Bass Fishing with Plastic Worms (The Complete Guide)
To bass fish with plastic worms effectively you will need to master two plastic worm rigs. You will need to learn how to fish a Texas rigged worm and a Carolina rigged worm. You will also need 3 different colors of plastic worms like watermelon, green pumpkin and something dark like black or purple.
Couple those colored worms and techniques with your favorite rod and reel combo and you will catch a lot of bass with plastic worms anywhere in the United States where bass live.
Bass are probably the most sought after game fish in the United States. This is probably because they are in just about every body of freshwater that has been around for a year or so.
Within a year or so any new pond will have some bass in them. It always amazes me how they get there but they do somehow.
If you are interested in learning how to bass fish with plastic worms, then this is the article for you. Using plastic worms is probably the most popular way the fish for largemouth bass.
They are extremely fun to catch and often give you a jump or two.
AND they are very good to eat. Fillet and release into the grease.
I am a FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been catching bass in the ponds and canals in South and Central Florida for over 40 years.
In the article below, I will teach you simple tips and techniques for bass fishing with plastic worms. Let's get started.
Watch the video below and get the right rod and reel combo for plastic worm fishing.
To bass fish with plastic worms effectively you will need to master two plastic worm rigs. You will need to learn how to fish a Texas rigged worm and a Carolina rigged worm. You will also need 3 different colors of plastic worms like watermelon, green pumpkin and something dark like black or purple.
Couple those colored worms and techniques with your favorite rod and reel combo and you will catch a lot of bass with plastic worms anywhere in the United States where bass live.
Bass are probably the most sought after game fish in the United States. This is probably because they are in just about every body of freshwater that has been around for a year or so.
Within a year or so any new pond will have some bass in them. It always amazes me how they get there but they do somehow.
If you are interested in learning how to bass fish with plastic worms, then this is the article for you. Using plastic worms is probably the most popular way the fish for largemouth bass.
They are extremely fun to catch and often give you a jump or two.
AND they are very good to eat. Fillet and release into the grease.
I am a FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been catching bass in the ponds and canals in South and Central Florida for over 40 years.
In the article below, I will teach you simple tips and techniques for bass fishing with plastic worms. Let's get started.
Watch the video below and get the right rod and reel combo for plastic worm fishing.
Bass fishing with plastic worms--GEAR and TACKLE
Polarized Sunglasses--Before you even think about catching some bass you will need to invest in a good pair of polarized sunglasses. Polarized sunglasses eliminate the glare on top of the water's surface with stop you from seeing what's under the water.
A top end pair of sunglasses will cost your about $250 and a cheaper pair with glass lenses will cost you around $25. There are even some that are made of cheap plastic that only cost about $5.
I received a pair of $250 polarized sunglasses for my birthday and they definitely perform better than the cheap ones that I always buy. They are much more sturdy as well.
I am a cheap bastard when it comes to my polarized glasses BUT I'm going to have to think long and hard about whether or not to buy the expensive ones once I break the ones I have.
The best lens colors for dirty and murky water are amber, rose or copper. The best lens colors for clean and clear water is blue or gray.
You have to figure out what price range you are willing to spend but polarized sunglasses are a must for bass fishing.
UV Fishing Apparel-- You will also need to stock up on UV performance fishing apparel. These microfiber shirts have built in sunscreen protection to help keep you safe from the sun's harmful rays. They are also moisture wicking to evaporate your sweat more efficiently. This helps keep you cool on those hot fishing days.
Tackle-- If you asked 10 different bass fishermen, "What is the best rod and reel for bass fishing?" you would probably get 10 different answers.
I am going to tell you what I think and you can decide what is best for you. I like to use spinning reels to fish for bass. The reel and rod that I prefer to use will change based on where the bass are.
If the bass are in lily pads or thick grass, then I would use a 7 foot heavy action rod and a reel with a 7:1 gear ratio and 10 plus pounds of drag.
If it was a spinning reel then a 4000 series reel loaded with 50 lb. braided line and a 7 to 8 ft. heavy action rod. A decent 4000 series reel coupled with a decent 7 to 8 ft. medium/heavy rod will run you around $200.
If the bass are in a pond with no thick vegetation or structure, then I would use a 2500 series spinning reel with an 8 lb. braided line and a 7 to 8 ft. medium action rod. A decent 2500 series reel coupled with a decent 7 to 8 ft. medium action rod will cost you around $150.
If you are going to use a bait casting reel then you would want to find one with at least 10 or 11 lbs. of drag and fill it with 50 lb. braided line. You would want to couple that reel with a 7 to 8 ft. medium/heavy action rod.
If you are fishing weed mats or lily pads, then you will need a good amount of drag and a rod with some backbone to get a big swamp donkey out of the vegetation. A decent rod and bait casting reel will run you around $150.
Watch the video below and learn the best baits and lures for bass fishing.
Bass fishing with plastic worms--PONDS and CANALS
Most of the bass that I catch are in ponds and canals. I usually fish with plastic worms or plastic salamanders or plastic frogs. It depends on which one of those is getting the most bites. I will usually start with a plastic worm Texas rigged with an 1/8 ounce bullet weight.
If the bottom of the pond or canal is all junked up, then I prefer a Carolina Rigged floating worm. When you cast your worm and let it sink to the bottom if will stay above the gunk.
There a many worm companies that offer salt impregnated worms that float. I like the purple ones and the pumpkin colors the best.
The key to plastic worm fishing is a slow retrieve. It might take me 3 or 4 minutes to reel my worm back in after a cast. I like to move it a few feet and pause for 15 or 20 seconds. Often the strike occurs right after a pause.
When you approach a pond or canal make sure that your first cast is from 20 feet or so from the water. So many times you will spook a bass that was hiding right where you are planning to fish by the water's edge.
I wrote a series of articles that cover the best tips and techniques for bass fishing during the different seasons of the year. You can click on the article for the season that you are most interested in below.
Winter Bass Fishing Tips
Spring Bass Fishing Tips
Summer Bass Fishing Tips
Fall Bass Fishing Tips
Bass have excellent vision and will see you so make sure to cast few times to the spot by where you are planning on standing to begin fishing.
My favorite cast is one parallel to the shoreline in about a foot of water. It seems to me that most bass are waiting to ambush minnows and small blue gills against the shore line from about 3 feet from shore.
When you are fishing a pond or canal look for some sort of structure to target. It can be a culvert pipe in the water or a clump of vegetation or anything that a bass can set up an ambush point from.
Just remember that bass are lazy. They don't want to chase their food more than a few feet so you have to get your bait pretty close to them to get a strike.
Watch the video below to learn more about using a Carolina Rig and a Texas Rig plastic worms.
Bass fishing with plastic worms--LAKES
Lakes offer a more varied set of environment to catch your bass from. A lake will usually have deep spots, shallow shorelines, thick vegetation areas, areas with wind current, and many more.
Your job is to understand how to alter your plastic worm fishing techniques based on the different environments that you encounter. For instance, you will probably need to increase your weights to fish deeper parts of lakes. The Texas Rig and Carolina Rig will work just fine in deep water but you may want to use a shaky jig with your worms and bounce it on the bottom as you reel it in.
A shaky jig head is just an offset hook jig that has become popular with bass fishermen lately. You fish it just like any other jig. Cast it out and bounce it back to you slowly with a pause every 10 feet or so.
If you are fishing a clear water lake, then a wacky worm rig might work for you. A wacky worm is one that is symmetrical so you can't tell the head and tail apart. They are usually about 5 inches long and all you do is put a hook in the middle of the worm. This is a clear water bass fishing technique.
I have personally never used this technique but I have seen people in the pond behind my house use that rig to catch some decent bass. All you do is cast the worm out and let it sink slowly to the bottom. That's it.
As it descends in the water column it undulates and bass hit it. There is no secret retrieve either. Just cast it; let it sink; then reel it in and cast it somewhere else. The key to this technique is a light line because you are probably using it in clear water conditions. You can get away with a lighter line because you are fishing this technique in open water.
A lot of lakes have spots with thick floating vegetation that you can fish with plastic worms. In this situation you will need enough weight to punch through the vegetation to get down to the bass that are underneath.
Once you get it through just jig it a few times and reel it slowly back up to the underside of the weed mat. A lot of the time you will get a hit just as your worm is about to go back up through the weeds.
Another great place to find bass is lily pads. You definitely want to have a floating worm with no weight for this scenario. A frog will probably work better for this scenario but this is an article about bass fishing with plastic worms.
Just cast your unweighted worm and swim it from pad to pad and get ready to set your hook quickly. Lily pad strikes are the best. This technique works well for cattails and bull rush too.
Watch the video below to learn how to catch a bass.
Bass fishing with plastic worms--RIVERS
You will have to switch up your techniques when bass fishing in a current. The one main thing to remember is that bass are lazy. They will be hiding in some ambush point facing into the current waiting for some unsuspecting prey item to come close.
You will want to always cast up current or perpendicular to the current in this situation. If you cast down current you will most likely come at the bass from behind and spook it. If you spook it, then it might get lock jaw for a while and that does you no good.
I like to use a Texas rigged worm for a river that does not have too much debris on the bottom. You will want to cast your worm as far past the log or where ever you think a bass is hiding and slowly work your worm past the area. Try 4 or 5 times before giving up on a nice looking ambush spot.
If there is a bunch of gunk on the bottom just switch to a Carolina rigged floating worm and do the same thing. You can also use a shaky jig head in this situation as well. Just cast it past where you think the bass are hiding and slowly bounce it on the bottom past them.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in great detail how to catch a largemouth bass. You can read that article by clicking right here.
The wacky worm technique will work well in clear river conditions. Just cast it up current and let it float past the places where you think the bass are hiding. Get ready to set that hook.
Watch the video below for the best time to go bass fishing in Florida.
Bass fishing with plastic worms--DOCKS
Docks are the perfect structure for predatory fish. Freshwater, saltwater, brackish water.... anywhere, docks make perfect ambush points for predators. IF YOU SEE A DOCK, FISH IT!!!
Dock fishing requires good casting skills. You have got to be able to get your worm under the dock. The bass will almost always be in the shady water under the docks. This means that you bait has to get into the shady water under the docks too.
I recommend using an unweighted worm for docks without any current where the bass in the top part of the water column. You can flip the worm up and under the dock and slowly work it back out into the sunlight. It will be hard for a big bass to resist a well presented worm in this scenario.
If the bass are near the bottom, then you can switch to a Texas, Carolina or Wacky jig rig for best results. Just remember slow and steady wins the race. If your race is getting very good at bass fishing with plastic worms.
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