Florida Worms

"We fish soft-plastics down here in Florida religiously," says Terry Segraves about summer fishing in his home state. What he really means are worms. Worms are good producers during summer (post- spawn) all over the country, including in Florida's shallow natural lakes.

Most often Segraves uses a 7 1/2-inch ribbontail worm. "A lot of people shy off from fishing this time of year because it's so hot. They don't think they can fish (other than) early morning and late evening. But you can fish all day long, if you can get that worm down in the holes and pockets where you have a chance of getting bit."

In Florida and many other states, those holes and pockets are in grass. But "you have to find areas closer to deeper water in the hot months," he notes. "Even in shallow lakes, being close to 6 feet of water makes lot more difference than being in 3 feet water."

Once you find those areas with a depthfinder, he recommends tying on "the best soft-plastics you can find." In Florida he likes junebug and red shad, and prefers Culprit worms. A Gambler Florida Rig screw-in weight is essential, he says. "If you have a weight that freefalls, the weight will go down in the hole and the worm will sit on top of the grass. With the screw-in weight, the worm will follow that weight and get down there."

That simple rig is "more successful than anything else you can do down here, especially in the summertime."

The retrieve is "slow," he says. "Pick the worm up, move it 3-4 feet, let it fall back to the bottom and repeat. What you're trying to do is think about that worm falling off that ledge (of grass, into the hole). You want to keep it as close (to the edge of the hole) as you can. Give it a little slack so the worm falls straight down. Sometimes I let it sit for a 5 count before picking it up again."

Notable

> Shiner Holes -- Segraves says he favors bigger pockets in hydrilla. "Until I find them, I'll cover quite a bit of area with a worm fairly fast," he says. He looks for "a spot cleaned out about as big as the hood of a car with grass all around it, like a clearing. The fish hang out at the edges of those areas, looking for baitfish to swim out so they can dart out and grab it. A lot of times I'll go out in a tournament and follow shiner fishermen. They'll clear out a bottom spot. My best BASS finish was fishing shiner holes."

> Gear -- 6' 6" medium-heavy Warrior rod; 6.3: 1 Pflueger reel; 15-pound Berkley Big Game or P-Line (green); 3/16- to 1/4-ounce weight ("you have to go to the lightest weight you possibly can -- it depends on how matted-up the grass is, and how much wind resistance you have"); 3/0 Gamakatsu or Owner hook ("a good strong hook with a good gap in it -- because a lot of times the worm has a lot of plastic and you need to have place for the plastic to go"); 7 1/2- inch Culprit ribbontail worm (junebug or red shad).

> Buzzing Worms -- "In Florida in the hot months, when fish are chasing bait, you can go to big paddletail worms and gator-tail worms and swim them," he says. "Most of the time you fish it on top, like a buzzbait, but let the fish tell you what they want. Sometimes they want it right under the surface. You can create a lot of strikes that way, but you have to see what the fish's attitudes are. Sometimes they're in a chasing mood, and sometimes you can hit them on the head and it doesn't matter."