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I prefer to throw spinnerbaits in the spring, and I like to flip, too. But when bass are shallow and they're not aggressive enough to hit a topwater or spinnerbait, the floating worm is a great fallback bait to go to. These lures are effective anytime the fish are shallow, especially in the spring and fall.
I use the Berkley Power Bait floating worm and rig it with a 4/0 Gamakatsu offset-shank worm hook. I Texas-rig the lure and throw it with a spinning rod and 20-pound Fireline most of the time. With Fireline, you get a really good hookset, and it doesn't impede the lure's action at all.
There are some techniques to fishing the floating worm and rigging it to get the proper action. You work the lure back and forth, left to right, left to right, in a fashion like you would use for a topwater
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bait such as a Zara Spook. The worm has to be rigged properly on the hook, because if it's not, it will have an action that won't produce strikes. The best way I can describe it, when a floating worm is rigged properly, it will have a slight concave bend to it. If you pinch the line an inch above the hook and dangle the worm, it should not hang straight up and down. You want the lure to have just a slight concave bend in it, but one that's just barely, and I mean barely, noticeable. Give it too much bend and it will spin in the water. The lure has to be rigged just right.
One of the keys to fishing a floating worm is to make a long cast, because usually you're fishing it in clear water. It's not something you throw in the mud; it's a stained- to dingy-water lure.
There are some variations to rigging a floating worm. In open water, you don't have to Texas-rig it. You can leave the hook point exposed. But for fishing shallow water around boat docks, brush or vegetation, you're better off Texas-rigging the lure.
Another variation of the floating worm is the wacky worm. To rig a wacky worm, you impale the hook in the middle, with the hook point exposed. You can use a swivel about a foot up the line to help the lure sink, or you can put a little nail in the head of the worm. Fishing the the wacky worm is simple. All you do is throw it out and let it sink to the bottom, then you twitch it. It's a totally different presentation. The worm has a real slow descent, and contracts and expands when you move it.
Most of the time I use bright colors in the floating worm, like the bubble gum or methiolate, or white. If I'm going to fish the worm wacky-style, I usually go to a sour-grape color, which is more natural.
I fish floating worms on a 6-foot, 3-inch Daiwa finesse spinning rod, which has a medium action, and a Team Daiwa spinning reel. This is the same outfit I use for split-shotting and other types of finesse fishing.
Jay Yelas, of Tyler, Texas, is one of the most consistent pros on the B.A.S.S. Tournament Trail. He's a 10-time qualifier for the BASS Masters Classic, and has won over $750,000 in his career as a tournament angler.
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