Entry 119-3

Five Great Light-line Tactics with Mike Wurm

Fishing the Finesse Worm

Editor's Note: Mike Wurm, a 51-year-old professional bass fisherman and member of Strike King's Pro Fishing Team from Hot Springs, Arkansas, first fished competitively in 1978 and began fishing professionally on the BASS circuit in 1992. He's had eight top-10 tournament finishes and has competed in five Bassmaster Classics.

Wurm: Another little bait that isn't as much a secret as the Bitsy Pond Minnow is Strike 3X King's finesse worm, which is salty, sinks and is tough as nails. You'll often catch 10 to 20 bass on it before you'll have to put a new worm on your hook. I like to fish this worm like it's a jig. I'll put it on a ball-shaped lead head jig and fish it open-hooked. I'll fish this lure on 8-pound-test line on spinning tackle. I prefer fishing with lead-headed jigs from 1/16- to 1/4-ounce. My favorite size is the 1/8-ounce. I like to have at least a No. 2/0 size hook in the jig that I'll be fishing and prefer to fish with a light wire hook. The best tactic that I know of for catching bass using the 3X finesse worm on a jig head like this is called the Alabama shakey rig. When the jig hits the bottom, you start shaking your rod tip while trying to keep the jig on the bottom and barely moving it forward - all at the same time. This tactic drives those bass nuts!

Another bass-fishing technique that's just as deadly is to fish this jig head finesse worm tactic down banks that have drop-off ledges on them. Cast the jig with the finesse worm on it toward the bank, hop it to the edge of the ledge, and then let the worm free-fall down the ledge. When the worm hits the bottom of that ledge, shake it, drag it, and then pull it off the edge of the next ledge until you fish the shakey rig all the way down every ledge on the bank.

Anytime you locate wood structure standing straight up out of the water you can fish this jig-and-worm tactic right down beside the wood. For instance, if you have any pole-looking timber standing out of the water, pitch the jig and the worm up next to the timber. Then let the worm fall all the way to the bottom. If you're fishing around boat docks, pitch the jig and worm up next to the pylons supporting the boat dock. Allow the jig to free-fall all the way to the bottom. Be sure and watch your line as your lure falls because many times you won't feel the bite. You'll just see the line twitch, and that's when you need to set the hook. Although most of the time I'll be fishing with 8-pound-test Berkley Trilene line, sometimes, especially in clear-water situations, I may fish line as light as 6-pound test.




 

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