jigfreak
02-03-2009, 01:46 PM
By: BOB KORNEGAY – Albany Herald
Take a moment sometime to observe an accomplished bass fisherman as he or she fishes a plastic worm or practically any other deeply presented softbait. In most cases, it is like watching the minute hand of a clock, or trying to discern the upward motion of a growing grass blade. A good worm angler is truly a slow-motion fisherman.
Perhaps the most often-heard cliché regarding worm-fishing in bass-fishing circles is, “Just when you think you’re fishing it slowly enough, slow it down some more.” Though much over-used, there is no more accurate truism than this one.
The ubiquitous soft-plastic worm and its lately developed more environmentally friendly counterparts remain bass fishing’s most popular lures. Worms have accounted for more largemouths being brought to hand than most other baits combined. They have caught fish for years and doubtless will be catching fish for generations to come. Just ask most anglers which bait they would carry in their tackle box on any given day if they were limited to but one type of lure. The worm would likely be the stock answer.
Despite this fact, there are still many fishermen who have difficulty catching bass on plastic worms and some (albeit few) who just plain refuse to fish them because of their “lack of production.” In most of these cases, the reluctant anglers have failed because they have simply been fishing their worms too fast. It is a “cardinal sin” of bass fishing that all of us, even the pros, succumb to from time to time.
“On every cast of a plastic worm, your beard ought to grow to shavin’ length before you get the worm back to the boat,” Legendary Lake Seminole sage Jack Wingate once said. “There’s lots of folks who just ain’t got the patience to fish the thing slow enough.”
Many anglers, particularly young ones in the developmental stage, begin bass fishing with crankbaits, spinners, or other baits that traditionally require relatively quick retrieves and very little fishing “finesse.” For them, bass fishing soon becomes a simple throw-it-out/reel-it-back-in proposition. As in, “Let me get this thing back quickly so I can hurry up and throw it out again.”
These same fishermen, in due course, end up approaching worm fishing with the same mindset. They are apt to fish all their soft-plastic baits with the same intensity as they would a Rat-L-Trap or other fast-moving baitfish imitation. In so doing, they fail to catch fish and, naturally, become soured on worm fishing from the beginning.
“It’s a hard habit to break,” said veteran Lake Walter F. George guide Jackie Thompson. “Even after someone learns the proper motion and technique involved in worm fishing, he often still fishes a worm too fast simply because that’s what he’s used to. Proper worm fishing is especially hard to master if you fish an hour or so with another type of lure and then switch to the worm. It’s a lot easier to speed up than to slow down.”
Worm fishing, unlike a lot of artificial bait methods, usually cannot be done instinctively. The angler must concentrate, think, and make sure he fishes every cast methodically. He must feel the bottom as he inches the worm along. He has to move the bait through structure with a slow, natural presentation. Consider those West Coast anglers who developed the soft-bait “stitching” technique several years ago. Using spinning reels, they pull in line with their fingers only a few inches at a time and may take five or ten minutes to make one often-excruciating retrieve.
If an angler does not fish a worm slowly, most bass will choose to ignore the bait and wait for something that moves more like the real thing. In short, the successful worm fisherman needs patience and a willingness to approach his fishing in a more leisurely manner. For most, this is a learned behavior that naturally goes against an ingrained instinct to do all things in as rapid a manner as possible.
Instructional bass angler Gino Martin uses a simple system to teach the basic art of worm fishing.
“First, I tell a beginning bass fisherman not to have his worm already tied on and rigged before we stop at the first fishing spot,” Martin said. “I believe that necessary pause between rigging up and making that first cast and retrieve is very important. It uses up some of that nervous energy that might contribute to fishing the bait too fast in the first place.”
Next, Martin does not allow a student angler to begin his or her retrieve immediately after casting.
“I tell them to count to 30 very slowly, take a few deep breaths, and then pick the worm up off the bottom really gently, without twitching or jerking the rod or cranking the reel handle even one turn,” he explained. “When they do get to the handle-turning stage of the retrieve, I allow them to do nothing more than take the slack out of the line and then slowly repeat the process until they have brought the worm back to the boat. Sometimes I time them, making a retrieve last at least five minutes. We do this until ‘slow’ becomes a sort of state of mind.”
Martin believes the finer points of worm fishing will come naturally once the angler habitually concentrates on fishing slowly.
“All the little twitches and jerks you sometimes need to use must fit into that slow, steady routine,” he said. “Don’t worry about them until you’ve learned to keep that worm in the same general area for an extended period of time. Above all, be patient and practice. It takes work.”
Indeed it does. But, as Martin and thousands of good worm fishermen have learned, the end result is well worth the effort.
http://www.albanyherald.com/stories/20090201sb.htm (http://www.albanyherald.com/stories/20090201sb.htm)
Take a moment sometime to observe an accomplished bass fisherman as he or she fishes a plastic worm or practically any other deeply presented softbait. In most cases, it is like watching the minute hand of a clock, or trying to discern the upward motion of a growing grass blade. A good worm angler is truly a slow-motion fisherman.
Perhaps the most often-heard cliché regarding worm-fishing in bass-fishing circles is, “Just when you think you’re fishing it slowly enough, slow it down some more.” Though much over-used, there is no more accurate truism than this one.
The ubiquitous soft-plastic worm and its lately developed more environmentally friendly counterparts remain bass fishing’s most popular lures. Worms have accounted for more largemouths being brought to hand than most other baits combined. They have caught fish for years and doubtless will be catching fish for generations to come. Just ask most anglers which bait they would carry in their tackle box on any given day if they were limited to but one type of lure. The worm would likely be the stock answer.
Despite this fact, there are still many fishermen who have difficulty catching bass on plastic worms and some (albeit few) who just plain refuse to fish them because of their “lack of production.” In most of these cases, the reluctant anglers have failed because they have simply been fishing their worms too fast. It is a “cardinal sin” of bass fishing that all of us, even the pros, succumb to from time to time.
“On every cast of a plastic worm, your beard ought to grow to shavin’ length before you get the worm back to the boat,” Legendary Lake Seminole sage Jack Wingate once said. “There’s lots of folks who just ain’t got the patience to fish the thing slow enough.”
Many anglers, particularly young ones in the developmental stage, begin bass fishing with crankbaits, spinners, or other baits that traditionally require relatively quick retrieves and very little fishing “finesse.” For them, bass fishing soon becomes a simple throw-it-out/reel-it-back-in proposition. As in, “Let me get this thing back quickly so I can hurry up and throw it out again.”
These same fishermen, in due course, end up approaching worm fishing with the same mindset. They are apt to fish all their soft-plastic baits with the same intensity as they would a Rat-L-Trap or other fast-moving baitfish imitation. In so doing, they fail to catch fish and, naturally, become soured on worm fishing from the beginning.
“It’s a hard habit to break,” said veteran Lake Walter F. George guide Jackie Thompson. “Even after someone learns the proper motion and technique involved in worm fishing, he often still fishes a worm too fast simply because that’s what he’s used to. Proper worm fishing is especially hard to master if you fish an hour or so with another type of lure and then switch to the worm. It’s a lot easier to speed up than to slow down.”
Worm fishing, unlike a lot of artificial bait methods, usually cannot be done instinctively. The angler must concentrate, think, and make sure he fishes every cast methodically. He must feel the bottom as he inches the worm along. He has to move the bait through structure with a slow, natural presentation. Consider those West Coast anglers who developed the soft-bait “stitching” technique several years ago. Using spinning reels, they pull in line with their fingers only a few inches at a time and may take five or ten minutes to make one often-excruciating retrieve.
If an angler does not fish a worm slowly, most bass will choose to ignore the bait and wait for something that moves more like the real thing. In short, the successful worm fisherman needs patience and a willingness to approach his fishing in a more leisurely manner. For most, this is a learned behavior that naturally goes against an ingrained instinct to do all things in as rapid a manner as possible.
Instructional bass angler Gino Martin uses a simple system to teach the basic art of worm fishing.
“First, I tell a beginning bass fisherman not to have his worm already tied on and rigged before we stop at the first fishing spot,” Martin said. “I believe that necessary pause between rigging up and making that first cast and retrieve is very important. It uses up some of that nervous energy that might contribute to fishing the bait too fast in the first place.”
Next, Martin does not allow a student angler to begin his or her retrieve immediately after casting.
“I tell them to count to 30 very slowly, take a few deep breaths, and then pick the worm up off the bottom really gently, without twitching or jerking the rod or cranking the reel handle even one turn,” he explained. “When they do get to the handle-turning stage of the retrieve, I allow them to do nothing more than take the slack out of the line and then slowly repeat the process until they have brought the worm back to the boat. Sometimes I time them, making a retrieve last at least five minutes. We do this until ‘slow’ becomes a sort of state of mind.”
Martin believes the finer points of worm fishing will come naturally once the angler habitually concentrates on fishing slowly.
“All the little twitches and jerks you sometimes need to use must fit into that slow, steady routine,” he said. “Don’t worry about them until you’ve learned to keep that worm in the same general area for an extended period of time. Above all, be patient and practice. It takes work.”
Indeed it does. But, as Martin and thousands of good worm fishermen have learned, the end result is well worth the effort.
http://www.albanyherald.com/stories/20090201sb.htm (http://www.albanyherald.com/stories/20090201sb.htm)