Big Worms;

Part I

Paddle tail, Jelly, straight tail, Curly tail, Cut Tail, Round Tail, Giggy, Fork Tail, Magnum, U Tail, Slurpies, Sneaky Snake, Baby Huey,  Big Mamas, Flippin Tail, Speed, Shakey, and Slider worms. How in the world does a fellow sort this all out? 

The start should be with consideration for the season.  The spring and cold water temps. Temps are region specific. The Northern states start out with temps in the thirties. Southern states never make it that low. However, the fish relate to the cold respectfully.  The tail action or action of the whole worm needs to relate to the temps. The least amount of action is what you need in colder temps.  Stiff paddle tails, straight worms, or round tail worms should be looked at.  

Case Plastics makes a stiff paddle tail. The front section of this worm is segmented, in inch long sections. That makes it easy to change it from 7” up to 11”.  Texas rigging a Big Mama will drop the worm straight to the bottom. Leaving the bait in that position will allow the worm to tip over very slowly. The Big Mama doesn’t bend much as it tips over. This is a very slow presentation. The worm should be left to settle for over a minute. Then you can try some subtle movements. There are several techniques for altering the paddle tail worm. One is to punch a hole in the center of the paddle tail. This will allow bubbles to come through the hole. You can cut the paddle tail at angles, which will allow a slight vibration.  Both of these techniques are subtle adjustments.   

Now that you picked a cold water worm you can select a color. The basic colors are the ones to start with.  Once you feel comfortable that you will keep using a big worm, it is time to find the colors that will work on specific lakes. I sometimes find that different colors work according to the weather. I have one lake that I know to throw just watermelon red when it is raining. The rest of the time I throw black with blue flake. There is one other time when a very light colored dragonfly hatches it is a light purple. I pitch a junebug color. The slightest differences need to be watched for. Paddle tails will work at other times. A lot of pressure can make the fish more finicky. They may have seen a ribbon tail for example. A different style is sometimes all it takes.

Get The Net

Written By;

Peter Kjenstad