More texas rig help

[JeepFish]

Ever since I started fishing more this summer I have come to like the idea of using plastic worms. Seems to take more skill, and makes bass fishing a challenge. I have been practicing the texas rig for a while now, and have only caught about 4 small bass in like 3 fishing trips. I think my problem is either in the worm color selection, or the way I retrieve it. I think it's more the way I retrieve it. Could someone try and explain to me more exactly how you retrieve a texas rigged worm? Thanks, Jared

[IRATE]

I have been doing pretty well with the t-rigged texas worm hereis  how i do it.

1.The retrieve , i reel the worm in SUPER slow in fact i don't think i reel the wormk in much at all.I reel in the slack is about it

2.Movment action , i twitch my rod to the left a couple times.This is pretty much how i get the worm back to me.

3.I fish my worm weightless , always.I am kind of new to this aswell but i think i have the hang of it because i do pretty good with it.

[Panamoka_Bassin]

Depending on how I'm feeling, I'll try a bunch of different retreives, basically like IRATE, does, or I'll "yo-yo" the worm back (Kinda like long hops) or sometimes I'll do a steady twitching retreive.  If I'm weightless and there's a surface bite, I'll let the worm swim slowly below the surface, just enough to keep the worm from sinking, but not fast enough to cause a wake.

[KYbass1276]

One of my favorite ways to fish a texas rigged worm is to find some moss (algae) what ever you want to call it and take a heavy enough weight to bust through the moss let it sink to the bottom and sit there for about 5 seconds  with the rod tip raise it up and tap the bottom of the moss a few times and let it sink agin. Just repete a couple of time's in different areas of the moss. You will get bit  Drive's the bass nuts they think something fell through the moss and is trying to get away so they whack it.  Give this a try and let us know how you do. This also works on anykind of matted cover.  I usaully use a crawfish imatating bait they love it.

[KillerTomato]

cast it out, reel in some slack, twitch the rod, let it sit for a few seconds, and repeat

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

When I T-rig over thick bottom weeds I never let the worm fall into it and out of sight of bass. I'll use a light sinker and try to tic the tops of it but mostly keep it above the weeds. I'll give it a big lift occasionally to let it drop to but not into the weeds. That's when most of my bites come. On clean bottoms I'll deadstick it, crawl it, swim it, hop it, or do the jerk it high thing, whateverthe bass want. Which method depends on type of worm, whether a trick worm, ribbontail, paddletail, etc. and of course mood of the fish, type of bottom or cover. Water clarity is important to me, choosing translucent light natural colors in clear water, lately mostly pumpkin & watermelon alone or in combination, darker opaque worms in stained water, mostly rootbeer, browns, dark greens, blue, then even darker colors the more dark the water. In really muddy water I use the wilder colors like bubblegum, fluorescent strawberry, yellow, candy striped, white or total black. Length and bulk of worm are factors, sometimes a 4" straw of a worm outproducing thick monster 11" worms. Change something like colors at least every 5 minutes until a bite gets going, then refine by mixing speeds, sizes, colors, until you are having enough fun with what's tied on.

Jim

[roadwarrior]

Man, I fish soft plastics so slow I would have to reel in half way through a presentation to change colors every five minutes! I guess my color selection is limited, I only fish "dark" under all conditions. I will change profiles after a while. Sometimes the bass prefer a Senko to a Fat Ika or a T-rigged tube may be the ticket. Occasionally I will have bass follow a bait in or hit it on a fast retrieve to the boat. That's when I might switch to a Kut-Tail, unweighted and fish the worm like a jerkbait. However, for the most part, I don't change very often. I expect those bass to behave and eat what the chef is serving.

BTW, I used to T-rig a variety of ways, but for the past couple of years I have been fishing a bullet or barrel weight, unpegged and with a bead exclusively. I think it gives soft plastics far better action. I have also downsized my weights dramatically, even in deep water. I usually rig 1/16 or an 1/8, but never more than 1/4 oz. (For Carolina rigging I go much heavier for a variety of reasons, but that's another topic).

[coachjoe]

Pretty much the same here.... Very little variety as far as color goes use red shad almost exclusively except at night I go with black.  Probably a confidence thing since I catch tons of bass with those colors.  As for the retrieve I vary very little.  Cast it out let it drop (many times bass will hit a worm on the initial drop) then I hop it off the bottom.  If fishing is slow I twitch the bait almost keeping it in the same spot and fish it very slow.  Good luck and keep working at it and you will find worm fishing to be very rewarding.

[roadwarrior]

coachjoe, I must have missed your initial post.

Welcome aboard!

[sparky]

I have had my best luck this year fishing a weightless Green pumkin Trickworm over floating moss and near bank. I must fish the weightless worm slow or it will rise to the surface too easily while retrieving. If your Trick worm/hook combo is too light try a heavier hook.

A weightless T rig senko type bait will cast farther than my Trickworm combo. I tried this briefly with good results.

[aggiebassin]

i too usually kind of "hop" it along.  but sometimes if that is not working i will kind of just drag it across the bottom.  

another thing i do most of the time is use a glass bead between my hook and my brass weight to give it a clicking sound to help attract fish.

[BassKing813]

I just use a slow, steady retrieve and don't really twitch it at all. Works every time.

[tbird]

Most times I fish it slow  ,color is over rated . Find the fish and you will catch them ,fine tune your color for more fish. Watching your line and sense of feel are the most important things and will come to you with experience.  Remember when in doubt set the hook , yes you will make mistakes but this is the best way to learn. Good luck

[galv]

toss it out let it sink, maybe raise it up a little then let if fall again.  i've been thinking lately that i fish this too slow even and it might be more productive to cover more water than i do.  seems like if i don't get hit or see some type of commotion on the initial cast, jigging the worm around rarely entices a hit.  if possible i'll try to cast so i can cover a few good spots before the worm gets back to the boat.  when reeling from hole to hole i'll vary my retrieve and see if i can get some type of reaction strike then just stick with whatever may be working.

[BassMaster_1]

Toss it out, they mostlikely hit it on the initial fall.  Then you can crawl it back, hop it back or if the water is more on the murkey side I like to shake it.  To shake it, cast it out and just bound your rod tip without moving the bait.  This works especially well if your sight fishing, just make sure you cast out infront of the fish so you dont spook them.  Its pretty exciting to watch the fish sense the bait and shoot over and pick it up.  Colors I only throw natural colors (watermelon, june bug, ect)

[Al Wolbach]

Regardless of what type of retreive you use the best advice I could offer is use the lightlest weight the wind and water depth will allow. Let your line tell you when you have a bite, it will jump, move or just swim away. Frequently if you feel a fish thru your rod, the fish felt you as well. This is especially true of larger fish. I always fish a worm or jig on slack line if the wind will allow and watch my line to detect bites.

As someone stated on a earlier post, I carry three colors of worms. I carry grape, green pumpkin and pumpkin. I do however carry three sizes. These will catch fish on most lakes.

Hope this helps.....Al

[JeepFish]

Thanks for all your help guys! I mainly use a sinker b/c the articles on here said to use an 1/8th ounce bullet wieght. I may quit using it. Also I have some red shad Culprit worms. They are red and black, and I have some Berkley scent worms that are pumpkin color(kinda greenish brown). Are these worms ok to use? Also I use 3/0 offset red hooks. As far as the worms does color matter as much as the makers of the worms try to make you believe. I mean, I went to the Bass Pro Shop yesterday. I was going to buy me a couple packs of worms, but they have like 20 isles of worms that are just a little different variation on color. I ended up not buying any of them. I didnt know what to get :-/ I did get me a new Diawa spinning reel. Its awesome too, the first decent reel I've ever had.