lefty lucky: How are you supposed to “feel” your lure hit the bottom of the lake?
I would like to learn how to fish soft plastic worms better, but when I weight them and cast them out, I’ll wait and wait and wait until the worm hits bottom. The thing is I can never feel when it has. When enough time goes by I’m positive that it has but I’d have no way of knowing. I hear of tips with worms and jigs to hop the lure along until it hits the bottom again, and “feel” for the structure. What is preventing me from feeling it? Do i need a heavier weight? Please any and all information about this subject will help.
I think I should mention that this is for Largemouth Bass. I’m getting tips to use bobbers,so please don’t give information about other fish besides Largemouth Bass which will strike a lure from the bottom.
Answers and Views:
Answer by REAPER
hitting the bottom of the lake won’t get you many fish. they like live things swimming around. my advice would be to use a smaller weight and add a bobber on the line as well. that way the worm will dangle but not hit the lake bottom giving you better chances of landing some nibbles.
couple of suggestions…
thing about getting some braided fishing line. it has very little stretch and is very sensitive. you can get 17lb test that is about the same diameter as 6lb, etc. it’s more expensive yes, but you don’t wear it out much.
keep an eye on your line as it is sinking. keep the slack out and you’ll notice when the weight stops sinking, because it hit the bottom. a heavy weight with about 1-3 foot leader is good. you can actually get floating plastic worms. the weight is on the bottom, and your worm will float a foot or so off the bottom, depending on the length of the leader.
Answer by budgoekeI have fished The FLW tour and the Bassmasters tour. Since your begining use 12 lb. test line and an 1/8 or 3/16 weight. Rig your weight texas style. Use smaller worms around 6inch . Color wise junebug or green pumkin work just about every where in the country. When you cast out watch your line. Try to keep slack out of your line. when you line goes slack its on the bottom or a fish has picked it up. Usally if a fish has picked it up you will feel a thump or your line will move off. Once on the bottom slowly drag your worm only 6inches to a foot at a time. You will feel rocks and brush as it moves along. When you hop your worm its not as easy to feel whats on the bottom. Always remember trying to catch a bass with a worm is like playing with a cat with a toy on a string. The bass follows the worm sometimes just watching it. Stop it alot and let it lay there then drag or hop it quickly away. Worm fishing is one of the funest ways to fish for bass. Hope this helped. Bud Goeke You can google me to see I was telling the truth about fishing the tours. GoodluckAnswer by BASS Fisherman
If you cant feel the bottom, you are probably using a rod that is not sensative enough to feel it. I have found that I get more bass without a wieght. The only reasons that you should ever use a bullet wieght is when you need that extra wieght for casting a worm, and if you need to get the worm through thick weeds. Without the sensativity of your rod to tell you when you hit bottom, watch your line. When it hits bottom, it will have slack. I would suggest you try the YUM dinger, in a 4 inch size, in watermelon seed color. It technically is a stick bait, but it is similar to a worm. If you are familiar with senkos, that is almost what dingers are, but better. I use that dinger as my goto bait. I have had many great days using the dinger.
TYPES OF WORM RIGS: Varying both the amount of weight and the rigging method allows you to fish plastic worms under a wide array of conditions. 1. Rig the worm weightless with a light wire hook when sight fishing around shallow cover in clear water. 2. When bass are holding in or close to cover, use the Texas rig method. 3. When bass are on deep structure or in areas with relatively clean bottom, or when they’re holding on the outer edges of or suspending above submerged grassbeds, try Carolina rigging the worm.
PLASTIC WORM TACKLE: Since plastic worm fishing demands a hard hook set, a stiff rod is recommended. Many pros use a 6 foot medium heavy to heavy action baitcasting rod with a fast taper for Texas rig worm fishing. Some prefer a rod with a pistol grip handle. Some pros use a 6 foot to 6 foot, 3 inch graphite heavy action spinning rod when casting a Texas rigged worm. A Texas rigged worm may also be pitched or flipped with the appropriated longer rod. Employ a baitcasting or spinning reel with a normal ( 5:1 ) gear ratio. Use only abrasion resistant lines when worming. Use 14 to 20 pound test mono or heavier high tech lines with baitcasting reels. On spinning reels, use 10 to12 pound test line, 8 pound test in very clear water. High tech lines work well on spinning reels when worming because they have no memory. When Carolina rigging, use 20 pound test mono or heavier high tech lines as the main line. Pro anglers differ in their preferences for leader lines. Some use lighter ( 12 to 14 pound test ) mono leaders; others use the same line on the leader that they use on the main line; still others use a heavier leader line. Keep in mind that using a lighter leader facilitates easier breakoffs below the swivel should the lure become hung, thereby allowing you to retrieve the sinker, bead, and swivel for rerigging.
SELECTING SINKER AND HOOK SIZE: It’s important to balance both the hook and sinker to the worm as well as use the right weight for the situation at hand. Here are some tips: 1. A 1/3 oz. sinker is most commonly used for worming. 2. The denser the cover your fishing, the heavier the sinker you should use. Pros routinely use worm sinkers as heavy as 1/2 oz. when worming in matted vegetation. 3. Conversely, when fishing outside cover, your sinker should be lighter. Many anglers use 1/8 and 1/16 oz. weights in cold water when bass are holding around logs, rocks, or other easily traversed cover. 4. Bass will vary from place to place, and even from one hour to the next, as to the rate of fall that will trigger them into striking. Normally in cold water, they want a slow fall, and a fast fall in hot water. If you aren’t getting strikes, vary the worm weight up or down until you find what the fish are looking for. 5. When determining hook size, remember that the length of a worm hook is not as important as the worm’s diameter. For a 6 inch worm of average thickness, use a 2/0 worm hook. For a fat 6 inch worm, use a 3/0. Likewise, use 3/0 and 4/0 hooks on 7 inch worms, 5/0 and 6/0 on 9 inch worms.
WORM STYLES: Plastic worms come in various styles. 1. Worms with twist or ribbontails are primarily used when Texas and Carolina rigging. These are highly effective in submerged vegetation, murky water and anytime bass need an extra visual trigger. 2. Straight tail worms are most commonly used for weightless riggings ( floating ). 3. Spear and paddletail worms are normally used around cover and are effective when fished on top of matted vegetation. 4. Short finesse worms are used in clear and/or deep water and when bass are shy to bite. 5. Short, blunt ( French Fry ) or ( Do Nothing ) worms are popular on Carolina rigs. 6. Judge the proper worm thickness by weighing water clarity and density of cover. In clear water with submerged vegetation, a slender worm appears more realistic and slides through grass more readily. But in murky water with stumps and logs, a fatter worm may be more visible.
WORM COLORS: You don’t need every worm color under the sun to catch bass under most conditions. Here are some guidelines: 1. For years, the most popular worm colors were purple, blue, and black. These colors still work and should be included in any worm selection. 2. In clear water, use lighter and more translucent colors. Blue, strawberry, and melon green are favorites. Flake colors are also more effective in clear water. 3. In murky water, use darker and less translucent colors, such as black or purple. 4. Pumpkin is favored by many pro anglers in the spring. 5. Many worms are available with the body one color and the tail another. Where visibility is low, a worm with hot color tail ( chartreuse, orange ) will often trigger strikes.
SCENTS AND RATTLES : Scents. Many pro anglers use lure scents with worms, or scent impregnated worms, believing these may trigger finicky bass to bite and hang on longer. Experiment with these products to determine their utility to your personal fishing style. Liquid scent additives also help grease a worm and make it slide through dense cover more easily. Worm Rattles. They are tiny metal beads inside glass or plastic cylinders. These can be inserted into the worm body and emit a clicking sound when the worm moves, not unlike the sounds made by a foraging crawfish. Worm rattles are favored by many pro anglers in murky or weedy conditions
Pick Your Worm: 1. Six to seven inch long worms are the everyday staples of bass fishermen everywhere. Four inch worms are newly popular for light line, so called finesse fishing for heavily pressured fish in clear water. If you’re deliberately targeting bigger bass, go to a 10 or 12 inch worm, but be aware that you will sacrifice catch numbers for the possibility of a single trophy. 2. Most anglers almost always use worms with curled or ribbon-like tails that wiggle when moved through the water; the built in action means they’re easier to fish. The only exception anglers make is using straight tailed worms in dense, woody cover where the thin tails of swimming worms tend to wrap around branches, which is a nuisance. 3. There are worms with numerous ribs or ridges, sometimes called ringworms. Ridges attract bass with underwater vibrations as you slither the worm against logs, rocks, and weeds. They also add apparent bulk to an otherwise very slim lure. The hot new worm style is and exaggerated ringworm design with a fat, flat body called a zipper worm. 4. Finally, you’ll need the right colors. Start with three: dark (such as motor oil, deep purple, or black), neutral (smoke, pumpkinseed, or salt and pepper), and bright (bubblegum, bright chartreuse, or bright red). In general, follow the rule of using dark colors in off colored water, more subtle colors in clear water.
Worm Hooks: 1. Sharp hooks are the first commandment of worm fishing. Worm hooks are large, usually sizes1 to 4/0, and hard to set properly in a bass’ tough jaw unless they’re super sharp. Sharpen them yourself if you like, or buy ultra premium presharpened worm hooks. Many anglers even sharpen newly purchased hooks to their own satisfaction. 2. Light wire hooks in sizes 1 and 1/0 allow a worm to sink more slowly, and they penetrate better on a strike. Use them especially with 4 inch worms. Heavier irons to size 4/0 (for 10 to 12 inch worm) give a more secure feeling when fishing water that holds bigger fish. Straight shank, round bend designs give a slightly better hookset but don’t hold the worm on the hook as well when casting and fishing as do common, offset shank versions.
Rods, Reels, and Lines: 1. Both spinning and baitcasting gear are useful in worm fishing but not for the same things. Spinning gets the nod for casting ease with unweighted, near surface worms, plus Texas rigged worms with weights to 3/8 ounce for bottom bouncing in fairly open cover, like along the edge of a creek channel. You’ll also want spinning gear to handle the light line and smaller weights used in split shotting and other finesse techniques. 2. Baitcasting gear gives more muscle, which you’ll need for long distance casting with Carolina rigs weighing 1/2 to 1 ounce, for flipping heavily weighted Texas rigs tight against dense, woody cover, or when using heavier weights to penetrate dense mats of surface weeds to reach the bass lurking underneath. 3. Rods run the gamut from light tipped spinning rods for fishing small worms on light line on up to a 7 foot flipping stick for heavy line baitcasting work. Match your rod sensibly to both technique and water conditions, and remember this: The lighter your rod (regardless of length, design, or action) the greater the sensitivity you’ll have for detecting bites from bass. 4. Most worm fishermen spool up with nylon monofilament: usually 8 to 12 pound test with spinning gear and 12 to 20 pound test with baitcasters. In many cases, braided or fused fine diameter superlines, or even the new fluorocarbon lines, can work better because they stretch less than nylon, thereby giving more sensitivity to strike as well as more direct power on the hookset. 5. The fine diameter and extreme strength of superlines, however, can make them harder to handle. They are also useless around rocks because of poor abrasion resistance. Fluorocarbon, meanwhile, is extremely abrasion resistant, sinks readily, and is supposedly less visible to fish. Many anglers use superline as a main spinning and baitcasting line for most plastic worm work, while adding a fluorocarbon leader for abrasion resistance. Use Palomar knots with superlines, improved clinch knots with fluorcarbon.
The Shallows: Fishing plastic worms in shallow water is simple and exciting because you can often see the strike. Use 6 or 7 inch worms Texas rigged with no added weight. Cast the worm with spinning tackle to specific targets of likely cover along a shoreline or shallow flat. Retrieve the worm in short twitches, making its tail squirm and wiggle. The worm itself will sink no more than a few inches between twitches. If you need to get slightly deeper, add a single split shot about a foot in front of the worm. If the bass are being fussy or seem spooked, try casting the worm directly onto the bank or shoreline, and then ease it ever so gently into the water.
The Middle Depths: The middle depths of most lakes (meaning down to 10 or 15 feet) often offer the greatest variety of bass holding structure in summer, ranging from creek channels and submerged timber to weedy rock piles and dropoffs. Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, and split shotting all pertain to worm fishing here, depending on the type of structure as well as water clarity. 1. Texas rigs are basic; use a sufficiently heavy bullet style weight pegged at the worm’s head to allow you to reach and feel the bottom easily. Often this will be a 1/4 or 3/8 ounce weight. Cast along the edge of a submerged creek channel, for example, and allow the worm to sink. Be ready for a strike as the worm is sinking; you’ll be able to detect one by a tap on the line or if the line at the surface suddenly darts in any direction. When the worm hits bottom, retrieve it in short hops with your rod held at about 45 degrees above the water’s surface. Take in slack line between hops. When a strike comes, it might be a violent heavy surge, or it might be a subtle tap-tap felt in the line. In either case, reel down and pull hard. 2. Fishing a Carolina rig in this situation is a bit different in that the worm is separated from the weight by about a 2 foot leader and suspends slightly above the bottom. The noisemakers incorporated in this style of weighting can also attract fish in off colored water. 3. The West Coast technique of split shotting can also be deadly in mid depths, especially in clear lakes with heavy fishing pressure. This is a light line technique; it won’t work in heavy cover. Use a light spinning rod spooled with 6 pound test. Texas rig a neutral toned , 4 inch worm on a light wire size 1 hook. Add a size BB split shot about 2 feet in front of the worm. Cast along the edge of a dropoff or over a medium depth flat, allow the worm to reach bottom, then slowly retrieve the worm. The object is to keep bottom contact with the small weight as the worm trails behind. This takes a careful, attentive touch, as does detecting strikes, which are often subtle.
Deep Structure: 1. Summertime bass often hang deep, especially in large lakes and reservoirs, and a Carolina rigged worm carrying 1/2 to 1 ounce of weight will enable you to cover lots of territory at depths of 15 or 20 feet or more. Fishing a Carolina rig is simple: Make a long cast, let the rig hit bottom, and then drag it back slowly along the bottom. An occasional sharp pulse or two with your rod tip will cause the rigged weight to click against the bead and swivel, and (in theory at least) the underwater noise will cause bass to swim over and see your trailing worm. 2. A new technique called drop shotting, meanwhile is a deadly method of fishing plastic worms straight down to bass in deep water. Drop shotting essentially means fishing a worm as a dropper above the weight itself. Tie on a worm hook, and leave a long tag end (about 2 feet) trailing from the knot. Attach a weight (1/4 ounce, say) to the tag end, and Texas rig a worm on the hook above the weight. Although this rig can be cast and retrieved, it’s generally better to drop it straight down to fish on structure that you’ve found with your boat’s electronics. Once the weight hits bottom, the worm is suspended about 2 feet above the weight. Jiggle and jig the worm slightly, and be ready for a hard yank.
As varied as these techniques might seem, they’re just a few of many possibilities. And while you experiment with others, you might also wonder just how it is that our new age of bass fishing, plastic worms work better than the real thing.
Have fun and tight lines.
what u need to do is count to 10 to 15 seconds after casting with a weight on your lure. in that time it should be at bottom.Answer by Thomas S
rest your line between your thumb and index finger(like your barely pinching it) and you should feel it slide between your fingers when it stops it is on something that is probably the bottom.Answer by girlie5116
Drop the worm straight down giving it all the slack it needs. Count while it is sinking. When the line begins to collect on top of the water, your worm has hit bottom. This will not always be accurate because water depths vary, but you will have some idea of how long it takes. Also, try using a lighter action rod as you will be able to feel vibration easier.Answer by icrashalot
Bass Fisherman gets my vote on this one. He is a walking fishing encyclopedia. I rarely feel the worm hit bottom but watch for the line to go slack instead. My current worm rod is an All Star WR1, 6 1/2 foot, fast tip, medium heavy action. I can feel practically everything the worm bumps into with it.
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