New to worm fishing

[Paul8877]

I'm new to soft plastics fishing and wanted to get advice on what to do and what not do. Proper ways of fishing craws, worms, lizards etc. Thanks.

[Shakes]

Starting out on soft plastics, I'd start with a worm. The worm is the basic soft plastic, and most other soft plastics have a similar fishing technique. Find yourself some Zoom Trick Worms. Couple of different ways to rig it. One, get a 3/0 hook and a bullet weight (1/16 or 1/8 oz.). Another, and the best in my worming experience, is the shakey head. Basically a ball jig head with a worm on it, and no skirt. Rig it up however your gonna, and cast it in. Let it sink the bottom, and let it sit for about 10 seconds on slack line. Keep an eye on your line while you fish with worms. Its a little more difficult to fish worms on a windy day because the wind is blowin your line everywhere, and its all by feel. But on those calm sunny days, a worm kills it. After letting the worm sit for about 10 seconds, gift it a little jerk on the rod upward a few inches. The best way to see what your worm is doing underwater, run it really shallow so you can see the movement of the worm and understand how rod movement effects the action of the bait.

Basically, you want your worm hopping on the bottom. Looks like its hoppin from feeding spot to feeding spot. While it does this, the tail sticks straight up from the bottom, and has a little wiggle. Bass love it. Mix up the retreive. (Hop, pause. Hop, hop, hop, pause. Hop, hop, pause.) Each pause should be anywhere from 5-15 seconds depending on how aggressive the fish are that day.

Good colors to start with are Watermelon (you can do red or gold flake) for clear water. Junebug, bubble gum, and redbug are great stained water colors. And black is the best bet for dirty water.

The main thing you have to remember is fishing with soft plastics takes a lot of patience. Some people can't handle it. Hope this helps you out, and have fun out there!

- Aaron

[Catt]

I was introduced to the Texas Rig back in 1972 while the equipment has changed the technique is still the same. The Texas Rig was originally designed to fish a plastic worm but today it is used with any type of soft plastic.

The Texas Rig and deep water (15' +) structure

1) Make a long cast

2) Strip 3 or 4 arms length of line, this will assure a vertical fall

3) Count the bait down, 15' of water count to 20 to make certain the bait is on the bottom, do it in your head if need be

4) Pause a good 30 seconds after the bait reaches bottom

5) Lower your rod to the 3 o'clock position while reeling slack & feel for anything unusual

6) Move the rod from 3 o'clock to 11 o'clock in three motions

7) Pause 30 seconds & feel for anything unusual

8) Repeat 5, 6, & 7 all the way back to the boat

9) If at any time you feel a noticeable tap, tug, line tighten, heaviness, or see line movement.

10) Without hesitation drop the rod, reel the slack, and set the hook

[Paul8877]

Both great information for me to start. I'm going to run to Bass Pro and buy me some of them shaky jig heads. I just really didnt know if you tossed it out and then reeled it in slowly or like you guys said throw it out let sit and jig it jig watch the line. Now I can practice this way. Thanks guys.

[Paul8877]

While you guys on here, I have another question. Does it hurt to use an attractant like say Yum spray garlic or shad or crawfish spray to spray on your plastics or even a spiinerbait or jig before using it?

[Grey Wolf]

Don't know if it really helps but it sure can't hurt.

[Shakes]

Scent is ok. Never had any bad effects from it, still catch fish. You just don't notice too big of difference. Can't hurt though. All of the Berkley Gulp baits have 400x scent as standard soft plastics. Check em out.

[Catt]

I use attractants for two purposes first as a lubricant because I fish in grass a lot and the attractant helps my plastic baits slide through easier.  I use Fish Formula II or Baitmate (clear) with a ½ oz of pure anise oil added; this is to mast any odor my plastic may have pick up.

[fishingJ]

Welcome to my favourite kind of fishing. I use worms everywhere and anywhere. There are many ways to fish them, I suggest you read some of the articles offered on this site to help you out.

[skillet]

 Most of the water I fish is a lot skinnier than what Catt is talking about. You can actually see the line get slack when it hits bottom. Different than when it gets slack and moves sideways ! What I wanted to add is when I go to creature type, lizard or jig combo, I slow down even more. Written this before but I have 3 gears: slow, even slower and durn near stopped. Also with these baits I tend to drag more than hop. After you get started you'll find which you like better ...

                                                       As Ever,

                                                        Skillet

[Paul8877]

Is it me or is difficult to fish with plastics on a very windy day? I went this morning for a lil bit but the wind was blowing my line too bad and I couldnt concentrate on it very well.

[Paul8877]

what action and length of rods work best for worm fishing?

[NEBassMan]

I agree, it's difficult to fish soft plastics when it's too windy.  When the wind comes up, i usually switch to a spinnerbait.

For weighted soft plastics, i like a 7' graphite, medium-heavy power with a fast tip.

What kind of rod are you using?

Jason

[Paul8877]

Thats the exact rod I'm using right now. It's a BPS XPS but I'm going to change the rod to either and all star or falcon. Also, for me I'm more comfortable fishing with plastics with spinning gear. I have a Shimano Stradic that I use.

[Panamoka_Bassin]

When the wind kicks up, fishing plastics can be tough, but I find that with patience you can have just as much luck.  Start by using a little bigger bullet, maybe as heavy as 3/8 oz (or even 1/4 oz if you're into big water).  If you're in a boat, try to cast into the wind (which will obviously cut down on the length of the cast, but will look better to bass) and try to keep your line a wee bit slack (the wind will probably do this for you).  When you retrieve, make smaller movements as the wind will pick up the slack in your line and move it more than you think it will.  This is important:  Keep your eyes on the line going into the water, not on what out of the water.  This will let you know when a fish is moving the bait and not just the wind playing your line.

[sal669]

Is it me or is difficult to fish with plastics on a very windy day? I went this morning for a lil bit but the wind was blowing my line too bad and I couldnt concentrate on it very well.

As it's been said, use a bit of extra weight; if you would normaly use 1/8 oz, go up to 3/16 or even 1/4 oz. Keep as litle line in the air as possible. Fish the downwind shore, especially if you are fishing from the bank. Waves coming towards the shore bring in plancton and small fish, and big fish follows.

Cast in the wind, if possible; your cast will be shorter, but it's easier to manage the line and feel the bite. After the bait hits the water, drop your rod tip to the water level and work your bait back to you by moving your  rod sideways with the tip at water level. It's NO line watching time ! It's all about the FEEL.This is where a very sensitiv outfit comes into play. Use braided line to increse sensitivity; ad 2-6 ft of fluoro or mono as leader than tie on your bait.

Check your line often and retie often, as the bait and line gets in contact with botom and cover( rocks,wood)

When in doubt , set the hook. If you feel anything out of ordinary (light tension,small tap, sudden slack in line) chanses are the fish picked up the bait and swims sideways or even toward you.

Hope it helps. Tight lines

[Bankbeater]

I switch to a bigger weight in the wind, but a bigger weight tends to get stuck more when you're working it along the bottom.  When the weight gets stuck, don't pull it, tighten up the slack and raise the rod up high and pull easy.  This will help the weight get over the rock, tree, stump, etc.