Your Big Worm Technique

[Bud Kennedy]

I have never used a "big worm" under any conditions.  It appears from the other posts that folk are using a T Rig style hook process some using bigger weights than others.  My question is what are the conditions that warrant a presentation of this type?  Do you move the bait much like any other worm or is there some preferred method to work the bait.  Is this a better bait for deep water or shallow water and what type of cover are you looking to explore.

[Mike Cork]

Bud I moved this out from the original thread because I think it's a great topic that can stand on it's own 

[Mike Cork]

When the water temp in my part of the country hits the 80's, I rig up a big Texas worm. I don't really know what it might represent other than a  big meal or lamprey (which we have a lot of). So that's when. I'll put it up when the water starts cooling and the jig bite tends to get better.

The presentation can be one of three. Slowly drag on the bottom, slowly swim through the water column, lift and drop. The key to all of them is getting the tail action. Depending on the manufacture it takes more weight to get the action from the tail.

Depth can play a role in how large your weight should be. If you're fishing the bottom in 20 feet of water use a heavier weight to get it there and keep it there. If you're swimming it in cypress trees in 3 feet of water, obviously you want a lighter weight. My most productive pattern is the lift in drop. Watching Larry Nixon 20 years or so ago he explained how you must lift quickly and then watch your line as it falls for ticks, twitches, or moving to the side. If you see anything, weigh your bait (feel if it's heavy) then set the hook.

For my cover is important. Brush to cypress trees, brush in cypress trees is the cats meow. It have never really been a dock pattern for me, hard to get that big tail up under docks or skip with.  Weightless is can be great for drawing the biggest bite available in/on hydrilla edges and holes.

[loomisguy]

For the last several years I've gotten away from T-rigging them in a traditional fashion and gone to a 1/2 oz. Shakey head w/ a 6/0 hook.
They seem to come through the brush piles better and the screw on head keeps the worm from balling up in the hook gap.
I use one from 5FISH thats kinda wedge shaped. One sure way to ruin a brush pile is to get hung up on it the first cast.

[Capt. BassinLou]

In our neck of the woods, BIG WORMS catch BIG BASS. These "worms" are 16" long, they are more to imitate a snake more than a worm actually. It may be presented it different ways. Non-weighted, swimmed slowly, or lastly weighted.

[D.W. Verts]

Pretty much all the same here. Talking 10-12" worms in MO.

I like the water temps in the mid to upper 80's. Below that and I get short bit a lot.

I probably flip these 90% of the time, in grass and pads, brushpiles and laydowns, and around boat docks. etc. and I'll vary the weight to find what the bass want. Sometimes a slower fall is the key, sometimes a quick drop gets the job done, and sometimes it takes a 1/2 to one ounce weight just to get them thru the cover. The other main presentation is deep water brushpiles where I'll fish them as a Texas rig old-school, or drop shot them with a 1/2- 3/4 ounce weight.

The presentation in most situations is pretty slow. The very best is when the bass hit on the initial drop or as soon as you pick the bait up (flippin').

This is my go-to and favorite big bass deal in the summer and early fall. The size you catch is just larger, and it's about the only bait that can compete with, or top, a jig in these situations.

I'm currently waiting for the big worm bite to start this season. It hasn't happened yet.

Dale

[coldfront]

Dale:  do you peg?  if 'sometimes' any shares on what drives that?
on this end, since it's a river system and we have access to deeper water 20, 25, 35 feet...  heavy 'shaky heads' are getting more of a look from me.  that and swing-head jigs too.
will be playing with culprit fat worms this year.  deep weed lines.

really need to get that hb live 360 for quicker targeting of prime areas on those weedlines....

[D.W. Verts]

I always peg on the flippin' thing. Not as much on the deeper worm deal. The main thing is I've had the sinker fall away from the worm too many times when flipped into heavy cover, and right there you lose contact with the bait.

When fishing deep I try to stay in more direct contact with the lure, at least after the initial fall. So the sinker mostly stays in place. Things just happen so fast when you're flippin'.

I've rarely ever fished a worm on a jig head. A Slider is about it. I can see some reasons/advantages (and I've seen what jfly can do with that Monster Trick Worm on a Shakey head) but what about a hook for these big worms? I use no smaller than a 6/0 and preferably an 8/0 on my Texas rigs. How big of a hook do you use on a jig head with a 10" p[us worm?

Great topic, Mr. Kennedy.

[coldfront]

been using the 1/2 ounce buckeye lures pro EWG spot remover.  currently rigged with an 8 inch bullworm.  very meaty worm.  no problems.

[D.W. Verts]

Okay, so I don't call an eight-incher a big worm (QUIET you dirty perch jerkers). I consider the 10" worm and up to be "big" (SHUT UP, I'm warning you).

I threw an 18" DeLong (or JW's, I disremember) once. It was a big, hard (final warning and I'm not kidding) segmented brute. This would have been in the early 80's. I had dreams of a state record bass, and was even conducting the interviews with the press in my head, when on about the tenth cast I got bit. I cranked down, gritted my teeth, and drove her home. On an 11" bass. It was funny and sad.

Dale

[caddyjoe77]

Okay, so I don't call an eight-incher a big worm (QUIET you dirty perch jerkers). I consider the 10" worm and up to be "big" (SHUT UP, I'm warning you).

I threw an 18" DeLong (or JW's, I disremember) once. It was a big, hard (final warning and I'm not kidding) segmented brute. This would have been in the early 80's. I had dreams of a state record bass, and was even conducting the interviews with the press in my head, when on about the tenth cast I got bit. I cranked down, gritted my teeth, and drove her home. On an 11" bass. It was funny and sad.

Dale

found a mega school today that is getting another visit tomorrow with a big worm.  I never realized when the best time for a giant worm was.  Thank you all. 

[loomisguy]

I always peg on the flippin' thing. Not as much on the deeper worm deal. The main thing is I've had the sinker fall away from the worm too many times when flipped into heavy cover, and right there you lose contact with the bait.

When fishing deep I try to stay in more direct contact with the lure, at least after the initial fall. So the sinker mostly stays in place. Things just happen so fast when you're flippin'.

I've rarely ever fished a worm on a jig head. A Slider is about it. I can see some reasons/advantages (and I've seen what jfly can do with that Monster Trick Worm on a Shakey head) but what about a hook for these big worms? I use no smaller than a 6/0 and preferably an 8/0 on my Texas rigs. How big of a hook do you use on a jig head with a 10" p[us worm?

Great topic, Mr. Kennedy.
6/0 On the Magnum shakey head..

[chrisD46]

Good comments from Mike and others ... Here in Georgia , it's a more open water deal using one of the three retrieves Mike uses . The water is warm and large mouth get a bit sluggish so the thought is a slow moving,  large , easy meal that the bass does not have to exert too much energy to eat (better ROI for the bass) .

[coldfront]

Okay, so I don't call an eight-incher a big worm (QUIET you dirty perch jerkers). I consider the 10" worm and up to be "big" (SHUT UP, I'm warning you).

I threw an 18" DeLong (or JW's, I disremember) once. It was a big, hard (final warning and I'm not kidding) segmented brute. This would have been in the early 80's. I had dreams of a state record bass, and was even conducting the interviews with the press in my head, when on about the tenth cast I got bit. I cranked down, gritted my teeth, and drove her home. On an 11" bass. It was funny and sad.

Dale

not to disagree Dale.  but meaty/fat for me is the key to what hook is needed, works best.
I think it's a 5/0... so no, it's not 'fully man-sized'!

[FlatsNBay]

For me, summer time is time to break out the big worm. The two that I like are the Yum ribbon tail in 10 1/2 inches and the Yum Mighty Worm which is a strait tail 10 inch worm. Both are Texas rigged with a small bullet weight fished around deeper structure like brush piles, Shell bars, drop offs, humps and ledges. Sometimes they like the action of the ribbon tail and sometimes they like the subtle straight tail. I like to use the straight tail in areas with a lot of fishing pressure because the subtle action is something that they probably don't see.

I like a 5/0 Mustad offset shank hook.

Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk

[coldfront]

a couple more thoughts I had while re-reading the thread.  and to answer one of Bud's original questions:  why heavier weights?
1.  want to keep contact with bottom (ledges) in current.  those bigger worms catch a lot of current and getting them to 'get down' and be where they're supposed to be takes a little metal.
2.  warmer/hotter water of summer:  I seem to see a lot more need for a 'fast moving' (dropping) bait when water temps go over 80°F.  unlike in spring/cooler water, they don't respond as well to a softly/gently sinking bit and that fast mover just seems to get bit better.
heavy worm weights for me are 3/8 to 1/2 ounce. 

[chrisD46]

a couple more thoughts I had while re-reading the thread.  and to answer one of Bud's original questions:  why heavier weights?
1.  want to keep contact with bottom (ledges) in current.  those bigger worms catch a lot of current and getting them to 'get down' and be where they're supposed to be takes a little metal.
2.  warmer/hotter water of summer:  I seem to see a lot more need for a 'fast moving' (dropping) bait when water temps go over 80°F.  unlike in spring/cooler water, they don't respond as well to a softly/gently sinking bit and that fast mover just seems to get bit better.
heavy worm weights for me are 3/8 to 1/2 ounce.

*Good comment on the warm water need for heavier worm weight as many say 90% of the bites happen on the fall . Bass tend to prefer a faster fall / reaction type bite when the water warms .

[geneinnc]

I ended up with a pack of Zman magnum worms, I hope that's the correct name. Not sure where they come from. Zoom monster worm is the largest I've fished before.

I'm open to suggestions since the water is 82 now. We have only a couple spots of grass, no cypress or cattail, and the brush is fallen trees and the main cover is docks.

I'm going to cut one in half and make a super size Ned but I'm totally lost rigging the whole worm. Here is the worm and it's black with a silver under belly so it looks like a black snake.

https://zmanfishing.com/cms/products/giant_trd


Thanks!

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[D.W. Verts]

Guys, I just posted a video on my new YouTube channel, talking about big plastic worms. If it helps someone, so much the better. I'll be doing more stuff like this soon. Peace.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYALOeqpqvtvkPhQIOZ2aBg

Dale

[Capt. BassinLou]

Guys, I just posted a video on my new YouTube channel, talking about big plastic worms. If it helps someone, so much the better. I'll be doing more stuff like this soon. Peace.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYALOeqpqvtvkPhQIOZ2aBg

Dale

Great job Dale!! I love how you sign off. I don't see what your worried about, your videos are going to do awesome. 

[chrisD46]

Guys, I just posted a video on my new YouTube channel, talking about big plastic worms. If it helps someone, so much the better. I'll be doing more stuff like this soon. Peace.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYALOeqpqvtvkPhQIOZ2aBg

Dale

Great job Dale!! I love how you sign off. I don't see what your worried about, your videos are going to do awesome. 

*Good job Dale - although you have your own custom color , what  other colors do you carry with you that will work most any where ?

[D.W. Verts]

Great job Dale!! I love how you sign off. I don't see what your worried about, your videos are going to do awesome. 
[/quote]*Good job Dale - although you have your own custom color , what  other colors do you carry with you that will work most any where ?
[/quote]

Dad gum Chris, I should have talked about colors...

The big worms work with all of the traditional colors, however I think that over the years I've caught more large bass on the darker stuff. Still, I'll always have with me some Junebug, a Tequila Sunrise or Red Shad, I really like plain old Black Grape, maybe something along the lines of the motor oil/rootbeer, and I like electric blue on those bright & hot summer days. I'm not a huge color guy- I tend to think more of shades. lighter and darker. But still, the colors above are go-to's.

I also have and sometimes use the green pumpkin variations, but since EVERYONE throws them, like black and blue, I generally abstain from them.

The "custom color" thing is just fun- that color I a have tied on in the video is actually Rootbeer with large black and small red flake, giving it slight "purple" look. Doc Irv has been a sponsor on this site, and I try to support them all. I ordered a ton of baits from him a few years ago, and knowing that I may be the only person on the lake, or in the world, that's throwing that exact color is a slight confidence thing for me, especially on highly pressured water. Make sense?

Thanks for keeping me honest. I'm trying to work up interesting and information content for these videos, without hype, hyperbole, and too much B.S.  Okay, a LITTLE B.S.

Peace.

Dale

[rb-nc]

Bud on the river start with 14lb line and a 3/8 weight unpegged. Throw the bait up current over a point. Always work down current. Steady pull the worm up and hold the rod up. Let the worm swim back to the bottom. You can cover water pretty quick doing this. If the bait is having a hard time getting back to the bottom go up in weight. A junebug and red shad worm is about all you need down there. In the fall when the water cools down swim it through the laydows and let it quickly go down between limbs. The big Zoom trick worm works good down there

[Oldfart9999]

Keep this thread going!!! I need to get away from my 10 inch worm catches 4 inch fish technique. Nothing like using a bait that weighs more than the fish.
Rodney

[Bud Kennedy]

Bud on the river start with 14lb line and a 3/8 weight unpegged. Throw the bait up current over a point. Always work down current. Steady pull the worm up and hold the rod up. Let the worm swim back to the bottom. You can cover water pretty quick doing this. If the bait is having a hard time getting back to the bottom go up in weight. A junebug and red shad worm is about all you need down there. In the fall when the water cools down swim it through the laydows and let it quickly go down between limbs. The big Zoom trick worm works good down there

RB, I am a bit surprised about the recommendation for an un pegged weight.  What would be your reasoning for doing it this way vs pegging the weight?