By Jonathan LePera
Special to BassFan
Fishing a worm is all Bassmaster Elite Series angler Keith Combs has ever known.
Since he was 13 years old, forever calling Texas his home, he learned that if he could crank and fish a big worm, good things were soon to follow.
Time of Year
The period of time covering the post-spawn through November means Combs has a big worm tied on. It’s his favorite tool any time he needs to fish an area precisely.
From a brush pile to a specific drop off, to a grass point, he can fish it fast or slow.
“Offshore structure is where a big worm is going to excel,” said Combs, who adds that ultra-long casts are key to stay off the fish and his bait in the strike zone longer.
Combs has great confidence in the worm, but ultimately it’s up to the fish, so he’ll have a ½ to 1-ounce Strike King Structure Jig tied on to provide a 1-2 punch.
“If you’ll experiment, day to day, there will be one that they prefer over the other but that can change day to day,” he noted.
Tech Savvy
Combs spends plenty of seat time at the console studying his Humminbird 1199 and Onyx 10 units because he estimates 98 percent of the spots he’ll fish a worm on can only be found with electronics.
He uses LakeMaster mapping to find the bottom contours as well as to search for cover and of course, fish. Two units of each the Humminbird 1199 and Onyx 10 are utilized for mapping, down and side imaging, and 360 imaging.
The Worm
Combs rarely fishes worms longer than 10 inches because it takes fish longer to eat it and he’ll have to let it run with the bait, possibly wrapping him up in cover. The need for a larger hook and heavier line means hook penetration will be much more difficult on the hook set.
Mostly, Combs fishes an 8-inch Strike King Recon Worm, which is a ring worm that boasts a big tail and profile, but its thin body allows for great hook penetration. He’ll mix things up with a Strike King Rage Tail Thumper Worm because despite being larger, its tail provides a subtle action. He’ll fish these worms with Owner Off-Set worm hooks ranging from 3/0 to 5/0.
He’ll only opt for a larger worm, like a Strike King Bull Tail Worm, when he’s fishing a heavily pressured lake where upsizing could trigger more bites.
In clear water lakes like Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn his color choices include red bug or plum apple whereas plum, blue fleck, and candy craw excel in colored water like that in the Tennessee River.
The Wow Factor
Growing up, he’d always been taught to use the lightest sinker possible. While guiding on lakes like Falcon and Amistad almost daily, he learned that by upsizing the sinker by 5/16- to 3/8-ounce more than others, the worm moved abruptly along the bottom triggering bites as it clanged along the bottom.
When fishing 6- to 8-inch worms, he’ll fish a black Strike King tungsten 3/8- to ½-oz in 15 to 25 feet where normally a ¼ to 5/16 oz. weight is the norm. For 10-inch worms or larger, a ½- to 5/8-oz. weight is the norm and ¾ if he’s fishing really deep. He’ll always use a rubber peg to hold the sinker tight to the worm.
Seal the Deal
“When you feel the bite, give it that second to take the bait just a little bit deeper, because he’s going to bite it and then he’s going to finish it off and that will be it,” he said. “At that point, I’m reeling and I never stop reeling, I reel the whole way through the hook-set.”
He’ll use a long sweeping hook-set to drive the hooks home. While it doesn’t have to be that powerful, you have to be able to pick up all the line.
Geared Up
> Big worms (8 to 10 inches): 7’6” medium-heavy Power Tackle Keith Combs Signature Series big worm/jig casting rod, Shimano Curado casting reel (7:1 gear ratio), 15-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line.
> Small worms (6-inch cutter worm): 7’3” medium-heavy Power Tackle Keith Combs Signature Series Texas rig/finesse jig casting rod, same reel, same line.
