Floating Worm Basics

What's so hard about fishing a floating worm? Just cast it out, let it fall and twitch it a little bit, right? Not so, says Jay Yelas, who calls a floating worm "a very misunderstood bait."

Fall and Spring

Yelas likes fishing floating worms shallow (5 feet or less) during spring and fall, but adds that he doesn't view it as a go-to bait.

"I don't fish a floating worm much unless it's really tough," he says. "When bass are shallow, I'd much rather try flipping or fishing a spinnerbait. But I've seen times, especially in the fall, when you can't catch them that way."

Avoid Wind

If the bass are being finicky, it might be because conditions are tougher than normal. Yelas notes that a floating worm "works best when there's no wind. If it's windy, use a spinnerbait."

Tough conditions might be a good reason to heed Yelas' next piece of advice: concentrate on bass hangouts, meaning cover. Examples include aquatic vegetation, willow trees and boat docks.

The Importance of Cadence

Possibly the most misunderstood part of fishing a floating worm is cadence, he says. "The whole key to fishing a floating worm is learning how to walk the bait. You have to learn how to do that."

Instead of random twitching, you want to impart a Spook-like rhythm -- a regular left-to-right surface or subsurface movement. "You have to get that cadence going," he says.

Pause as your bait goes by the cover, and hang on. Strikes can range from dead weight, to a tug, to a flash and boil.

Yelas' Rig

Yelas floating worm rig starts with a Berkley Power Floatworm. His favorite color is bubblegum, followed by Merthiolate.

"I never weight it," he says. "I just use a 4/0 Gamakatsu offset worm hook."

For years he used 8-pound mono, but now prefers Berkley Fireline. He uses 20- pound Fireline, which has the same diameter as 8-pound line, or 14-pound Fireline which has the diameter of 6-pound mono.

In explaining the change, he says that with Fireline, "if you're fishing around any type of wood, you'll never lose the fish."

Rounding out his rig is a Team Daiwa 6-foot 3-inch finesse rod and Daiwa 3000Z tournament reel.