Many largemouth bass anglers regard plastic worms as the single most effective lure for bass. Their long bodies and lifelike action suggest a wide range of prey. But worms are not as simple to use as they appear at first, if you want to fish them correctly and catch a lot of bass.
Plastic worms are a “feel” bait that requires technique and finesse. One key is to make sure they are rigged correctly. The two main styles of rigging plastic worms for bass fishing are the Texas rig and the Carolina rig.
The Texas rig is very simple to tie and use. Slide a bullet weight onto the line with the nose pointed toward the rod and tie on the hook behind it. Now take a plastic worm and push the point of the hook into the head end about 1/4-inch and out one side.
Pull the hook through and turn the hook 180 degrees pulling the eye of the hook down until it reaches the head of the bait. Hold the bait where the bend of the hook meets the bait body and bring the bait up to the point. Push the point through at that area. Now pull the point back into the body of the bait and bury the point just enough to make it a weedless lure.
Using a Texas rig you can stay in touch with structure and move the bait through cover. The Texas rig is one of the best ways of working heavy cover. You can also fish open areas along a bank, creek channel, bridge pilings or rocks as well.
Use as light a weight as you can get away with and still sink the lure. This will give you a better feel as you pull the rig over the structures or bottom. When fishing in a pull-and-pause method a lighter weight allows the lure to fall more slowly. Veteran plastic worm anglers will tell you a bass often hits the lure on the way down.
