Entry 44-1
George Cochran's Favorite Lures and When to Fish Them
The 3X Ribbontail Worm
Editor's Note: George Cochran of Hot Springs, Arkansas, a longtime member of Strike King's Pro Fishing Team, has won the BASS Masters Classic twice and has qualified for this World Series of bass fishing numerous times. Cochran has proved over and over again that he's one of the best shallow-water anglers in the nation. Many fishermen consider him the master of finding overlooked places to find fish and using under-utilized tactics to catch bass. Today we're going to talk with Cochran about a time when Strike King saved the day for him.
Strike King's 3X ribbontail worm is one of my favorite baits because it has a lot of action when it falls in the water. As this worm falls, it looks like it's swimming because of the ribbontail. But you don't have action on this worm only on the fall. One of the things that makes this worm better than other worms is that it keeps moving even when you stop the bait. The tail on the 3X ribbontail worm floats up once the lure stops, and this floating-up action triggers a lot of strikes by bass.
I'll start fishing the ribbontail worm in June or whenever the fish start moving away from the bank or into structure. When I fish deep water in the summertime, I'll use a short Carolina rig with the worm. One of the big advantages of Strike King's 3X baits is that they'll float up - even when they have hooks in them, which enables anglers to use a shorter leader between the barrel swivel and the worm. (When I say short I mean about 2 inches of leader from the barrel swivel to the worm).
When you stop the worm, it immediately begins to float up, providing movement vertically from the bottom to the top of the water. For this reason, when you drag the worm into the bass' strike zone and stop it, the bass will see it move and have a longer time to attack. The 3X ribbontail worm has a tremendous amount of action under the water, which you don't see. However, if you use a Carolina rig on this worm and watch it swim in a pool or an aquarium, you can really see the up-and-down effect that this worm produces. My favorite hook to use on this worm is a No. 3/0 hook.
When the 3X Ribbontail Worm Made a Difference
While I was fishing a tournament on Lake Eufaula in Alabama, the bass were holding on green willow bushes out on the spawning flats. Most of the contestants were fishing around the willow bushes that they could see easily. I started fishing the concealed underwater bushes in a little deeper water - maybe five or six feet deep. I was Texas-rigging the worm and catching 15 to 20 keepers a day. In fact, I probably caught 90% of the bass I turned in at this tournament on the plum-colored 3X ribbontail worm, using a 1/4-ounce sinker. Using this tactic, I finished in the top 10 and earned a very good paycheck.
Next: The 3X Finesse Worm
Contents:
- Part 1: The 3X Ribbontail Worm
- Part 2: The 3X Finesse Worm
- Part 3: The Titanium Pro-Model Spinner Bait
- Part 4: The Midnight Special and Midnight Premier Spinner Baits
- Part 5: The Pro-Model Tube
