Free worm fishing for Bass
This is a method I like to use when fishing lily pads or moderately heavy weeds and brush. The method of rigging makes this weedless so you can drag it through the weeds and over the lily pads without getting hooked on them. I like to use a larger worm to help with casting and to entice the larger fish to strike. Berkeley Powerbait plastic worms come out of the package pre-scented and ready to go but there are plenty of other types and brands to try. This rig will work with other plastics as well like salamanders or Gary Yamamoto Senkos.
There are several ways to fish this lure depending on the conditions you are fishing. The standard method is to cast out, let it sink a bit, then slowly retrieve in a jerk, pause, reel, jerk, pause, reel pattern. Alternatively, if the fish are very active you can reel the worm in fast so that it skims across the surface creating a wake. This is exciting as it is essentially fishing the lure as a top-water lure. I’ve found that when the fish are particularly sluggish this rig can be fished by simply casting and letting it sink and drift. The bass will pick it up in their mouth and swim off with it. This is the hardest strike to detect as there is just the smallest tug on the line. Generally, when fishing with a worm if you see the line start to move slightly in one direction or the other it is time to set the hook!
As a general rule it works to use a dark colored lure when the sky is bright and a light colored lure when the sky is dark. Also, I’ve found that black worms or black with blue, purple, or green flake work especially well in the spring time around when the bass are spawning.
Remember to set the hook hard when you feel a tug or jerk because the weedless rigging of this lure means that the hook has to come out of the bait before it can hook the fish.
You will need:
- Worm hook. I prefer a size 1 or 1/0 Gamakatsu worm hook.
- Plastic worm. Generally, I like to use a 7” or larger worm. Different situations call for different worms. Sometimes a 4” worm will work better.
Rigging steps.
- Tie your hook directly to your main line.
- hold your worm or plastic bite by the body and thread the point of the hook straight down into the head about ¼”.
- Bring the point out of the body of your plastic bait and thread the hook through. You will have to twist your hook at the end of this so that the curved part of the hook fits into the head of the plastic bait.
- Bring the hook into the body of the worm or plastic bait and push the point through just enough so that the very tip is protruding from the other end of the bait. This makes it weedless but lets the hook come out easily when you set the hook.
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