(Editor's note: The following is the latest installment in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
If you grow up in Florida, you'd better learn to fish a Texas-rigged worm in order to be competitive at any level of fishing. It’s not a bad rule for anglers nationwide, either, as the worm has caught fish for generations and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Elite Series champ Bobby Lane has developed a one-two punch for Texas-rigging his favorite worms, and it has led him to checks just about wherever he’s gone. He utilizes two worms – the Berkley MaxScent King Tail and Shaky Snake – and varies them depending on the conditions.
The King Tail has a “nice big thumper tail,” he said. It’s also ribbed throughout its length, which helps it move a lot of water and generate an outsized presence. The Shaky Snake, on the other hand, has a very small tail, minimal ribbing and doesn’t produce a lot of action. Lane said that when fish are aggressive, particularly as the water warms, he wants more action and when the water is pressured, or a cold front comes through and the results are slick, calm, sunny conditions, he wants something less aggressive. He doesn’t hesitate to make the switch because he said that there’s nothing more frustrating than having another angler come behind you and catch a fish that you missed.
“I’ve caught a lot more and bigger fish over the years because I’ve made the right adjustments,” he explained.
Regardless of which worm he uses, he employs the same hook, weight, bobber-stopper, rod, reel and line.
The rod is a 7-foot medium-heavy fast Abu-Garcia Villain, which he pairs with a Revo Premier reel with a 7.9:1 gear ratio and the drag tightened down. He often spools it with 15-pound Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, but unlike many of his peers he’ll also switch to mono on occasion, specifically 15-pound Berkley Big Game.
“The reason I like the mono sometimes is because when you’re pulling it through heavy, heavy cover fluorocarbon tends to get nicked a little bit.”
He uses Flat Out Tungsten weights, which he prefers for their matte finish and because the paint does not chip, usually in sizes between 1/8- and 5/16-ounce. Rarely does he go heavier than 3/8-ounce unless he’s fishing in heavy current or a thick shell bed. His Texas-rig hook of choice is the Trokar Big Nasty worm hook, which is not as stout as a typical flipping hook, but won’t flex, either. “It’s not real thin, but it’s not real thick,” he explained, and he attaches it with a moistened Palomar knot.
No matter which worm you use, or with any soft plastics for that matter, it’s critical that it be rigged “super-straight.” If you hook it too far back or too far forward, not only will it impact the worm’s action, but it may impede your hook-up percentage.
If you want to learn some of the other keys to Lane’s lifetime of worm-fishing success, including his favorite colors in both the King Tail and Shaky Snake, check out his full video, available only by subscribing to The Bass University TV.
