Texas rigged worm as search bait?

[cortman]

The super weedy ponds I fish have me wondering how a Texas rigged worm would work as a chuck and wind style search bait, in lieu of a crank, spinnerbait or bladed jig. Anyone fish a worm this way regularly, and what's your preferred weight/rig/worm?

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[LgMouthGambler]

Sure. Drag it over the vegetation. Let it drop into holes.

[SFL BassHunter]

Yup you can certainly use a worm that way.

A 1/16oz or 1/8oz bullet weight, depending on how deep you want to get it.

Like LMG said, work it on top of the vegetation and let it drop into any holes. This will work in open water as well, just swimming a worm will get you strikes if the fish are hitting moving baits.

In a lake I fish off the bank I start fishing slow, and start to speed up my retrieve until I find the right retrieve. No need to change baits since the worm can be fished slow or fast.
But you could start fishing fast then slow down. I just find it harder to slow down after fishing fast.

[Donald Garner]

I sometimes use a big ribbion tail Texas Rigged worm as a search bait. Depending on the forge (Snakes) in the lakes I fish.  I'd fish it swimming just like a snake at various depths from on the surface to crawling it along the bottom.  I usually start out with 1/4 oz sinker pegged.  If it's windy etc or fishing deep grass I'll go to a 3/8 oz worm weigh.   

Start out with 7.5 in ribbon tail and work your way up to 10 - 12 inch worm.  There are some guys here that use 12(+) inch worms.  I also try to match the colors with what I see swimming around also.  My go to colors are Green Pumpkin; Watermelon Pepper; Black Shad; RedShad; Moccasin.

Remember to match the hook size to the worm. I use an EWG 3/0 - 5/0 hook.

[rockchalk06]

The super weedy ponds I fish have me wondering how a Texas rigged worm would work as a chuck and wind style search bait, in lieu of a crank, spinnerbait or bladed jig. Anyone fish a worm this way regularly, and what's your preferred weight/rig/worm?

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I've done this before too. Works really well when they won't touch a topwater plug or a jig. I use a 4/0-5/0 keel weighted hook (I think it's called that) that has the screw lock and the weight on the hook shaft. What's cool about that style of hook is the way the worm will drop. It glides down horizontally instead of a vertical fall.

[zippyduck]

That and a soft swimbait T-rigged are both excellent grass search baits.
You can mojo or splitshot rig it also.

[FISH520]

That and a soft swimbait T-rigged are both excellent grass search baits.
You can mojo or splitshot rig it also.

X2.
The nice thing about a t-rig whatever you are throwing is the ability to have more control over how you fish it.  Yoyo it, drop it, let it sit, or burn it. You don't have to worry about weeds like you do the traditional search baits.

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[cortman]

Good info y'all, thanks a lot. I guess I will be trying my standard 7" power worms and maybe a 10 or 12" ribbontail. Sounds like pegging the weight is the thing to do and makes sense. I have some of the belly weighted screwlock hooks as well and will give those a try. Basically I'm looking for a moving bait that is a bit more weedless than a spinnerbait or chatterbait as good as those are. I know a belly weighted Keitech is a good option too, I've fished those when it's calmer or the water is clear.

[Polaris425]

If the area is real shallow (4-6ft), texas rig it w/o a weight... get a "floating" worm, or use a senko. Depending on the time and weather, the senko might fall too fast. So a floating worm might work better. Pitch out, drag it over a hole and let it fall to the bottom. Finding the right floating worm can be difficult. You don't want one so light & airy that it stays on top and never sinks. I'm not sure of a brand, as I buy mine in bulk from a local plastics store.

[SFL BassHunter]

Good info y'all, thanks a lot. I guess I will be trying my standard 7" power worms and maybe a 10 or 12" ribbontail. Sounds like pegging the weight is the thing to do and makes sense. I have some of the belly weighted screwlock hooks as well and will give those a try. Basically I'm looking for a moving bait that is a bit more weedless than a spinnerbait or chatterbait as good as those are. I know a belly weighted Keitech is a good option too, I've fished those when it's calmer or the water is clear.

I rarely use a 7 inch, but they work well. I like the 10. The 10 will get bites from fish of all sizes just like a 7 will but I like my chances of hooking up with better quality fish with it.
The 12 I use at night.

My current PB was on a 10" Zoom Ol Monster. Watermelon Red.

[Oldfart9999]

If the area is real shallow (4-6ft), texas rig it w/o a weight... get a "floating" worm, or use a senko. Depending on the time and weather, the senko might fall too fast. So a floating worm might work better. Pitch out, drag it over a hole and let it fall to the bottom. Finding the right floating worm can be difficult. You don't want one so light & airy that it stays on top and never sinks. I'm not sure of a brand, as I buy mine in bulk from a local plastics store.

The forgotten floating worm, rigged with a swivel tied about 8 inches in front of the hook, Trick worms have a slow enough fall rate to work well. Bright colors can be used, white, pink, or yellow and are easier to see in stained water. The one thing you need is water clear enough for the worm to be seen.
Rodney

[Braden]

Would a weightless senko Texas rigged work in the Lilly pads? Or would it fall down too deep and cause it to get hung up?

[SFL BassHunter]

Would a weightless senko Texas rigged work in the Lilly pads? Or would it fall down too deep and cause it to get hung up?

If the pads are sparse you can probably make it work. Problem with weightless in vegetation like that the worm doesn't have enough weight to pull down the line unless you are dropping it straight down. If you are casting to lilly pads or spatterdock there is a high chance your senko will land on one, when you get it into the opening and it falls through your line may be slack on top of pads. So the weight of the senko won't be enough to drop the worm down the water column. It will just kind of hang off the pad.
Doesn't mean you won't get a fish come up and eat it while its hanging there.

I'd put a 1/16 oz, or heavier on there just to get it to drop and pull that line down. The more vegetation there is the heavier the weight I would go.

[Polaris425]

Actually as long as there's a clear hole in the vegetation, a senko (weightless) will fall. Especially if rigged on a heaver/larger hook like a 3/0 or 4/0 gamakatsu. I've never had an issue w/ it pulling the line down over grass. Now I've never tried throwing one around Pads but...

The problem I find is that sometimes a senko actually falls too fast, when fish are finicky.

[analfisherman]

Try fishing it just like a plastic Jerk Bait (Fluke).

Use screw lock or belly weighted screw lock,  Texas Rigged ..lighter is better.......and ribbon tails work too.

Worms actually are great 'search baits' fished fast like a plastic jerk bait.
Longer sticks have best tail wiggle on fall/stop.

When stopped, let sink on semi slack line.
Even Wacky Rigged with extreme and frequent twitches work good as search baits, again, on pause let it fall on semi slack line.
Try a light wacky jig like 1/8 oz. or lighter like a 1/16.......I've had good success on ALL the these presentations. 

[cortman]

Good advice. I guess I should clarify that the stuff in the ponds isn't grass or vegetation but slimy algae.

[FISH520]

Good advice. I guess I should clarify that the stuff in the ponds isn't grass or vegetation but slimy algae.

Having the same issues in a new pond that I am fishing. I'm finding that unweighted t-rig is working out better and not picking up that slime.