“ there ’ s just no time of year that a bass won ’ t bite a worm , so it ’ s always in my aresenal .”
when
Across the country , generally , the Texas rig is best from April through June , but it ’ s truly a great year-round bait that you can rig up in a ton of different situations . There ’ s just no time of year that a bass won ’ t bite a worm , so it ’ s always in my arsenal in one form or another .
ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL HOEWELER where
The Texas rig is made for cover . What makes it special is that you can throw it into brush or clumps of grass or almost anywhere else without getting hung up . Of course , you can throw it in open water , too , but it really shines in cover .
tackle
I use Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon for my worm fishing . Fourteen- or 15-pound-test is about average . Occasionally , I ’ ll drop down to 10- or 12-pound in clear water with light cover , and I ’ ll go up to 17- , 20- , or even 25-pound-test in dingy water or extremely heavy cover .
I do most of my worm fishing with a Dobyns Champion XP 683C . That ’ s a 6-foot-8 medium-heavy casting rod . If I need to go heavier , I use the Champion XP 705C ; it ’ s a magheavy 7-foot model . These rods are shorter than a lot of anglers use , but I find the shorter length helps me keep my bait in the cone of the bow transducer and also keeps me from lifting the bait too much off the bottom when I work it . That can be really important .
My reel is a Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Signature baitcaster with a 6.8:1 gear ratio . There are faster versions of that same reel , but I like the power I get with that speed .
lures
My all-around pick for a Texas-rigged plastic worm would have to be a 6- or 7-inch straight-tail model . That style is very versatile , and that size has probably been responsible for more of the bass I ’ ve caught on a worm than any other . My favorite is the 6.75-inch Yamamoto Long Pro Senko .
I ’ ll often use a ribbontail worm around grass , and I like a white , yellow or orange tail for that application . A cut-tail worm is a winding-type bait that I use when I want to cover a lot of water or I ’ m trying to locate bass . I don ’ t fish a paddletail worm much anymore .
When it comes to colors , I probably use green pumpkin about 50 percent of the time . It works just about everywhere . I carry six or seven colors in each of those worm styles . In addition to green pumpkin , my other favorite colors are watermelon red , junebug , purple , red shad ( particularly in Florida ) and red bug or black neon ( in dark water ).
I ’ m picky about my worm hooks , and I really like a thindiameter wire hook . Diameter is everything when it comes to hook penetration . My favorite Texas rig hooks for worms up to about 7 inches are the straight-shank Roboworm ReBarbs in 3 / 0 and 4 / 0 . For larger worms , I use the Gamakatsu G- Finesse Hybrid Worm Hook in 2 / 0 all the way up to 6 / 0 . The G-Finesse has a wider gap that handles bigger , thicker worms well .
My slip sinkers range from 1 / 8- and 3 / 16-ounce for shallow water and up to 3 / 8-ounce or so for deeper water . Probably 50 to 60 percent of my Texas rigging is done with a 1 / 4-ounce tungsten sinker . After years and years of experience , I know what that 1 / 4-ounce sinker feels like at virtually any depth and coming through any kind of cover . Getting dialed in with your gear is a real key to understanding what your lure is doing at all times .
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 55