Hi All;
After reading the replies in the thread “Largemouth Bass fishing question”, what colors and techniques have you found work for you with worm substitutes?
For instance Boheminan chennille type flies, hard hackle worm, eel worm streamer, bunny leach etc.
I’ve tried these on several occasions and not had any luck with them.
Thanks in advance;
Wayneb
In the words of my Father:
“More of that stuff is meant to catch fishermen, than fish.”
:rolleyes:
Hi Wayneb,
I don’t think that there is any material in the fly tyer’s box of tricks that equals the fish appeal of the plastic baits (worms, lizards etc.). Try to find a fly that bass will hold onto for 2-3 minutes—it can’t be done. Bass realize the fake nature of all flies, even wooly buggers in a very short time and expel the fly in an even shorter time, usually before the fly fisherman even knows that the fly was taken. Therefore, I ask, why give up on the plastic. Four inch plastic worms can be fished very nicely with a 7-9 weight rod. Unless you are fishing deep water, 20 feet or more, you can actually outfish the standard spinning tackle and baitcasting rigs with a fly rods. You can also detect the “take” very easily with a floating line line. Try plastic—you will never leave it again. BTW, I usually try standard flies first and then switch to plastic if the fish fail to cooperate. I’m sure others will disagree for a variety of reasons but plastic works on a fly rod. 8T 
Yes, Tom Nixon was the pioneer of this. More recently, Jack Ellis has written about SP’s on the fly rod.
a worm from black yarn around a lead wire base. Just wound the yarn around the shank and the when I got to the bend of it, just twisted the yarn like the example in the fly-tying lessons on this web-site.
Okay, you made a beliver out of me. I will try some 4" worms. Do you use regular worm hooks rigged weedless? It looks like it would be hard to set the hook with a fly rod. How long a leader fishing 0 to 6ft?
You shouldn’t have a problem with the heavier rods that 8T mentions. Jack Ellis covers the tackle and rigging in detail in his book.
Hi CC,
I buy the lightest (in weight) worms that I can find and usually rig them on gold Eagle Claw bait hooks. In relatively snag-free water, fish them with the worm threaded on the hook and the hook point fully exposed. In more brushy water, I bury the hook point in the worm and leave just the very tip of the point exposed a little. If the worm is hard to cast or slips around on the hook, decrease the power of your backcast and forward cast. Open your casting loop by increasing the arch of your cast. Don’t be afraid to trim an inch or an inch and a half from the worm if you are having trouble casting. You really do get use to the extra weight eventually. As far as hooking the fish, the gold hook are very thin and very sharp so they hook the bass well when fully exposed. If you have problems with the buried hook, you can always raise your rod tip and strip strike at the same time. Good luck with the plastic. It really works. 8T
Check out Jack Ellis’ book Bassin’ With A Fly Rod. That’s how I got started. Also don’t be afraid to experiment with all the small plastic lures available including tube lures.
Last year I picked up some of these 3" pre-rigged trout worms that had a 2 hook setup embedded in the worm, frt & rear of the worm, and connected to about a 12" leader. I used a few of these on my 5wt with good results. Caught quiet a few SM bass and crappies luv’em too.
I found using a “light” cast works well so you don’t throw the worm off the hook. I usually like to cast upstream and just let sink slowing and let the current take it for a while, twitching the line as the current takes it, to give the worm some up & down motion as the fish will usually take the worm on the down fall.
Using plastics on a fly rod takes a little getting use too, but it does work. Some people will even glue the worm on the hook for larger plastics.
Mike
Back in the sixties I started fishing plastic worms on casting tackle using the texas rig.In the 70’s I started thinking about fishing them on fly rods.I was given a 12 wgt and so I bought a sink tip 12 wgt and began thinking about fishing plastic worms.I used 22cal.pellets
with a pin hole in them to imitate the slip sinkers and gold wire hooks with their needle sharp hook points to rig the worms on(Texas rig style).I used 6 inch plastic worms.In
the best lake that I fished was excellent spotted bass habitat(lots of gravel points and rocky
drops)On Christmas eve of 1976 I took the 12 wgt and went to L.Martin(in AL),stopped the boat on a gravel point and proceeded to cast that 12wgt with the sink tip 12 wgt and the a
green catalba plastic worm rigged texas style----To make a long story short I caught 26
spotted bass all around 1 to 21/2 lbs.That next day I had the worst case of tendinitis I can
ever recall having----Not from casting that 12 wgt but from fighting all those spots.Now I
am 75 and still fly fishing(went today in fact)and every once in while I break out my 8 or 9wgt and rig a plastic on it.By the way a deadly way to catch bass on plastic worms on either a spinning rod or a casting rod is by throwing 7 inch plastic worms weightless or with a minimum of weight(1/32)referred to as the trick worm technique.
What a story!!! Thanks for sharing it!!!
Tom
I could not stand it any longer and headed to the lake this morning to try some of these plasitc worm tips. I started with a stiff 8wt that was no fun at all. Switch to a 7wt and it felt a little better but I never could get the casting down pat. What does “Open your casting loop by increasing the arch of your cast” mean? I got started late in the morning and the it got hot quick. I may have had a better time if the fish had been biting some. I only caught 1 8" bass.
Tom
Hi again CC,
Believe me please, you will get use to the extra weight of the plastic worm and the heavier outfit. It just takes a little practice and time. Keep your fishing time with the heavier outfits short until you start to build up some casting endurance. Opening the loop is accomplished by stopping back cast a little further than usual and stopping your forward cast a little further forward. Also don’t overpower the cast trying for more distance; find your comfortable distance and stick with that for a while. Time and practice will heal all casting ills. I’m 64 years old and about as buff as the Pillsbury Dough Boy. I’ve got two bad shoulders but I still manage to fish a nine weight outfit with plastic baits for a couple of hours. Good luck. Remember if you aren’t catching the fish on plastic, you wouldn’t be doing well on much else either. 8T
Guess what,
I got up early and hit the water with my kickboat, 8 wt, 4in worms. I did what you told me about the casting. I caught 4 bass. one 13", two 11", and one 6". I actually had fun fishing the 8wt. Something that I never have enjoyed since I got it. I used a 4 ft 17lb test leader and a #6 bait keeper hook ( the kind with 2 little barbs on in). I even worked out a little roll cast. Not pretty but it worked! Thanks for your help and encouragement. I look forward to the 2.5 lber picking up the worm!!!
Tom
Hey CC,
Your success is certainly great news! I am delighted to hear that the plastic is working out for you. Don’t give up on the poppers completely particularly around dawn and dusk. I still give large Gurgle Pops a workout around those times. I also noticed that you are getting a copy of Jack Ellis’ book. You’ll get a lot more good information from him; I’ve reread my copy several times. Keep up the good work and be sure to have fun doing. 8T
If you really like the method, I’d suggest going up a line size or two. Tom Nixon would take an 8 or 9wt rod and cut 6" off the tip to make them a little stiffer for worming. He would match these rods to a 9 or 10wt line. Jack Ellis views an 8wt as the minimum and actually prefers a 10wt for this.
I have a 9wt that I upline with a 10wt line – works great with worms and big flies.
[QUOTE=Eight Thumbs;305899]Hey CC,
I still give large Gurgle Pops a workout around those times.
I tied a dozen large Gurgle Pops last week.
I have to disagree that fly worms do not have the appeal of plastics. I regularly get my limit with Bunny Leeches, and Hard-Hackle Worms. I have noticed no difference in effectiveness. However, obviously the techniques and tactics differ a bit for Flies. But when these are used, fly worms are just as effective as plastic worms, within the limits of the tackle.
So far, it’s been my experience that any color is fine…as long as it’s purple.
Hi Gig,
It hurts me to have to disagree with another warmwater, fly fishin, Southern Boy but I believe that plastic is far better then feathers, hair or braided anything in getting LMB to hold on to the bait. The guys who first fished the early plastic worms used to light and smoke a cigarette between the time they first detected a take and the time they actually set the hook. In fact, if plastic has a flaw, it the problem of gut-hooked fish if you wait too long on the hook set. The texture, scent and taste of plastic is pretty hard to beat. Fish like it and don’t let go! Even a small delay in dropping or expelling the bait gives the fisherman an advantage (particularly the novice fly fisherman). I’m not saying that fish can’t be caught with braided worms, fur whatevers and hard hackle worms. I just don’t think that the fish hold on as long and more skill is reguired in detecting a take—notice I don’t use the term strike. I do agree that purple is a great color :). Take care! 8T
I fish with plastics, too. If you look at any books, videos, or talk to any tournament fishermen that use plastics, they will all tell you the same thing: You need to set the hook just a shade faster than instantly, or the bass will spit it out. And they do, violently. I have wound up with plastic worms in my lap because they spit it out so hard, and fast, and I was too late to hook them. That’s why you use a bait-casting reel and heavy action rod, so there is no delay between you pulling back on the rod, and the hook stabbing them. Micro-seconds count.
And I did say “…within the limits of the equipment”. Yes, you’ll land larger, and more bass with a Bait-Casting Reel and a heavy action rod, with a 7" inch purple Zoom Worm, dipped in Nightcrawler scented Smelly Jelly. But as far as strikes, bass hit worm flies just as good as plastics. The problem with fly worms is that fly tackle, for the most part, is not rugged enough to ‘pull’ a bass from cover before they can wrap you up. And the limberness of the fly rod (necesary to be able to cast), causes a substantial delay between the time you pull back on the rod, and the hook actually stabs into the basses jaw. It will also do so with much less power, due to the cushioning effect of the rods limberness.
I wasn’t trying to say that Fly Rod worms are better. Only that it is do-able to catch bass on them.
Happy fishing.