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Old 07-02-06, 11:43 PM   #1
ironman
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i am ebarressed to say i have never caught a bass using a worm i hate using them because i always fell like i amusing it wrong when i never get bites and so i have know confendence in the lure and you all know what happens the so do you guy know any rreally good techniques to useing the worm like when they are not biting and if they are really active
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Old 07-03-06, 12:28 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by ironman
i am ebarressed to say i have never caught a bass using a worm i hate using them because i always fell like i amusing it wrong when i never get bites and so i have know confendence in the lure and you all know what happens the so do you guy know any really good techniques to useing the worm like when they are not biting and if they are really active
Have you ever heard of spellcheck or punctuation.
If you are not catching a fish on worms then you are most definatly doing something wrong. They are the #1 fish catchingest lure of all time. What size, style, color, rigging etc are you using?

Match the color to the conditions. i.e. Clear waters with high skies, natural or pumpkin. Stained water with high skies,Pumpkin/chart. tail, or watermelon/chartruese tail. Stained water w/ clouds, dark colors like junebug, black, purple, red shad.

Here is a piece I wrote to help beginners out with worms.Hope it helps.

The Mighty Plastic Worm

Since it's inception in 1951, it is safe to say that no other lure has caught as many Bass, and comes in as many different styles, sizes and colors, as the plastic worm.These, and the nearly unlimited varieties of other soft plastic baits,are baits that anglers carry in large quantities, often by the pound.
Big, small, ribbed, straight tail, hook tail, or action tail, the choices seem to be endless. But, once you fish one of these unassuming peices of plastic, the reason for their success will become very, very clear. These baits catch fish. And lots of them. But with all these colors, sizes, and styles available, the choices can be overwhelming. Where does the average angler even begin to make the right choices. First, you need to know the differances in the styles of worms. I will try to explain the differances here.

Straight Tail:
The Original Plastic Worm. This is the one that Nick Creme started way back in 51 to get the explosion going. These are straight, tapering peices of plastic that resemble a nightcrawler.
They range from 4" to 12".
These are usually best in clear water, and are fished much more slowly than the action worms. The Creme Scoundrel, Mann's Jelly Worm, and Berkley Powercrawler belong in this catagory. These worms are ideal for jighead, carolina rigging, or stitching. Also, my first choice for weeds, as the straight tail comes through them better than the ripple tail worms.

Finesse:
4" to 6" straight tail worms, very thin and small in shape. Best use when you need a very subtle, natural presentation, such as the Dropshot rig, or Doodeling. The Original Fish Formula Finesse Worm, and the Hand Poured Western Wienie Worm are good examples of this type of bait.

Hooktail/Sickle Tail:
A 4" to 8" worm with a simple curl, or hook, tail. While this was the most common type of worm a decade ago, they are not as common now, having been replaced by the action tail, and finesse worms. Mostly used with the Texas Rig. Fish with 6" to 8" hops, or drag it across the bottom. Mister Twister's Phenom is an example of this type.

Action/Ribbon/Rippletail:
By and large the most common worm available today.These worms have very active, ribbon like tails that may be half the body length or more, that flow and undulate on retrieve. These are my go to worms when fish are active. I like the Original Fish Formula 7" Scented Rippletail worm for fishing around docks and rocks. This bait has a very lifelike look,supersoft feel and incredible action, and comes pre-scented with the Original Fish Formula. This attracts the bass, as well as makes the bass hold on longer.
I will texas rig this most of the time, and fish it with 8" to 12" hops, or I will swim it around docks.
Examples would be the Fish Formula Rippletail, Culprit, and Berkley Powerworm.

Ribbed:
Worms with raised ribs, or rings, around thier bodies. These ribs produce bubbles by releasing trapped air during the retrieve.Excellent for the Carolina rig. These baits are available in sixe from 4"( Original Fish Formula Scented Ribbed Worm), all the way up to 9"(Zoom).

Floating Worms:
Straight tailed, highly bouyant worms used on or just below the surface for bedding or shallow bass, These come in a variety of loud, gaudy colors, such as charteuse or bubblegum. I seldom use these.

Now that I have explained the different types of worms, I will go into the different rigs and retrieves for worms.

Texas Rig:
This is the standard, simple rig that involves the bait, a 1/0 to 4/0 straight shank or offset worm hook, and a bullet sinker.Wile this rig can be used with any worm, it works best with the ribbed, hook, or action tail worms, because of the action impatrted during the retrieve.
Fish this rig by lifting the rod tip 8 to 12 inches and hopping the worm across the bottom, or by stitching the worm. Stitching is a technique in which the worm is dragged very, Very, slowly across the bottom.
You van also ped the slip sinker and flip or pitch with this rig.
A common mistake with t-rigging is not useing enough weight, especially if dragging it. You need to maintain good feel and contact with the bottom. If I am fishing in 6" of water or less, I never use more than 3/16oz., unless heavy currant is present. I have used as much as 3/4oz., if fishing very deep.

Carolina Rig:
Works best with straight tailed or ribbed worms, but any will work.Fish it fast or slow by sweeping the rod parallel to the water, makeing sure to keep the weight in constant contact with the bottom. Also use this same motion for the hookset with this rig.

SplitShot:
2 small splitshot attached 12" to 16" above a small light wire hook and finesse worm. Lighter rods and light line are a must for this technique. Fish it similar to either the t-rig, but with much shorter hops, or the C-rig, only much slower. Best in clear water.

Jighead:
1/16oz. to 1/4oz. Jighead with a straight tail worm, fish on very light line, with a series of small hops.I use this alot on heavily pressured water.

DropShot:
First, attach a short shank hook 18" to 36" above the end of the line, then tie a weight on the end of the line. Nose hook a small Finesse worm, such as the Original Fish Formula 6" Finesse worm.
You basically fish this rig with small twiches, making the worm wiggle and dance. Very subtle, very natural. Again, this is a light line technique.Again, I also use this on pressured waters or clear water.

Doodleing:
A texas rigged finesse worm, with the addition of a bead between the hook and weight, fished totally stationary, by simply shaking the rod tip. There should be very little, if any, forward movement with this technique. You simply want to shake the worm in place, causeing the weigth and bead to clack together.
An extremly productive winter time technique.Use anytime the bite is very slow. Can produce some very big fish.


Color:
Now to color. If there is any area in which there is too much of a good thing, this is it. There are WAY more colors of soft plastics than are needed.

Do not go and buy every color of every worm that is out there. You would need a seperate house to to keep them. Buy a few basic colors, a bottle or two of worm dye, and go fish. I use ONLY the following colors, and have found no need for any other.

Junebug(my favorite), black, blue, purple, red shad. pumpkin, and watermelonseed. I carry a bottle of Chartreuse, and a bottle of blue dye, should I need it.

Equipment:
Some equipment suggestions:

Rod:
For the last 30 years or so, the gold standard has been a heavy action rod because of the extremly hard hookset needed for worms. However, this is no longer the case. Because of the invention of super sharp hooks, and braided lines, a eye crossing hookset is no longer needed. I use the 6'6"MH Herm Special, made by falcon. This has a very good action for worms, and a very good, even, parabolic bend.More like an M action than a MH.This is an ideal rod for T-Rigging, or for C-Rigging.
I use the Falcon LR 6'6" M Open Hook Special spinning rod for all my finesse presentations.
Whatever you choose, understand that no other presentation relies more on a good sensitive rod that plastics.


Reel:
I like a medium ratio baitcasting reels for Texas or carolina rigging . I get more cranking power with these, and they are better at winching big fish out of heavy cover, because they will not bind up as easily.
I prefer the Pflueger Trion Machined reel.
For finesse fishing I use the Pflueger Trion Spinning reel.

Line:
While this is personal choice, understand that this is the link between you and the bass. Even if you skimp on other tackle, but the best line you can get. I use PowerPro for my texas and carolina rigging, as it provides unbelievable strength and sensitivity, with no stretch, and I use PowerPro for my finesse rigs. However, if I am fishing in SUPER clear water, i will use the lightest flourocarbon i can get away with, for all my techniques.

Hooks:
Super Sharp hooks MUST be used when fishing with worms.I use Daiichi, the worlds sharpest. Any good quality hook will work though.

Fishing with worms around:

Rocks:
Crawl the bait over the bottom by holding the rod at 10 O'clock and slowly turning the reel handle.

Weeds:
Hop them, or swim them through the weeds.You can also flip or pitch these.

Docks:
Swim worms around and between docks, or flip/pitch/skip them.

Stumps/Trees/Brush:
Swim them through, and crawl them over, the tree limbs, or pitch/flip the stumps/brush.

Hope this gives a little insight to the vast world of plastic worms and how best to fish them.Do not be overwhelmed or perplexed by all the selection you have. Stick with the basics. They have been working for half a century.

Good Fishing,
Charles Graves
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Old 07-03-06, 10:13 AM   #3
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Boss- you wrote that?!?!?!? THat was one of the first pieces I ever read about bass fishing. It was on bassresource.com right?
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Old 07-03-06, 10:56 AM   #4
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That's a great article, thanks bassboss.

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Old 07-03-06, 11:27 AM   #5
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boss
you da man..

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Old 07-03-06, 12:24 PM   #6
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i knew most of that stuff though what is some of second best lures to use
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Old 07-03-06, 01:09 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flbassman
Boss- you wrote that?!?!?!? THat was one of the first pieces I ever read about bass fishing. It was on bassresource.com right?
No, there are several articles and tips about worm fishing on bassresource.com, but I wrote this one a couple of years ago in response to an email I got about how to fish worms.

If this exact piece is on bass resource, I want to see it, because I never submitted it to them, and they should not have it.
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Old 07-04-06, 03:47 AM   #8
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If you know most of that stuff then how the hell are you using the worm wrong cuz theres no way that you could be using the worm wrong if you know all that because tthats about all there is to fishing a worm *hopes someone gets this*




.........??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!,,,,,,,,,,''''''''' """""""""::::::;;;;;;;

btw, theres some punctuation...you can borrow some of mine.
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Old 07-04-06, 07:08 AM   #9
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i always texas rig it i eather reel in slow and jig or pull up and let fall down and let sit i have tried every time amount.
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Old 07-04-06, 09:48 AM   #10
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I spy with my little eye... a period!
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Old 07-04-06, 09:58 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crankybait
I spy with my little eye... a period!

I feel I may faint.....THUMP!!!!!!
Yep. I just did not know how to overcome the shock.
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Old 07-04-06, 10:20 AM   #12
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oh god the horror.. a period!!! RUN RUN HARD!!!...

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Old 07-04-06, 12:32 PM   #13
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Boss, maybe it wasn't that exact piece. IDK, it was a long time ago...
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Old 07-04-06, 12:56 PM   #14
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why does everyone care about puncuation
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Old 07-04-06, 01:06 PM   #15
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Dude that's a bad question now quick, delete it. but for an answer read flbassmans post on spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
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Old 07-04-06, 01:08 PM   #16
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becauseitssortahardtoreadwhenyoudonteveruseanyperi odsorcommasheckifwearentgonnausethosewhybotherwith spaceswhydoeseverybodycareaboutspacesicanstillsort areadthisandididntuseonesinglespaceperiodcommasemi coloncolonorthoselittlespanishthingsidontknowwhatt heyrecalledbutididntuseanyididntuseanyapostrophese ither


Edit:Too late cranky
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Old 07-04-06, 01:22 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flbassman
becauseitssortahardtoreadwhenyoudonteveruseanyperi odsorcommasheckifwearentgonnausethosewhybotherwith spaceswhydoeseverybodycareaboutspacesicanstillsort areadthisandididntuseonesinglespaceperiodcommasemi coloncolonorthoselittlespanishthingsidontknowwhatt heyrecalledbutididntuseanyididntuseanyapostrophese ither


Edit:Too late cranky
That is some funny stuff!!
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Old 07-04-06, 01:26 PM   #18
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rofl, ii warned him. oh and btw...

youhadaspaceinbetweenperandiodinyourmessagehahahah ahahahaquickdeletethespacebeforeitstoolate

wow guys, try typing like this. its pretty hard because my hand instinctivly hits the space bar. try writing two lines without touching the spacebar.
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Old 07-04-06, 02:33 PM   #19
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thelittlespanishthingIthinkyouretalkingaboutiscall edatildeanditsnotspani****sjustanalphanumerickeyus edinASCIIlanguageforcomputers

and for the literate among us..the tilde is just a part of the ASCII text standard used in computers. Its mostly used for representing a users home directory on a server.
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Old 07-04-06, 02:38 PM   #20
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well i guess it's time for me to jump into this.
ironman..you are showing your lack of respect for the good members of this board.you seem like a wiseguy to me.i don't care for your kind.i will not respond to any of your posts and the sooner you leave here the better.maybe you can find a kindergarden board where grammar and punctuation do not matter.please find a new board to insult.
you asked for this.i don't hold back.
bassboss,sorry you had to waste all that on a moron.
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Old 07-04-06, 02:43 PM   #21
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unleash the power of the tom... JB this would be a fine photoshopping opportunity here
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Old 07-04-06, 03:11 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bassintom
well i guess it's time for me to jump into this.
ironman..you are showing your lack of respect for the good members of this board.you seem like a wiseguy to me.i don't care for your kind.i will not respond to any of your posts and the sooner you leave here the better.maybe you can find a kindergarden board where grammar and punctuation do not matter.please find a new board to insult.
you asked for this.i don't hold back.
bassboss,sorry you had to waste all that on a moron.
Never a waste of time. I swore to try to help those that ask an honest question. But now, what the knucklehead does with it, is his business.

Why use punctuation? I'll answer you with another question.
Why do you wipe your A#$ when you crap? Because if you don't, then, like your posts, you would stink.

And maybe, since you already know everything I posted, you can start teaching US. ROFLMAO
Why use punctuation? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
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Old 07-04-06, 03:18 PM   #23
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hey but still it wasnt a waste. honestly i learned a bit from it. thanks for making the post. remmeber here, not only the person (or in this case, numbskull) who asked the question gets to read the answer. and now my dad is pulling into the garage... time to go fishing.
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Old 07-04-06, 03:24 PM   #24
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If I use punctuation can i stay, but i am not very good at spelling
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Old 07-04-06, 03:31 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ironman
If I use punctuation can I stay, but I am not very good at spelling
If you would read past posts, you would have seen this. It is free and works. It will help you, trust me.Also, I capitalized your I's at the top.

http://www.iespell.com/download.php
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