Plastic worms can be fished virtually anywhere bass are located. However, there are special spots or structure types that have plastic worm written all over them. The following is a list of areas plastic worms should be used and how to use them.
Laydown Trees
Laydown Trees fallen into the water offer thick cover in which bass will hide. Hold your boat off the end of the tree and slowly retrieve the worm through the limbs. Each time the worm crawls over a limb, give it slack so it can sink back to the bottom. Work from the root and through the outer most limbs.
Floating Cover
Bass like to hide below floating cover such as vegetation mats and driftwood. Ease in close and flip your favorite worm into the tiny holes and pockets in the cover. Use a heavy weight if necessary to punch through the cover, and then jig the worm slowly beneath it
Grass Line Edges
Hold your boat closes to the grass and cast a swimming-tail worm along the edge. Try different retrieves (straight swim, lift drop) to see which the fish prefer. Key here is to find the high percentage spots that have the irregular points and gaps.
Pockets in Matted Vegetation
Position your boat on the outside of the vegetation. Cast a weightless worm over pockets and holes in cover. Reel the worm rapidly into the pockets, and then stop your retrieve for a few seconds. If a bass strikes your worm wait until you feel the pressure as the fish begins to swim away to set the hook.
Boat Docks
Pick a boat dock apart. Skip cast a Texas rigged worm beneath the piers. Use a swimming worm parallel to the sides of docks. Flip around pilings, ladders or any object that offers shade.
Stump/Timber Lined Drop-offs
Position your boat in the deeper water and cast perpendicular into the shallows next to the wood cover. Wait for the worm to sink to the bottom then pull the worm with a lift/drop retrieve. If it’s standing timber cast the worm through the limbs and trunks of trees as close as you can get to the trunk. Pull the worm through the notches where the branches grow out of the trunk of tree.
Fish Attractors
Thoroughly cover all brush piles, stake beds, tire piles, and other man made fish attractors with a Texas rigged worm. Move closer if no hits and use a larger worm and flip it through the thickest cover again.
Bluffs
Position the boat close to the bluffs. Use either a Texas rig worm or a finesse worm parallel to the face of the bluff. Shake the worm as it sinks down. If it hits a ledge pop it and pull it and shake it back down. Work the entire area, this method works well for bass holding on rock beds.
Run-Ins
Use a Texas rigged worm and cast it into the mouths of culverts, drains, gullies, and other spots where water is emptying into a reservoir. Food will wash into these areas often times especially after heavy rains and often time’s bass will move there to feed.
Anywhere you’ve caught bass use a worm as a cleanup bait to rework spots where you have caught bass on spinner baits, crankbaits or other types of lures. More times then not using a worm through the same area will bring an additional strike.
Don Chalmers
KickinBass
