Big Bites Bait Of The Month

Finesse Worm

When the bite gets tough what bait is it that you turn towards to get a few bass over the side of the boat and into your live well?  For me that choice starts with a Big Bite finesse worm. At Big Bite we make the finesse worm in two different sizes 4” and 6”and in many of Big Bites top fish catching colors. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to rig and present your finesse worm offering.

Texas Rig

This is the bread and butter presentation when it comes to worm fishing and will catch bass when the bite gets tough. I will utilize both sizes of the Big Bite Finesse worm options here and will let the bass tell me how they want the worm fished. I generally will start with the 6” size and see how the bass react to my offering.  If the bite is slow, I will drop down to the 4” size to help get a few more bites in my day of fishing.

When it comes to weight I am all about making the worm look as natural as possible so I will many times underweight my offering or will use no weight at all so my worm looks natural as it falls.  This will be the key in getting a few more bites as your day goes on. For the majority of this style of fishing I will use a 7ft medium action spinning setup, teamed with a matching reel, spooled with 6lb to 8lb fluorocarbon line.

Wacky Rig 

One of the hottest baits the last few years in bass fishing has been a wacky style rigged worm and Big Bites finesse worm is a top choice for this tactic. To rig the wacky worm you take a plain worm hook and cross hook the worm in the middle. Make your cast out and let the worm flutter to the bottom. Once on the bottom give the rod tip a lift and then let the bait fall back down to the bottom on a semi slack line. Pay close attention to your bait as it falls; in this case be a line watcher. Watch your line as your bait falls if you notice any movement give your line a little tension to see if you can feel the fish. If you do set the hook, if not just give the bait a little pump and let the bait fall back to the bottom and start over again.  

If you would like to fish the wacky rig in deeper water you can use either a wacky jig or you can use a weighted worm hook. How you fish the bait will be the same way lift and drop the bait but pay close attention as it falls as this is when you will get the majority of your strikes.

Shaky Head 

This is part of what started the whole finesse worm craze. Team the finesse worm with a shaky head and you have one of the best bass presentations know to bass fishermen. Rig your finesse worm onto your shaky head, make your cast and let the bait sink to the bottom. Once the shaky head reaches the bottom you want to drag your finesse worm presentation along the bottom. You do not want to hop this presentation you want to keep your shaky head in constant contact with the bottom. Once you get your bait against some rocks give your rod tip a few shakes. This will make your finesse worm dance in place; this action is what will get you strikes. One key when fishing a shaky head; fish your bait slow. The slower you can fish this presentation the more bites you will get by the end of the day.

For this tactic I use a 7ft medium action spinning setup, teamed up with a matching spinning reel, spooled with 6lb to 8lb fluorocarbon line.

Jig Head

The jig head presentation has to follow the shaky head presentation, but the difference is how the jig sits on the bottom. While the shaky head sits up on the bottom and gets the tail high in the air. The finesse worm rigged on a jig head sits closer to the bottom, on certain days this makes a big difference to the bass; to the tune of they will only take one over the other. So keep this thought in the back of your mind when you are fishing either setup.

For this tactic I use the same equipment as I do to fish a shaky head, 7ft medium action spinning setup, teamed with a matching spinning reel, spooled with 6lb to 8lb fluorocarbon line.

Drop Shot

With the drop shot the finesse worm shines. There are 3 different ways to fish a finesse worm on a drop shot rig. The first of three is the texas rig; I use this rig when fishing a drop shot on the weed edge or in weed clumps. I will rig my finesse offering on a 1/0 texas rig hook, thread your worm onto the hook like you would when you are rigging a texas rig worm. This will allow you to get your bait into places that you could not fish with the worm on the hook wacky or nose hooked.

The second rigging is wacky style. For this I use a #1 drop shot hook and cross hook the 4” or 6” worm in the middle. This rigging gives the worm a lot of action as it falls or when you shake the worm in place. Do not be afraid to use a slight lift and drop with this presentation once you get your bait into the key areas that you want to fish.  

The last rigging is a nose hooked finesse worm. Like the wacky rig there may be times when this rigging is limited as to where it can be fished but in its own right will catch fish. All you do is take your finesse worm and hook the worm on the very end on the nose. This will allow the worm to dance free on your hook. When the bite is extremely tough these are the days that this rigging seem to shine the best.

I fish my drop shot presentations on a 7ft light action spinning setup, teamed with a matching reel and spooled with 4lb to 6lb fluorocarbon line.

Split Shot 

To many this is a sleeper rig in some bass circles. The split shot rig is a great bait to turn to when you have bass that are in a neutral mood sitting in weeds or on the edge of the weeds. To rig your split shot rig you will fish it on a 7ft medium action spinning setup, teamed with a matching spinning reel an spooled with 6lb to 10lb fluorocarbon line.

On the end of your line tie a 1/0 to 2/0 worm hook. For 4” finesse worms I will use a 1/0 hook and for the 6” I will use a 2/0 worm hook. About 1ft to 1 1/2ft in front of the worm hook crimp on a split shot. What size you use will be determined by the conditions you are fishing but here is the key, you want to be able to get your offering to the bottom in a slow, natural way. Use just enough weight to get your split shot rig to the bottom in 10 seconds is my rule of thumb. If it is there faster you have too much weight if it takes longer than that you do not have enough weight.

When it comes to size of Big Bite Finesse worm to use I use the 4” in open areas or in sparse weeds or if the bite is extra tough. In weed conditions I tend to use the 6” worm. In the weeds the 6” finesses worm gives the bass a little bigger profile for the bass to see which will help them find the worm.        

Scott Petersen