Teach me to worm fish

[Mr._Zoonker]

I have read all of the articles, but I don't get alot of it.  I didn't have a father growing up who could teach me how to fish.  Everything that I have learned about fishing has been in books, and from this wonderful site.   Right now, all of my fish are being caught on topwaters and spinnerbaits.  I really want to learn how to fish plastics.

[playmaker47]

i suggest getting a video on fishing plastics worms. the articles here really help too but if you dont know the basics they can be hard to understand. the one article on here for learning this is the ones in the begginers section here is a link to the worming one http://bassresource.com/beginner/worm_fishing.html i cant really tell you everything about this technique because there is soo many different ways to fish them and rig them and it would take forever to do this. but if you have any specific questions about this you can leave me a personal message on here.

[BAMA_BASS]

I learned what I know from my grandpa...didn't have a dad around either.

I will tell ya the basics....

Texas Rig:

With a Texas Rig you will need a bullet weight;(it is a weight that has a point) you don't want nothing terribly heavy just enough to get it to the bottom. And you will need a circle hook (recomended; or worm hook. It is a hook with a curve in it nothing huge a 2 or 3 will do it)

After you have this you will need a worm / lizard, again nothing horribly huge (since you are beginning). Go with what looks good to you or what you will have confidence in throwing.

Throw this in and around structure; since you have you hook in the soft plastic it is weedless as long as you don't mistake the tree for a fish.

Floating Worm:

When doing this it is the same as Texas Rig (T-Rig) but you don't use a weight. And it will help if you change up your worm a little bit too, to get good action from it.

Find you some finese worms, jerk-baits, and those senkos you here so much of. (Tiki worms are bout the same also and Edge lures)

With these throw them in and around structure and let them sit a couple seconds and than twtch them. And let them set and twitch and vise versa.

These are the two most basic ways to catch fish and have fun fishing with worms. I hope this helps and is understandable.

Happy Fishing.

[Rebbasser]

Welcome to the forum!

To add to what BB said, here is a Texas rig or T-rig:

http://www.bassfishingusa.com/rigging/rigging1.html

I use it mostly fishing in and around cover like flooded trees.

Fishing soft plastics weightless is one of my favorite ways to fish, especially in weeds. You rig them just like a T-rig but no weight. Probably the most popular baits are a minnow like bait like a Zoom Super Fluke:

And a Senko-type bait-I like a Tiki Stick made by Wave Worms:

Cast them out, let them settle, and work them with gentle twitches of the rod tip.

They come in every color of the rainbow and then some, but to start watermelon, watermelon red flake and green pumpkin will cover the bases for you.

When fishing a T-rig use the lightest weight you can get by with-use heavier weights in deeper water and in heavy vegetation. Cast it out, reel down to it, and raise the rod tip. That will raise the worm off the bottom, and when you stop the worm will fall back to the bottom. Hits will usually come on the fall, and it feels like a thump-thump. Kind of hard to describe, but once you feel it you will know what I mean. Hope this helps!

[Shad_Master]

One of the biggest things to learn about fishing with soft plastic is the difference between a blue-gil bite and a bass bite.  This mostly comes with practice, but the bass bite is a little harder as the bass sucks in your bait and then (if you are not paying attention) spits it out.  Sometimes the bass will suck in the bait and run with it, so watch your line, too.  It is probably a little easier to learn in the spring when fish are getting ready to spawn or on the beds.  They tend to be more aggressive and you will get more strikes, this will help you sort it all out.  In the mean time, if you are catchin fish, you must be doing something right.  Keep on bustin 'em and you will get better with experience.

[Jeff_NHBA]

Woo Daves, a BASS Pro from VA, has some nice videos regarding fishing with plastics.

[reelon]

I have that video from Woo Daves and it is good, I just recently started my fishing and just started getting those fish with a senko worm (it is the only one that I have used until now), I think that it is all in learning how to feel the worm when is going in the water.

[7Lbass]

I taught myself to worm and Jig....Watched other people in the begining then decided to go to a lake that has alot of fish and knew I would get bit...Only took 1 rod rigged a 4' worm texas style and forced myself to fish only this rig all day long for several days so I could get a feel for the different kinds of bites....Then tried a saltcraw and then the Jig N Pig...On the water is the only way you'll truly learn these lures, but always read more when you can....

[Gatorbassman]

    Man that is how I got started in bass fishing. My dad only fishes small streams or creeks. So that is what I did when I was growing up.  I didn't get into bass fishing until I was able to drive myself to the lake. Then I fished from the bank for the next 10 years.

    It sounds like you are doing all the rite things. Those Woo Daves videos are good. This site is great and anything you can suck into your head about fishing will only help.

I spend allot of my time teaching guys how to fish so I am full of suggestions. Here are a few.

1.      Practice. Like anything that you want to get better at, you must practice. Go fishing as much as you can. Take what you read and learn out to the lake with you and put it to use.

2.      Be the bait. Try to imagine what that lure is doing in the water. Your rod and line is the only thing connecting you with the lure. Learn the difference between everything you bump into. You can do this by casting into some clear shallow water. Work you lure a few times over things like logs, tree limbs, rocks, grass, and so on. Then close your eyes and do the same thing. Memorize what it feels like. Anything that feels different is probably a fish. Woo says it in one of his videos. Learn what a fish bite doesn't feel like. Anything different from that is a fish. Also note what it takes to make the lure hop a few inches and what it takes to make it hop several feet. It doesn't take much movement in the tip of your rod to make it hop three or four feet. Now take what you have learned about you lure and fish with it. I even go as far as repeating over and over in my head Be the Bait. This keeps me thinking about what the lure is doing and if I am making it look natural.

3.      Hook up. Get together with someone in your area that is experienced and ask him or her to take you fishing. Be prepared to help with gas money and don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions. I found my tournament partner by walking up to him at a gas station and asking if he needed some help paying for the gas he was putting in his boat. I paid for half and he took me fishing. We have been fishing together ever since.  

     

[Sam]

As a Vandy guy you are supposed to be smart.

As an LSU guy, I am not as smart as the Vandy guys but I know some stuff.

Consider getting the Woo Daves videos along with Big Mouth and the Feeding Habits of Bass.

Attend a few Bassmaster University classes (they are outstanding).

Purchase Unce Homer's Bass Wisdom book.

You will be more productive than the Vandy football team.

Geaux Tigers!

[Catt]

Feeling you bait is the hardest part of fishing a plastic worm. You need to be able to see you bait so practice in a pond or lake where there is a sand bottom with clear water. You want to learn to weigh your bait or what a worm, hook, & weight feels like when moved across the bottom.

Once you know what your bait feels like and you feel anything different while fishing set the hook. You will feel the classic tap tap or thump but some time it's just a slight pressure like something stopped you worm from moving.

When to set the hook?

This is the way Shaw Grimsby put it to me, its call the three tap theory.

The first tap the bass has inhaled your bait

The second tap the bass has exhaled your bait

The third tap I'm tapping you on the shoulder asking you why you didn't set hook!

Drop the rod, reel the slack, & set the hook

[flipping-pitching]

  The Woo Daves videos are great.

[kbj3579]

I started out when I was 12 bass fishing with a worm.  It is my favorite way to catch bass.  Let me tell you there is nothing better then feeling that tap, tap and rearing back to set the hook and then you feel the preasure of a good hookset.  Everyone has covered the basics on here.  The only thing I will add is be patient.  Very patient.  Don't try and fish the worm like a spinner or crankbait.  It needs to be slow 99% of the time.  Unless you drop that worm right in front of an angry or hungry bass, you have to work the worm back to you slow.  And don't get in a set rhythm either.   twitch it, shake it, lift it off the bottom, reel it.  Change up the retrieve.  And don't be afraid to let it sit on the bottom for up to 30 seconds or so.  Slowing down is the hardest thing to do, even for me and I have been fishing plastics for a long time.  Good luck