Plastic Worm types?

[TrepMan]

Some of you guys/gals that have been fishing a lot longer then me, what is your thought on the style of plastic worms? When I started bass fishing 8 years ago here in GA, most everyone was using either zoom trick worm style or the Dead Ringer (ribbed worms) type for tx/carolina fishing. Lately we had the Senko/sytle baits, dropshot worms, shakeyhead worms, paddle tail worms... I keep going back to basics with zoom/netbait finesse syle, though I like the new Zoom Shakeyhead worms too.



So, the question - do the bass really care?? Obviously on a lake like Allatoona (called the Dead Sea over here) high pressure lake, throwing something different, even if in color or shape can't hurt. But after a tough weekend fishing it seems the old favorites accounted for most of the fish from reading reports locally - finesse worms in basics like Junebug, Green Pumpkin...



Thoughts? I have gallon zip locks filled with worms I don't use often, and buy 3-4 bags when I find the ones I use most...

 

[TritonGlenn]

I've got hundreds of pounds of plastic in the garage (and in the boat) that I have "just in case".



To name all the styles and colors would take all night.



But when the money is on the line, it's usually something in a shade of green (Green Pumpkin, Watermelonseed, etc...), Red Shad, or Junebug. Most of the time (lately) it's been a Senko style worm. I can't get away from Bubblegum and plain old white in a trick worm or Zoom Super Fluke.



Back in 1994, when I got into tournament fishing in VA, it was the small (4" I think) Berkely Power Worms in Blue Fleck or Red Shad. At that time, a guy in my club was tearing up the tournaments with Slider worms on Slider heads. I countered by trying the Zoom Finesse worms, which worked quite well. I went through my Dead-Ringer and other ringworm type baits phase, and still use them on occasion. I got hooked on tube fishing in the Spring of every year, and loved to dunk a Culprit Moccasin colored worm for quite a few years on every tanic stained colored body of water in VA and NC.



And then that dang-blamed-blankety-blank Senko hit the market.... My fishing has never been the same. :lol:



This year, it's the Shakey head though... and I've got a new worm that I'm using on it. And as Forest Gump says... "That's all I've got to say about that...." :lol:



(Actually, I'll let you all in on the secret... It's an E2 Needle Worm. Check them out here: https://e2baits.com/ Do yourself a HUGE favor and watch the video. Yes, it actually looks like that in the water! Witnessed - personally.) And no - I'm not sponsored in any way, shape, or form by E2. Just found myself a little something "special". Now you all don't go buying them all up! I have to place another order soon!



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Jim B]

The short answer Trep. I think the Bass do care. Its why like Glenn i have a massive plastic collection. I also keep a good assortment in the boat because you never know what your going to need.



I have had days where a ribbon tail worm was the only thing they would touch and days when a sickle tail was the way to go or days a straight tail was the winner etc.



One day comes to mind where i was fishing a tournament. I had been fishing with a 7" ribbon tail power worm in red shad. I was getting bites but they were few and far between. During that day i went into my bad and grabbed a sickle tail 7" power worm in red shad by accident. It ended up being a pretty good accident. Over the next hour and a half i proceeded to load wells with ~15# fish. When i ran out of those worms i went back to the ribbon tail and the bite dropped off instantly. That day tought me that it does make a difference and to let the fish tell me what they want.

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Personally, I don't have a lot of different types of worms.. In my earlier days I exclusively used Mann's Jelly Worms and usually the 9" or 12" model. I was positive that the bigger plastic I used the bigger the fish I would catch. If I couldn't get a hit there were times I would cut those worms down to 4", 5" or 6" long to try and get smaller fish to bite. It's funny that Glenn brings up Sliders on Slider heads because that's what I went to next. Fishing a tourney on the Bohemia River in N.E. Maryland nothing was working for anybody. I took out a pack of Sliders and Heads and had to read the package about how to rig them. I started using a black Slider and almost instantly started catching fish and culled my way to a 17lb. something oz. bag which is pretty darn good for MD. Second place was around 10 lbs. That sold me for a long time though I still fished Mann's worms too. All of that changed one day, I think 4 years ago, when I fished a long creek in MD. with Toxic and I bet you can't figure out what he sold me on? Well, come

on and guess?? Yep, Senkos...And I'm sure Trepper saw them work, maybe for the first time, when he came to visit me and we fished a small lake on Maryland's Eastern Shore and I used Senkos.. I've probably forgotten something but I never did buy a bunch of plastics except for the ones I mentioned.

Looking forward to fishing with Toxic and Trep again some day!



Uncle Billy

 

[Texas Transplant]

I'm weak on facts here, so this is just opinion.



I don't think the bass give a 'crap', as long as the movement of the worm and the basic color don't change much. I'm with Glenn, that there are some basic colors that seem to work very well, others . . . .



I really think that the big difference is that as more anglers use a particular type of soft plastic, that they have faith in, they work. The more they work, the more they 'crow about it'. The more they talk about it, the larger the reputation. Etc, etc, etc.



For awhile, I used zoom trick worms in pumpkinseed. Couldn't catch a thing. Then started catching - regularlly. However, I switched because other colors/styles seemed to be the way to go. When I go back to the pumpkinseed, they still work. Confidence in the bait and sticking with it. So why don't I use them more now - I'm an angler, and a certain amount of 'stupidity' get's in the boat with me every time I go fishing!



Tex

 

[Mini]

each day can be different. best advice is to throw what you have confidence in. if that doesnt work a subtle change in bait shape or style or color can make all the difference in the world. is it worth dropping $300 on new worms? well thats up to you and your involvement in the sport. stick with basic colors, a few bags of each style and experiment. you may be surprised.

 

[Scott R]

I've got a bunch of different brands of plastics in my worm binder...Culprit, Zoom, Yamamoto, lake Fork Tackle, some "store" brands, etc. Whenever I find them on clearance (not just plastics, but any tackle) I'll buy a few of whatever it is. A few years ago, I found some Lake Fork plastics on clearance at either BPS or Cabelas for 99₵ a pack and bought all they had. There have been times that I've thrown the other brands and not had any luck at all with them, then switch to the Lake Fork plastics and wind up catching a few on them. For some reason, the fish around here will hit the Lake Fork plastics when they won't hit anything else. A buddy and I were fishing one day, he was using a Culprit worm in Red Shad and I was using the LF worm in Red Shad. I had already caught 3 or 4 while he had yet to catch one. I gave him one of the LF worms I was using and he proceeded to catch a few fish on them. I wish I could find them on clearance again!!!

 

[Dan J.]

With the amount of pressure on the lake(s) you fish, keep compact, natural, and as light as necessary in with your lure choices. Remember the brush pile I met and showed you and your buddy on Lanier? That pack of worms I tossed on your deck weren't productive due to any reason other than they were very unobtrusive to the fish and looked "safe" enough to eat. Bass under the pressure ours see are another, different layer to the onion of catching them. In addition to all the choices in your thought process on choosing the right soft plastic lure, foremost in your heavily pressured situation should be the presence of your bait to fish that see everything hanging on a peg with hooks. Give'em something that looks like something they eat regularly, not what they see thrown at them regularly. Make sense?

 

[TOMMY RICH]

As long as it's Powerbait