a1-9fef-afd524b20130&pf_rd_p=9c71db11-3b2f-49a1-9fef-afd524b20130&pf_rd_r=RJ18B1TG5WQ08TXKWX45&pd_rd_wg=8L2VH&pd_rd_r=3c118f49-53c5-44dd-a075-1cc58e837897&pd_rd_i=B07HSLWKCH&th=1&psc=1

[VTFan]

On 7/5/2024 at 6:48 PM, 33oldtimer said:

I have no trouble using 2 O-Rings crossing them and putting the hook between them.

That is what I do 99% of the time.

 

[the reel ess]

When the wacky rig was new I saw a demo of it at a boat/outdoors show in SC. The fisherman speaking used this method. I was sold so I bought the worms he was using and some shrink tube and finesses hooks. Next time out I hit one of my regular stops, a cove point with a stump on it that often held a bass or two, a good transition spot in early spring. I caught one on my first cast with the wacky rig. I'm not sure I can say that about any other lure ever.

 

The fisherman also suggested using short sections of McDonald's straws (the fat ones). That just feels like littering.

 

I've also cut shrink tube into small pieces and used it for trailer hook keepers.

[Bandersnatch]

On 7/6/2024 at 4:27 PM, gimruis said:

 

I did this for a long time.  Last month, someone posted information about these and I've been using them instead.  I think they make the stick bait last longer.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sink-Ring-Needed-Fishing-Rings/dp/B07HSLWKCH/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_pd_sbs_rvi_d_sccl_2_1/132-7155904-9305016?pd_rd_w=Z2tf8&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c71db11-3b2f-49a1-9fef-afd524b20130&pf_rd_p=9c71db11-3b2f-49a1-9fef-afd524b20130&pf_rd_r=RJ18B1TG5WQ08TXKWX45&pd_rd_wg=8L2VH&pd_rd_r=3c118f49-53c5-44dd-a075-1cc58e837897&pd_rd_i=B07HSLWKCH&th=1&psc=1

These look cool but the vmcs are less than half the price,have  the ability to hook the worm in both directions, and have a wider surface area discouraging cut through. 

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Crossover_Rings/descpage-VCR.html

[gim]

4 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

These look cool but the vmcs are less than half the price,have  the ability to hook the worm in both directions, and have a wider surface area discouraging cut through. 

 

True.  I haven't used the VMC crossover rings.  When I asked about stick bait durability a month ago, several individuals posted that the stick bait often slides right out when a small bass or panfish grabs the end of it and pulls.

 

Also, you need the pliers too.  I assumed you added this into the cost of using the crossover rings as well when comparing it to the slink o rings.

[Bird]

More expensive but I use nothing but VMC crossover rings.

.003-.004 for finesse worms.

.006 for Senkos.

 

I posted back in the spring that I caught 13 bass on a single flickShake.

 

As mentioned, you do have to pay attention with Bluegill and Crappie and not set the hook on a TAP TAP TAP. 😁

[gim]

19 minutes ago, Bird said:

I posted back in the spring that I caught 13 bass on a single flickShake.

 

Just a few days ago, I caught 14 largemouth on a single yamamoto stick bait with a slink o ring.  Beat ya by one 

[Bandersnatch]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

True.  I haven't used the VMC crossover rings.  When I asked about stick bait durability a month ago, several individuals posted that the stick bait often slides right out when a small bass or panfish grabs the end of it and pulls.

 

Also, you need the pliers too.  I assumed you added this into the cost of using the crossover rings as well when comparing it to the slink o rings.

I have the pliers and will tell you that you don’t need them. I simply slide the senko through the ring and no, they don’t just slide out unless you bought the wrong size.

[gim]

1 hour ago, Bandersnatch said:

I have the pliers and will tell you that you don’t need them.

 

Well that's interesting.  Other posters have indicated they need the pliers.  So I guess I don't know if they're needed now or they aren't.

 

Regardless, I'm not going that route just yet while these work.

[MN Fisher]

9 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

Well that's interesting.  Other posters have indicated they need the pliers.  So I guess I don't know if they're needed now or they aren't.

 

Regardless, I'm not going that route just yet while these work.

Instead of the $15 plastic VMC pliers - go with a $8 Nasal Speculum....does the exact same job and is metal so will probably last a lot longer.

 

I'm using 3/4" lengths of silicon tubing instead of rings, allows me to rig it lengthwise or crosswise and I use a nasal speculum to install the tubing on the worm. $7 for a 10' length of tube, which equates to 160 'rings'.

[pdxfisher]

I have always used surgical tubing but I recently bought some VMC crossover rings. I have not tried the crossover rings yet but they look pretty cool. 

[Edrod13]

Over the years I tried O-rings and heatshrink. O-rings were ok, but the worm started to split after a fish or two, and the heatshrink edges always starting cutting into the worm from the start. 

Here is what I currently use for full size and thin pro senkos rigged wacky or neko. On amazon you can buy silicone strays made for kids sippy cups in sizes that match both senko thicknesses. You get like 4-6 straws that you can cut in 1/4" bands and then use a nasal speculum to install them. I also use a 2mm leather punch to place a hole directly in the middle of the silicone band for the wacky hook to go through. It makes it easier to get the hook through the silicone band and it will also allow the bait to slide up the line when you catch a fish. if I rig them neko, then I just run the hook parallel to the worm on the band and ignore the pre punched holes. Here are the links to similar products I have purchased in the past. A set of straws runs like $5-7 and you can cut at least 200+ bands per set, A nasal speculum like $9 which will last you a really long time. 

 

Full size senko silicone straws

Silcone straws for thin pro senko

Nasal Speculum

2mm leather punch

 

These aren't exact links to what I ordered since it was a few years ago. I still have complete straws that I haven't even used yet. I will include a picture of the straws I ordered since I found the pic on my camera roll for reference. The inner diameter of the straws fit perfectly to the outer diameter of both style senkos. 

 

[Pogues2300]

On 7/4/2024 at 9:54 AM, Bass Rutten said:

Shrink tubing helps a little, but silicone tubing is way tougher and transparent.

Awesome forum name! He’s a legend

[rgasr63]

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Mustad_Wacky_O-Ring_Replacement_Pack_25pk/descpage-MWO.html

I haven't ever used a piece of silicone straw before. But mustad sells their wacky rings 25 for 4.50 to 5.00 and they fit a standard wacky ring tool. The rings will last pretty good also. Once I found these I don't use anything else .