Plastic Worm Fishing for Reluctant Bass
Stick-shaped, plastic worms offer a variety of rigging options and actions that tease finicky largemouth and smallmouth bass to bite. It’s no wonder why just about every soft bait manufacturer has their own variation of this style of bait.
If you walk into your favorite sporting goods store and head over to the soft bait section, you’ll see more plastic worms than just about anything. They come in a several different sizes and every color imaginable, and it seems like each bait maker offers their own “twist” to the classic fish-catching design.
When you see how many variations are on the market, it should tell you one thing: plastic worms straight-up catch fish!
These are some of the most populars bass fishing lures on the planet for both largemouth and smallmouth because they put lots and lots of fish in the boat.
That’s not the entire story though. There’s another reason for the incredible popularity of plastic worms. The answer lies in the fact that they work on just about any bass rigging system. The most popular tactic is to simply wacky rig the bait unweighted. It has a very slow fall, a subtle vibration, and a unique inchworm effect as the bait is pulled through the water.
Another variation of this rig is to place a finishing nail or a “bait weight” in the tail of the worm. This same rig works with Texas rigs which are incredibly snag-resistant and have really unique movement in the water.
Plastic worms also work on the traditional Texas rig, both weighted and unweighted for heavier cover situations.
Four inch models work on dropshot rigs for finesse fishing. Larger five and six inch models work great on Carolina rigs for deepwater ledge fishing.
They also work great on finesse jig heads like the VMC Shakey Head or Half Moon jigs.
Now you can see why it’s one of the most popular soft baits made for bass today. They’re simply a very versatile soft bait profile that can be applied to a wide range of fishing situations.
From subtle glides to twitching temptations, these baits produce results when all others fail. If there was a “magic” bass bait for any condition, it would have to be a simple plastic worm.
