| I've caught bass on crankbaits, spinners, | | | | |
| plugs and others. But for me, the most fun is | | | | To set it up just run your line through a |
| plastic worms on a Texas Rig. Don't get me | | | | bullet slip sinker (best sizes are from 3/8 |
| wrong, catching a largemouth bass is catching | | | | oz. to an ounce) and tie the line to a worm |
| a largemouth bass, and I'd gladly catch one | | | | hook size 2 or 3. The twisted ones help with |
| with my mother's toe nail if they'd bite it. | | | | hookset. |
| What's my fascination with plastic worms and | | | | |
| the Texas Rig? | | | | Once you have the hooked tied on, run the |
| | | | hook tip through the end of the head of the |
| Simplicity in changing baits from color to | | | | plastic and push it in about a quarter of an |
| color and style, they are weedless and | | | | inch. Now run the hook tip out of the plastic |
| effective. But there's more to it. I love | | | | bait (belly side) and push the bait up the |
| them because I feel they are more interactive | | | | hook towards the eye. Bury the tip of the |
| and you have to fool the bass more than with | | | | hook into the bait near the abdomen or egg |
| other baits. | | | | sac. |
| | | | |
| If you throw out a worm and just reel it in, | | | | Some people push it all the way through and |
| you are not likely to catch many fish. You | | | | snug the hook tip near the body (on the |
| have to know how to work it and you have to | | | | backside or top). This allows for better hook |
| be very patient in your presentation and when | | | | set, but results in more snags. I like to |
| the fish hits. | | | | push it through just before it breaks out of |
| | | | the back where I can feel that it will pop |
| Sometimes the strike will be like an | | | | through easily. If you do this, be sure to |
| explosion, and you and bass both know what's | | | | set the hook hard to penetrate the plastic. |
| happening. Others it's very subtle. Sometimes | | | | |
| you won't even know the bass has it until you | | | | When you cast the bait, let it settle all the |
| reel in the slack and feel something | | | | way to the bottom and give it several seconds |
| different going on. Maybe there should be | | | | before moving it. Sometimes the longer you |
| slack in the line but it's getting tight. Or | | | | wait, the better luck you will have. Even 30 |
| vice-versa. Or maybe you can see the line | | | | seconds or more. |
| going sideways in the water. | | | | |
| | | | Try different presentations from very slow to |
| That's one of my favorites because you have | | | | moderate (never very fast). I usually give |
| to know the right time to set the hook. Set | | | | the bait 1 or 2 short pumps, let it fall |
| it too soon and the largemouth may not have | | | | while reeling in the slack, then give it 2 or |
| it in it's mouth good. Set it too late and it | | | | 3 pumps. Be careful. Always reel in the |
| might have spit it out. That's exciting; and | | | | slack, but more often than not that's when |
| frustrating. | | | | you'll get the bite. They often hit it on the |
| | | | fall, so expect something every time you |
| The Texas rigged plastic worm (you can use it | | | | bring in the slack. |
| for other plastics, too) is very portable. If | | | | |
| you want to hike around the lake and fish the | | | | You can try longer pumps, like bring the line |
| shore, don't lug your whole tackle box. Just | | | | in 2 or 3 feet then let it settle. Try moving |
| get a worm pouch, load it with a few favorite | | | | it painfully slow, try bouncing it quicker, |
| styles, colors, hooks and sinkers, stuff it | | | | try swimming it very slowly across the bottom |
| in your back pocket and hit the trail. | | | | and whatever else you can think of. When |
| | | | something works, stick with it. |
| Plus, you can change lures on the fly. Once | | | | |
| your Texas Rig is set up, it's a matter of | | | | Use the worms around vegetation and rocks. My |
| pulling the bait off the hook and sliding | | | | best luck has been around trees in the water. |
| another on. No knots to retie. This gives you | | | | Sometimes there will be trees that hang out |
| freedom to explore different colors and | | | | into the water. These are hot spots for bass. |
| styles of plastics in a hurry. | | | | |
| | | | One trick I learned by accident is to cast |
| In a Texas Rig, the sinker is a bullet slip | | | | the Texas Rig out over a weak limb hanging |
| sinker that rides freely on the line with | | | | over the water. You want a weak limb because |
| nothing else between the rod and the bait | | | | you want it to break or collapse when the |
| (the benefit is that the bass cannot feel the | | | | bass hits, and it will. I move that plastic |
| sinker when it strikes). This drags the | | | | worm up and down, in and out of the water to |
| plastic bait down and allows it to bounce or | | | | tease and annoy the bass. If there's one |
| swim along the bottom. | | | | there, you'll get a strike. |