How to Fish Finesse Worms For Bass Fishing
Finesse Worms For Bass Fishing is the most misunderstood technique on the water. Anglers like to use the phrase, but they don’t understand what it means.
The goal of this guide is to help anglers understand how finesse fishing can complement your normal routine and actually help you catch some Bass when they’re not biting.
For me Finesse Worms For Bass Fishing is my choice for the following techniques.
How to fish:
- 1 THE SHAKY HEAD: A shaky head jig, rigged with a straight-tail finesse worm, is the No. 1 co-angler bait in the nation. I guarantee you there’s nothing better you can throw when you’re in the back of the boat, and a lot of times when you’re in the front. This setup will catch bass when nothing else works. Rig it straight so that your worm tends to drift upward, away from the weight of the shaky head. Shake it around a little bit and occasionally lift it off the bottom. This rig is good anywhere there’s a relatively clean, hard bottom — shallow or deep, clear or muddy water.
- 2 DROP SHOT: This is an excellent rig if you’re fishing around docks or heavy brush. My standard presentation is to rig Texas style with a No. 2 Mustad Drop Shot Light Wire Hook and a 5-inch worm. That’s a good compromise between making a weedless bait and getting the action you need. For smallmouth, especially in the Great Lakes, a wacky rig seems to do a little better. I hook the worm through the egg sack.
- 3 UNWEIGHTED TEXAS RIG: In the spring I frequently toss a Texas rigged straight-tail worm up in the shallows. Hook it through the head. Twitch it along much like a soft plastic jerkbait. Allow it to sink from time to time if the bite’s especially tough. At one time my best colors were bright — yellow, white or bubblegum. Recently, however, I’ve had better success with natural colors — watermelon and green pumpkin. I’m not really sure why. Go with a 6 1/2-inch worm. You want all the action you can get.
- 4 A WACKY RIG: This one’s as old as dirt, and about that simple. Nevertheless, it catches fish today just like it did in the past. I like to hook my worm just a little bit up from the center so that the head end is shorter than the tail end. That seems to generate the best action, for me anyway. This is a target rig that’s at its best during, or immediately after, the spawn when the water’s clear and the bass are oriented toward specific pieces of cover or structure. Get it as close to bushes or clumps of grass as you possibly can. Then twitch it along for a foot or so before you let it die.
Where to fish:
My favorite targets to use finesse worms is around woody cover like laydowns, brush piles, stumps and cypress trees. I also like to pitch them into tall bladed grass like tules. They are very effective using them on the outside or vegetation and the edge of rock piles and rip rap banks. These baits attract big bass so make sure the bait is rigged correctly and use the right gear. If not, you risk losing the fish of a lifetime.
Equipment:
Now let’s talk about gear. The big misconception is that you need to go out there with a child’s rod and throw ⅛ oz jigs into the water until your arms fall off. That is a myth. You can still use average-sized tackle for finesse fishing. These are my recommendations. They’re not gospel, but this is how I do it.
For your rod, I’d go with a medium action 6.9-foot spinning rod. I also do a lot of finesse worm fishing with a 7-0 to 7-6 medium heavy bait cast rod.
For the reals, I match accordingly to rod type I choose.
Tip:
If you’ve been at the finesse fishing game for a while, pay attention the subtle little changes to the gear used moving from one technique to the next. And notice to overall attention, Lee gives to using small, lightweight baits. The lighter the presentation, typically the more realistic it is in the water. And when fishing finesse, that realism is often the key to getting bit in high pressure, high visibility situations.
If you’re not using this versatile big fish catching bait, you are missing out. finesse worms can be used in a variety of situations and are effective almost all year. They are exceptionally effective during the pre-spawn when bass are looking for an easy meal. Tie one on and give it a try this year, you will be glad you did.
“Catch The Dream!”
