Using Worms For Fishing - 3 Tips That Will Help You Catch More Fish

Worms are probably the most readily available and popular forms of bait that is available to fishermen. Ever since fishing began, human beings have been using worms as bait, and with good reason. Worms are effective when used as bait for virtually all species of freshwater fish and therefore continue to be employed by generation after generation. I am obviously refereeing to live fishing worms such as night crawlers, red worms, etc. and not plastic worms such as the ones that are used by large mouth bass fishermen.

What's interesting about the fact that worms are such a popular bait for fishing is that most anglers don't use worms as effectively as they could when they are fishing and therefore miss out on a ton of opportunities. I have been using worms for fishing for more than 20 years and in that time have learned many tips and tricks that have helped me to take my "worm fishing" to the next level. Below I will list 3 of these tips, all of which will help you catch more fish anytime that worms are being used as bait.


Use Lively Worms - Worms that are "lively" will always outperform worms that are dying and therefore not as lively. This fact is true whether you are using an entire night crawler or red worm or you are using a large fishing worm that has been pinched in half. In order to keep your worms "lively" they should be stored in as cool/dark environment as possible and never in a hot environment.

Rig The Worm Naturally - This is where many anglers get "off track" when it comes to using worms for fishing. Many anglers think that simply wrapping a worm around a hook is good enough, and while this might fool your smaller, more inexperienced fish, it is by no means the most effective way to rig a worm for fishing. Firstly an entire worm (such as a night crawler) should rarely be used when fishing, rather the worm should be pinched in half to make the worm a more manageable size for the fish. Secondly the worm should be rigged in an outstretched and natural manner the way it appears naturally. By doing these two things your bait will appear much more realistic and natural to the fish you are attempting to catch and thus you will receive more bites.

Use An Effective Carrier - This tip applies mainly to fishermen who like to wade and fish with worms. In this case, carrying your worms while fishing is a bit of a pain in the butt. A bait bag should be used, which is simply a small pouch that clips to your fishing vest, and the worms are added to while you are fishing. This way your bait is always "at your fingertips" ready to be used, which saves a ton of valuable fishing time while you are on the water.



Add these simple tips to your fishing repertoire and the next time that you are using worms for fishing you will experience more success, I guarantee it.


Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing a website focused on river and stream fishing with a focus on fishing for trout. He has more than 25 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and has spent much of that time fishing in small rivers and streams.

The Best Live Worm Carrier - http://www.jrwfishing.com/bait_pouch.asp

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trevor_Kugler

Continue Reading →

Using Worms For Fishing

If you ask even the most inexperienced fisherman, what the best bait to use for fishing is, what do you think that their answer will be? Without really thinking about it you would automatically say a worm, am I right? Of course you would say that worms are the best (or at the very least the most popular) bait that can be used while fishing and this is with good reason. Worms, whether you are talking about earth worms, night crawlers, or red worms, have always been known as a great bait to use for catching almost all manners of freshwater fish, but the problem is that most anglers go about using worms for fishing in a manner that is less effective than it could be.

I know this fact is true because live worms have been my fishing bait of choice for more than a quarter of a century, and in that time most of the fishermen that I encounter on the water are using worms in a manner that is not as productive as it could be. The first thing to consider is that almost all most fishermen use a fishing hook that is entirely too large, size 2,4, or even larger, when they are fishing with worms as bait and then they "bait their hook" in one of two ways.

Either they hook the head of the worm and try to "thread" the body of the worm onto the shank of the hook, thus leaving 3/4 of the body of the worm dangling in the water or they just hook the body of the worm over and over again and create a little "ball of worm". While both of these methods will result in bites and caught fish from time to time, it is by no means the best or most effective way to go about using worms for fishing and usually results in a "dead worm" before anything else.

More than twenty years ago when I was introduced to fishing with live worms on the rivers and streams of Central Pennsylvania I was introduced to something called a set of gang hooks. A set of gang hooks was simply a pair of small fishing hooks that were tied onto a leader made out of light fishing line. This set up enabled worms to be hooked just once by each of the fishing hooks, which made for a much more life like presentation of the worm that was being used as bait. I quickly discovered that this set up was a great way of using worms for fishing and also enabled the worm to remain "alive" for a much longer period of time.

This fishing hook setup was more effective for a couple of reasons. First, as I just eluded to the worm that you are using as bait is being presented in an extremely natural and lifelike manner and second since the worm was being hooked only once be each of the small fishing hooks the worm tended to stay alive much longer than it does with either of the other methods of hooking a worm. Both of these reasons meant more bites from hungry fish.

The bottom line is that while using live worms for fishing certainly couldn't be compared to quantum physics, there are certain little things that can be done that will make the fishing experience much more enjoyable and productive and using a set of gang hooks for rigging your fishing worms is no doubt one of those things.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing a website focused on river and stream fishing with a focus on fishing for trout. He has more than 25 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and has spent much of that time fishing in small rivers and streams.

Extremely Effective Worm Rigs - http://www.jrwfishing.com/gang_hooks.asp

Article Source: @Trevor_Kugler

Continue Reading →