Wanna master worm fishin'? Try it my way...

[Siquaba]

First of all... a list of accessories:

1. 1/8 Bullet Weight

2. 3/0 EWG Red Hook

3. 6" Zoom Trick Worm (Best Colors in my experiences: Smoke Purple, June Bug, and Bubble Gum)

I rig with a T-rig. Cast in a spot that you would normally pass on. Let the worm sink to the bottom. Let it sit for at least 10 sec. Give it 2 taps upward, let it sink, and give it 2 cranks. Give it another 3 sec. and give it one tap upward, followed by 1 crank. Then I'll pull my rod tip up to 12 o clock SLOWLY. This makes the worm swim very slowly on the bottom. Let the worm drop, and reel in the slack.

Repeat this process, but change up the taps here and there. I'll catch more fish on a worm using this method than I will any other lure. Patience is the key.

[Shakes]

Yea, siquaba is my fishin buddy. Its not a lie people. Dude catches like 3X as many fish as I do and I'm throwin $10 lures.  Its pretty crazy to watch.

[fishingJ]

thanks for the tips im trying to get better at worm fishing

[ejtaylor822]

Nice technique.  Will give it a shot.  I typically let it fall to the bottom and site for a few seconds, then jerk and reel it in.  Good idea letting it sit for a few seconds in between.

Have you tried using the clacker balls?  Does that make a difference for you?  I have tried with and without and have not seen a difference.

Eddie

[toothdoc]

I just started using the Zoom Trick worms a couple of weeks ago and had really good luck with them in a private pond that I fished.

[Crabcakes]

Cast in a spot that you would normally pass on.

Why?

[roadwarrior]

I seem to catch smaller bass when I fish soft plastics fast and aggressively as you have described. Granted, that is a good technique for numbers as it seems to grab their attention, but big bass seem to prefer a more subtle approach. I generally let my baits sit for a minute or more on the initial cast. It is surprising just how many quality bass are caught dead sticking.

Movement for me is slower and more subtle. I use a 6" - 12" horizontal sweep. I want to move the bait like I visualize a crawdad might move. After they advance, they bury themselves in rocks or cover, so again, I let it sit. My method is probably too slow for a lot of fishermen, but that's why I'm there.

[jomatty]

my technique is definitely more similar to RW's.  i try a lot of things but the more subtle movements seem to get the quality fish more often than not for me.  im prob not as patient as RW though.

[Sam]

Slow tactic fishing plastics is excellent but I have two problems.

First, I am type A and my solgan is "Get out of the way 'cause here I come."

And second, I keep moving on the water.

I go crazy just letting the plastics sit on the bottom.  However, if you guys say to do this then I will give it a try this coming Friday on the upper James River.

I will have to slow down my friend who likes to cover a lot of water however I promise to give it a try.

If you hear that one of the members on this forum was committed to a mental hospital then it was me trying to fish slower.

Thanks or the plastic worm tips.  I will continue to try them.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I also tend to slow down my plastics retrieve.

I usually switch over to plastics as spring warms the waters and once it's warm, the fish tend to want it slower.  The bigger ones anyway.  

I like to think of it as a jig down there sometimes, just trying to "shake it in place" without moving it and then as RW stated, a smooth 1-2ft sweeping motion and another jiggle.  No hit? Get it in and try again.

I never throw, however, where I normally wouldn't.  The places I am fishing are strategically chosen.  Fishing where the fish aren't does me no good.

I can understand if it's a new lake to you and you are exploring but once I have a topo or any depth/bottom knowledge, I apply what I know and avoid those "non high potential" areas

man do I love plastics

[Guest bigtex]

Cast in a spot that you would normally pass on.

I think he might be talking about a place you might be affraid to throw in or a place where "you" might think there are no bass holding.  It is more like "trust your bait", or "instead of you finding the fish let the bait attrack them."

[Guest bigtex]

I never throw, however, where I normally wouldn't. The places I am fishing are strategically chosen. Fishing where the fish aren't does me no good.

Why don't you??  You may be passing up quality fish.  I know you fish for the big bass and not so much numbers but you might be passing up quality sized fish by just sticking to the places that you have "strategically chosen", which isn't a bad thing and most anglers, including myself, do the same thing as you.

I have my "honey holes" that I stick with but if they don't produce, and they will not produce all the time, I will tend to fish in places that I haven't or thought that I would never fish in or where I might think is the last place a bass would be and there is were I will "sometimes" catch either quality or quantity.  I think that is what Siquaba was trying to point out.

[Tom Bass]

Side bar note:

Sometimes casting where you normally wouldn't or somewhere that you don't think might have bass might not be a bad thing to try once in a while.

A couple of weeks back the Ladies Bass Masters was going on at Lake Noman here in NC. I showed up at Blythe Landing to fish but the boat ramp was busy and I had forgotten which weekend the tournament was on so I decided to shore fish and watch the Ladies go out for bass.

I figured the bass were deep due to the heat of the water. That was the consensus I gathered from the fisherwomen as they left the docks as well.

I casted out a bunch of different lures to no avail.

I decided to play around with a Rapala Floater just to watch it and see if I could better my "wounded minnow" technique. WHAM! I caught a bass in 4-5 feet of water that was around 16-18 inches and heavy for it's length - I had no way to measure it.

It sure surprised me. I did not expect fish in the area that shallow due to the hot water. Even the bream weren't biting!

Siquaba,

I'll try your technique and see how it works for me. I have tried something similar with Carolina rigs and have always felt that I had the attention of bass and perahps that they were actually picking up the bait but I got only a few hook ups.

Thanks,

Tom

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I never throw, however, where I normally wouldn't. The places I am fishing are strategically chosen. Fishing where the fish aren't does me no good.

Why don't you??

Because trial and error has taught me to know better. Remember, I know this particular lake very well.

These decisions are the ones that get you to the next level. Concentrating your efforts and time on eliminating "dead" water and dissecting prime water.

I mean, everyody has their own way, right? We both could be doing it all wrong,..lol

[Tom Bass]

The man's got a point. 8-)

[Guest bigtex]

[quote author=Low_Budget_Hookers link=1155945291/0#13 date=1156017634Because trial and error has taught me to know better. Remember, I know this particular lake very well.

These decisions are the ones that get you to the next level. Concentrating your efforts and time on eliminating "dead" water and dissecting prime water.

I mean, everyody has their own way, right? We both could be doing it all wrong,..lol

[Keithscatch]

My forte is power fishing. Cranks, spinnerbaits jerkbaits etc. I probably do fish worms too fast.

When I started using my anchor which admittedly I should use more frequently, I noticed a strange phenomenon. I was fishing slower and more thouroughly and was catching more fish.

So for those of you who are like me and geared for faster methods of fishing try the anchor approach. Find a strategic place to anchor not just random and sit there a while. Fish and fish and fish that one spot with a plastic worm and behold you will see the proof at the end of your line. It is the only way I can make myself slow down enough to fish a worm in deep water thouroughly. The key is deep water. If it is 5 feet or less like many of the water I fish in around here then I fish the worm a little faster as I am pitching and flipping it into thick weeds.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

keith, a drift anchor would be perfect for you,you can do both!

[Brian_Reeves]

The good thing about soft plastics is that you can't fish them wrong.  All ya gotta do is find the right color/forage and keep trying retrieve techniques.  I try to hit each piece of cover/structure at least 10-20 times with different lures and colors until I establish a pattern or get skunked  ;D  Most of the time I avoid the skunking but have problems establishing a consistant pattern.  I hate summertime, clear deep lake fishing  

[Keithscatch]

keith, a drift anchor would be perfect for you,you can do both!

Russ, I have never used a drift anchor. I might have to check into that. Although some of these lakes would fill it up with matted grass if I had a drift sock hanging off my boat

[KYbass1276]

I seem to catch smaller bass when I fish soft plastics fast and aggressively as you have described. Granted, that is a good technique for numbers as it seems to grab their attention, but big bass seem to prefer a more subtle approach. I generally let my baits sit for a minute or more on the initial cast. It is surprising just how many quality bass are caught dead sticking..

It's funny you mention this.  I used to not fish plastics that much at all because I thought it was just too painfully slow but after using the C rig alot this summer I have trained myself to go slow as possable and have done alot of deadsticking  had really good succes with catching larger fish.  It's definatly worth slowing down.  My only problem is I have missed several fish its just a very subltle bite I need to work on detecting them more and my success rate will probally go up more

[senile1]

keith, a drift anchor would be perfect for you,you can do both!

Russ, I have never used a drift anchor. I might have to check into that. Although some of these lakes would fill it up with matted grass if I had a drift sock hanging off my boat

Keithscatch, I had the same problem and the same solution.  I fished worms too fast until I forced myself to stay in one location.  And, Russ, you took the thought out of my head.  I need to get a drift anchor.

[Siebert Outdoors]

once I unlocked the keys to jig fishing I rarely use worms much anymore.  Most of the ones I use are 10.5" in the summer.  The rest of the time it is just to try and get rid of them.  

I agree with Roadwarriors statement take it slow.  

Power fishing is a #'s game, slow fishing is a quality game.

[Way2slow]

Read everbody's post and what conclusion to we come to??? The same one any smart bass chaser comes to if he catches fish. There is no one set pattern or technique that constantly catches bass. Things can change day to day, even hour to hour, so you have to be able to recognize, understand and adapt if you're going to consistanly catch bass.

A technique I use on slow bites sometimes is to let a T-Rig sit while I just jiggle the rod tip just enough to make the worm quiver, I may do this several times over a minute or so if I don't get a hit while jiggling, I suddenly pop the worm up and forward a foot or so. Many times the bass will hammer it just as I pop it, sometimes the hit will come on the second or third repetition. I've watched bass in shallow water while doing this and sometimes they will watch it and follow each hop before striking it. I've seen other times they will watch it while jiggling it and then haul butt the other way when I hop it.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Way2slow-You got my pulse going....

Very similar to popping wood or a rock or the bottom or a weed with a crankbait. That "quick release" is often a trigger. As with many of these worm presentations, Way2slows method is also deadly with a jig.