Report 4-25-11

[Filthyfisherman]

We had a good day monday. Sunny, Brezzy, WT 81=82 degrees, Water Clarity was bad 1 ft. . Round the dam was chocolate and the mud line seems be moving torwards boat launch..Moon71%, BP 30.01f. Nothing that big, but a lot of fish caught... maybe 20-25 LM bass. All caught on my "Agent Utah" in every color... Burgh worked the best, its black with gold flake..... We were rigging them with a 1/8oz bullet on a 1/0 EWG hook.. Power fishing the banks.


Here's the show I made... Filthyfishrmen Outdoors 4-25-11
http://youtu.be/gqz212kg2M4

[Stan Wright]

Jeff, I'd like to go fish with you guys one of these days... Follow you around as it were... hold your camera, and ask you some questions.... get some close up shots.

Some things that come to mind are:
What rod do you recommend for worm fishing?
What line test?
Close up of how you rig the worm.
Looked like you were moving pretty fast... how do you fish the worm?
Colors, shapes, and sizes of the worms you recommend?
What's it feel like when a bass takes the worm... lure?
How do you know when to set the hook?
Do you really need to set the hook that hard?

I know some of the people who know me are thinking...
Why is he asking those simple questions... he knows how to fish a worm?
But then you have to remember... people of all skill levels read the forum and watch the videos.
I'll only ask you questions that I know you know the answer.
I promise to ask the questions in a way it won't make me look too stupid.

Q: What's a "Texas Rig"?
Better: Jeff, could you show the folks who might not be familiar with a Texas Rig how you do it?

By the way... I loved the "Dog Cam"

[nuki]

I enjoyed watching your movie. Thank you.

[Filthyfisherman]

Would love to go fishing with ya Stan!!! You don't gotta hold any cameras tho... I use helmet cams so its easy.....
1. For worming, I use a 6.11" skeet Reese signature MedHev Wright&McGill rod.. Im not that big fan Skeet Reese, but I am a Fan Wright&McGill company, I saw them a the outdoor show in PA and they always had really nice rods.. MedHev is important to me for feel and hook strength. Long rod means better leverage hook sets. $89 you get what you pay for...
2. I use 8lbs P-Line cxx.... Its mono, with Flurocarbon coating... For worm fishing I prefer cross breed line like this... Because it has the Fluro coating, its strong.. Being mono it still floats a bit which I like, you can see the hits with a little of the line floating.. I have been dropping down to 6lbs test at Wilson.
3. I 'll show my rigging in next show along with these other questions...
4.I move really fast mostly when I fish.... Even Drop Shotting I tend to move and work areas quickly... I like to cover water.. For worming, on this day, I casted to the bank. Let it fall, even strip line before flipping the bail back.
5. I use all my lures.. At wilson its the Agent Utah.. "Yamamotos 2" stick".. I have been changing color up with the color of the lake.. For instance, muddy water use dark colors such as black.. For clearer water I use natural color like my mongolian movement or watermellon...
6.. I ll anwser the strike question on my next episode.. I have a good demostartion of feel for that...
7... I don't know why I set all that hard,, force habit.... In PA your lucky enough to get a bite,,, Its like all out despiration, life or death when you even get a hit...lololol
All great questions!! and your right,, I should show all of this in my show... I'll be out again soon.. Headed to get my company logo redone and quoted for T-shirts.. Be out fishing again tomarrow or next so let me know... We could use another star in the show!...

[Ca_Bass]

Here are some of my plastic worm insights:

I love fishing plastic worms it's usually my go to lure when fishing is tough. And why all off the sudden did almost everybody stop using a texas rig? As soon as dropshotting became popular it seemed almost everybody stopped using a texas rigged worm. Ummm they still work

I know I've mentioned it a few times but I'm gonna say it again because I feel anyone who is serious about plastic worm fishing(dropshot or texas) will benifit greatly from it and should have this in their arsenal! Team Daiwa TD-X finesse rod! Best rod I've used for worms (even better than my steez) it shines with 6-12lb line and bullet/dropshot weights 1/4oz and less. 1/8oz is what I use 95% of the time. It's a casting rod specifically designed for dropshotting and finesse techniques. The rods action really helps throw smaller/lighter lures, and because it's a casting rod you get the increased casting control and acuracy. I originally had it paired with a older team daiwa reel that wore out, then a abu garcia revo (both are good matches). If I had to choose one rod for fishing wilson it would be this one because it also works well for med to small topwaters, med diving cranks, soft and hard jerkbaits and it's even alright with finesse jigs like the bitsybug. It's on the pricier side @ $189 but it's well worth it. I've had mine since 2006 and it's held up very well. I'm going to be getting 2 more in the next few months, for top waters and so I don't have to re rig from drop shot to texas rigs. It also has an extremely comfortable handle which might not seem all that important, but after a 8 to 10 hour fishing day where all I used was my worm rod it really helps cut down on the fatigue in my hands.

I'm a fan of the p-line mono flouro line too and I agree that 8lb line is probably the all around best for worming(camo line is another good worming line). I'll go to 6lb in clear water and up to 12lb in dirty water and if I'm fishing heavier cover. If I feel I need more than 12lb line I go to my flipping or pitching rods that have 20lb flouro or 20/30lb braid. I really love the feel of 100% flouro while worming but I break the line way too often on the hookset.

I think a hard powerfull hookset is super important for texas rigged baits especially with lighter lines because they stretch more, I will reel down and drop my rod as soon as soon as I detect a strike, then I even take a step back as I set to get even more more on the hook set. Also depending on how soft and thick the plastic is a hard hook set is key to getting your hook into the fishes mouth. Roboworm rebarb hooks are awesome hooks for finesse worms and regular ribbontails. You don't really have to worry about ripping the hook out like with trebel hook lures either so pull as hard as you want. I don't set as hard when I drop shot because I use much smaller mosquito hooks and I just nose hook my worms, they hook fish without much power but they will pull out if you pull too hard. You could probably just reel and not set much at all but it has become almost thoughtless for me to set as hard as I can.

Unlike filthyfisherman I will go super slow while I worm. But I usually don't use a worm to cover water, I like to use them in areas I know are fish are holding and holding in
deeper water. A plastic worm is probably best for that, a jig is pretty good too. Fliping and pitching is another good way to really pick apart an area but more so in shallow water, fish will usually bite on the initial fall or during the begining of your retieve so it's a great way to cover water quickly.

Hand poured worms I think are far better than mass produced worm. Except maybe roboworms, but they are esentially a mass produced hand pour.