If you live in the northeastern part of the USA, I can almost guarantee you that you’ll catch a bass if there are any in the water you’re fishing! Pretty bold claim, I know. But almost 40 years of experience have taught me some really great bass fishing tips, and I’ll share some of them with you here.
I am a wormer! It’s true – I’ve tried to deny it, but the truth is that if given a choice, I’ll choose a rubber worm to fish with almost all of the time. If you could see my tacklebox, you’d probably laugh. I have so many rubber worms, grubs and crayfish in there that the box hardly closes. And it’s big box too! One of my friends is almost as bad as I am. We’ll get together and exchange worms – telling which ones have worked and where. I’m afraid it might be contagious – as my older son seems to be turning into a wormer as well!
OK – so you know I’m a wormer, but what’s this guarantee for catching bass about? Well… through my years of bass fishing (with some pickerel thrown in too) I’ve found what seems to be the best rigging for a worm to catch bass in this part of the country. Rigging? Yes, you know – how you go about placing the hook into the rubber worm. I’ve seen and tried the most popular ways but my own design seems to work the best. I call it the “Bass Krusher Rig”!
I start with a weedless hook about 2/0 size. (I use the hooks that have the wires that either hang out past the hook or actually clip onto the hook.) Poke a hole into the worm at about 1/2 an inch down from the top and then run the hook through the center of the worm. Once the entire straight shank of the hook is in the center of the worm, bring the crook part of the hook back out of the worm. Next, (and this is where it gets tricky) you run the eyelet of the hook back up through the center of the worm until it pops out of the top of the worm . Then you attach a brass snap-swivel to the hook’s eyelet and pull the assembly back down into the center of the worm. Leave just the top ring of the snap-swivel showing so you can tie your fishing line to it. Next, pull the weedless wires over the hook (this prevents snagging while fishing with it) and you’re ready to go. The advantages of this type of rig are that it moves the hook further down the worm, allows the worm to be fished anywhere without snagging and it adds a metallic flash to the worm (from the snap-swivel used) which helps to catch the bass’ attention.
If you’d like me to put up a few pictures or do a quick video to give you a little more detail for this rigging, just leave me a comment and I’ll try to post them for you.
Edit: Since I’ve had a request for some pictures – you can view the actual rigging by clicking here:
Most bass grab the worm from the back end – so the further down the worm you place the hook, the more likely you’ll be successful when trying to hook the bass. The Bass Krusher Rig will place the hook closer to the center of the worm than most of the popular riggings. It allows the worm to move naturally through the water and keeps the crook of the hook out of the worm which makes it easier to set the hook and catch the fish.
Hey, give my “Bass Krusher Rig” a try and let me know how it works for you. Here in the northeast, our lakes and ponds are shallow, so I mainly use this rig with no weight. I use a light rod/reel combination which allows me to cast it as far as I’d like. I let it slowly sink after casting and twitch it as it is retrieved slowly. The bass just can’t seem to resist this!
If you like this bass fishing tip, check out the 100 best freshwater fishing tips on the right of your screen – there are some really great tips in there as well!
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