Beginners Guide to Fishing

The rigs and retrieves
for plastic worms.

There is no other lure that is as basic a tool in a tackle box as the plastic worm. Other lures have come and gone, but the plastic worm remains a steadfast tackle box favorite. Even the fishing pros still win tournaments with the reliable plastic worm. It's versatility is unsurpassed. In heavy cover or muddy water and bad weather conditions, the plastic worm has proven it's effectiveness to catch lunker largemouth and trophy smallmouth bass, stripers, and many other big game fish time and time again.

The types of plastic worm rigs

Using different amounts of weight and rigs make the plastic worm a great lure for many fishing conditions. Rig the worm with just a light wire hook (no weight) over shallow grass, stumps and other cover. Use the Texas rig for bass or other game fish that are hanging in cover. For deeper water, use the Carolina rigged plastic worm.

Texas rig

Slide a sliding weight onto your line then tie on your worm hook. Stick the hook point through the head of the plastic worm and bring it out of the worm just enough past the first entry point to hold the hook in the worm. Pinch the head of the worm and reinsert the hook into the belly of the worm pulling the hook point completely through the worm. Then gently pull the hook point back into the worm until the hook point is covered by the plastic. Your worm should be on the hook straight and look natural as well as now being weedless.

Retrieving the Texas rig

Cast your plastic worm past your intended target. Hold your rod in the ten or eleven o'clock position as the worm sinks. When it hits bottom, lower your rod to nine o'clock and reel in the slack. Slow and steady, return the rod tip to the 10 or 11 o'clock position to move the worm smoothly with a gentle crawl type action. Gently pop the rod tip to ten or eleven o'clock to make the plastic worm hop. Sharply returning the rod to ten or eleven o'clock gives your worm a bigger hop.

Carolina rig

Slide a heavy egg or worm sinker onto your line, then slide on a plastic or glass bead, and attach a swivel to your line. Tie a leader line ( a shorter piece of line, 6 to 12 inches depending on conditions, with a hook on one end and attached to the swivel on your main line on the other end) to the swivel. Attach worm to hook in the same manner as you would the Texas rig.

Colors of plastic worms

Purple, black, and blue are good basic colors to use. In clear water use light and more translucent colors such as blue, strawberry, or melon. Flake colors also work well in clear water fishing. For murky water, darker colors of plastics such as black and purple do well. When viability is low, try worms that have a dark body and a hot colored tail like chartreuse or orange.