Trick Worms

When I say Trick Worm I mean the original Zoom Trick Worm with no salt.  In my opinion they are one of the most versatile worms ever invented and work as good today as when they first came out.

You just can't have too many different colors of these worms in the boat on any given day.  I'm not saying I fish them on every trip, but they have bailed me out on days when nothing else worked.  Why is this you might ask, well the answer is very simple they can be fished in multiple ways and at multiple depths.  Versatility is the key word here, they are just plain and simple the most versatile worm out there.  Sure there are other finesse worms being made, but they all try and copy the original and most fail badly.

How do I fish Trick worms you might ask and I'll answer it would be easier to tell you how I don't fish them.  In other words I keep coming up with new ways to use Trick Worms to trick bass.  However lets talk about some of these methods.  The first one is the tried and true rig that most all Bass Fishermen use and it may have been the first way you learned to fish a plastic worm.  That would be the Texas Rig.

There is nothing really fancy about the Texas Rig.  It is the worm hook of your choice and a bullet weight.  The size of the weight you use depends a lot on how deep the water is, how big the line you are fishing or how fast you want to worm to fall.  If you want the worm to fall really slow you can use a small split shot or even no weight at all.  If your hook is a light wire hook then you are now fishing a Floating worm.  The Texas Rig can be fished just about anywhere a bass would hang out.  This means you can throw it in just about every type of cover.  However there is one thing that might hamper you as the weight slides up and down the line, the weight and the bait could become separated in some types of cover and cause you to get hung up.  To fix this you can us a bobber stop above the weight or do as us ole times did, stick a toothpick in the hole of the weight and break it off.  This will stop the weight from sliding on the line.

The next rig I use is where these floating Trick Worms really start to shine.  That rig is also one of the old tried and trued rigs that has been around a long time.  It is the Carolina Rig.

 With the Carolina Rig you are basically fishing a Texas Rig where the weight is separated from worm on purpose.  Carolina Rigs can be made up many different ways and use all kinds of beads and brass clackers to make noise to attract the bass.  Personally I like to make up some pre-made rigs like the one shown in the pictures.   The Carolina Rig is meant mainly for fishing deeper water where there are rock piles, stumps, downed timber or drop offs.   They do not do well in standing timber or any type of vegetation but only because of the hang up factor.  If you don't get hung up, it will catch fish.  In general the Carolina Rig is worked slower than the Texas Rig, however I've found at times a faster action will draw more strikes.  As with any bait or rig; play with your presentation until you find what the bass want on that given day and time.

The next method I use to fish Trick Worms is relatively new on the scene.  That rig would be what is called the Drop-Shot.

 The Drop-Shot is a true finesse rig and meant to be fished on lighter lines and spinning tackle.  However from time to time I do break that mold and use a little heavier lines and casting tackle if I'm fishing in places where the lighter line can be nicked easy.  To fish the Drop-Shot you are going to be moving the bait towards you very, very, very slow.  Just when you think you are working it slow enough, show down some more.  You move the bait towards you then stop and shake your rod tip to cause the worm to wiggle and dance.  While you are doing this you want the sinker to remain on the bottom and not move.  This keeps the bait in front of the bass a long time.  After a minute or two of shaking, you then move the bait toward you another foot or so.  I do have to point out that from time to time I also break this mold as well.  This rig can be used to catch aggressive bass that might be suspended a foot or two off the bottom.  If you find a spot that has suspended bass then rig your Drop-shot so the worm will be at the same depth as the fish.  Again play with your presentation until you find something that works.

Next up is also a newer Finesse type rig that hasn't been around too long, or at least it seems like that because I've been fishing so many years.  This rig is called the Shaky-Head.

The Shaky-Head is basically a jig head with the worm rigged in a weedless fashion.  There are a few different types and shapes of Shaky-Head jigs out on the market today.  My favorite is the football style Piglet from Santone Lures.  Which ever your favorite head is, when worked right these are also fish catching rigs.  Basically the Shaky-Head is fished in the same fashion as the Drop-Shot but in different types of cover.  Where the Drop-Shot is a more open water type of rig the Shaky-Head can be fished in and around cover.  They are also a very good choice for fishing under docks and boat houses.

The last rig I'm going to discuss is a combination of two of the above rigs that came to me one day fishing with my son.  I was catching bass one after another on a Drop-Shot while my son was matching me Bass for Bass on a Shaky-Head.  So I said why not just take the sinker off the Drop-Shot rig and tie on a Shaky-Head and with that the Shaky-Drop was born.

Though this rig does not work well in any type of vegetation, it is an open water bass killer.  If you can find fish on a rock pile, stump field, hump or drop off then you can catch them on the Shaky-Drop.  You can even fish the Shaky-Drop with two different color Trick Worms at the same time to fine tune which color the bass are wanting or seeing the best on that day.  Just fish it as I described in the section about the Drop-Shot and you will be putting bass in the boat in no time and it some cases two at a time.

I hope this has helped you some and shown you just how versatile the original No Salt Zoom Trick Worms can be.  If you start fishing them you will likely get rid of a lot of the other worms in your box.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing.