Bass Worms

[FishnDave]

I've tied a few of these over the past couple of years for Largemouth Bass, but really haven't used them much yet. Blue/Black is supposed to be a good color combination for bass, so I tied this one up last night:


For you guys that DO fish these (or something similar), do you have better luck with heavier versions hopping along the bottom...or lighter version swimming shallow/mid-depth?

When I used to spin-fish for bass years ago, I would have pretty good luck with plastic worms on 1/16 oz jigheads...just heavy enough to hop, but light enough to slowly swim it as well.
Also...has anyone ever experienced issues with the chenille "unravelling" on these? I DID melt the end of it...

[fishing-phil]

I tied something VERY simular to this a couple years ago also... I never fished it much either, or ever I don't think. I was going along the line that it resembled a rubber worm, I think this will have better action though. I think it would work. I sometimes fish rubber worms on the bottom, and sometimes I throw them completely weightless... it's up to the fish. Wish I could tell you more about it, but I'm glad you posted this. You can see mine at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...5323203&type=3

[Uncle Jesse]

I have a couple of worm flies that have not been used the one I like the looks of the best is made of two strands of olive catcus chennile tied at the tips with a red section of marabou, my version of a firetail on a plastic worm, then furl the strands to the length you like; secure to the hook and wrap forward; tied off and add a black hen hackle.

The only way I have found to keep medium or larger chenille from unraveling is to furl two pieces together.

[greenlantern]

I've never used a fly like that, or tied one. I have fished unweighted plastic worms and the bass usually hit on the fall (DUH) fairly close to the surface 2 or 3 ft. down. I have another question though, how deep is deep for a fly? I fish jigs and worm rigs 15 or 20 feet, but that seems unworkable for a fly.

[fishing-phil]

I had the same thought... and that has A LOT to do with why I never fished them. On a spinning reel you can be more versitle as far as how deep you want to fish... I don't see you being able to effectively fly fish with one of these any deeper than maybe 6-8ft??? I'm deployed right now but when I get home I'm planning a smallmouth trip in MO somewhere... Does anyone have any ideas or thoughts on using them for smallmouth?

[Uncle Jesse]

I think, and it has been shown, worm like flies can be effective for bass. Unless you like chunking lot of split shot and have a lot more patience than I do, you are going to need to target the bass when they are shallow. But along weed lines you should be able to catch some fish, I think I still have a foam floating snake head to be used with a plastic worm that could be made into a fly. I have never fished streams for smallmouth but I would think drifting them along seams would be effective.

[Buddy Sanders]

Dave,

I'm primarily a bass fisherman. I started with conventional gear, fished tournaments for many years, and only in the last twenty years discovered the long rod.

As fly tyers, we really get hung up on a how fly 'looks'. Probably the trout fishing roots and all that 'match the hatch' stuff. There is something about how a soft plastic worms moves in the water that makes it so efffective. It's a combination of mass, stiffness to softness ratios, water displacement, and a few other intangibles that make it the number one bass lure ever created.

While we can tie a fly to look like a plastic worm, our efforts seldom work as effectively. Primarily because our restrictions on weight and materials used mean that the fly doesn't move like the worm.

We can get close, though, but flies tied to look like worms haven't proven to be an effective substitute for me. What I always wanted was a fly that 'caught the same fish'. I've tied and fished several dozen versions of such flies, and all have been disapointing at best.

My search finally lead me to examining the way the worm moves in the water, and then trying to get a fly that 'duplicates' that movement. Mainstream bass anglers fish soft plastics rigged many different ways, so several different ties were required to match the methods used.

The easiest one for me to match was the standard 'texas rigged' worm. With a bullet weight of modest weight this bait lifts and glides as it falls on the standard 'lift the rod, let it fall, take up the slack' retrieve. Most, if not all, of the strikes on this rig come as the worm glides back to the bottom. To get the same action, and the same fish, a Clouser minnow fished in the same way will work as well, often better. It's restricted to shallower waters, maybe down to ten feet, floating line and long leader. You have to use the rod lift/drop retrieve, though, or it won't work. As with the real soft plastic worm, strikes come on the fall.

The carolina rig, with it's heavy weight bottom hugging glide required a different approach. Full sinking line, unweighted fly. For this, I use a Semi-Seal leech. Size 2 to 6, 4x long, no weight. This fly is slim in the water and it's by far my most effective bass technique.

For matching the weightless plastic worm with it's glide and slow fall, I use a floating line, long heavy mono tippet, and a bead head leech. The heavy tippet keeps it falling slowly and prevents the bead from dragging it head first.

We are at an advantage with the suspended soft plastic techniques like the shaky head or swimming worm simply because we can better control the depth. The standard 'strip-strip-strip' retrieve matches the up and down pattern of these techniques perfectly, and with the appropriate type of line we can outfish most conventional anglers with a lightly weighted clouser.

I'm still working on the vertical presentation shallow water/target fishing presentation. Bass take these baits on a slack line as they fall, and the soft plastic makes them hold on until you figure out you've been bit and can set the hook. Most flies aren't that lifelike in feel, and a bass can expell a fly pretty quickly. I have a weighted spun deer hair and rabbit strip fly that seems promising, but I've not fished it enough to be confident of it yet.

As far as depth goes, I can use a fast sinking line and a leech effectively down to about 20 feet. I just don't fly fish any deeper than that.

The only time a fly tied to look like a worm worked well for me was in a seldom fished farm pond in Alabama. I think the fish there would have eaten anything.

Good Luck!

Buddy

[FishnDave]

Buddy....your post is a "KEEPER"!
Thank you for sharing your extensive insight and experience.
I'd be interested in seeing some photos of your top patterns/colors.

A local fly angler that sometimes targets bass also likes Clousers (natural colors) in clearer deeper waters, and Deceivers (brighter colors, especially yellow) in shallower murkier waters.
It sounds like that although these fly rod "bass worms" look pretty cool, they may not be very effective. Or at least not as effective as some other options.

Another option might be (for those willing to push the acceptable boundaries of fly-fishing) to try actual plastics on fly gear. Seems like they might be difficult to cast due to their weight, however.

[quivira kid]

Buddy, thanks for the post! Lots of excellent things to chew on there...

[greenlantern]

I have used lightweight plastics on both my 5 and 3 weight rods with some success. These baits are ones intended for ultralight spinning and are very small.