Do You Fish With Worms?
The question posed in this article is for those anglers who fish with live worms, or as Hank Hill once called them, "Good old American Worms". I don't want to offend Bass fishermen, who consider worm fishing to be using a piece of colored rubber impaled on a hook that's large enough to land a small shark to be worm fishing, but I'm speaking of those anglers who use natures version of "the worm" to catch fish. Worms are a phenomenal bait, and fishing them has come a long way since the days of us sitting on the banks of our local pond catching sunfish.
When we're growing up, almost all of us used worms to catch fish, and worms are just as effective today as they were yesterday. The only difference is the way we carry them and the way we fish them. We can now use a bait bag to carry out worms (this is much more effective than carrying a Styrofoam container with you) and gang hooks to fish them (these are much more effective than "threading" a worm onto your hook). Yea, fishing with worms has come a long way from when you were growing up. As a matter of fact, if ultra light fishing gear is employed, fishing with worms in a river or stream is every bit the art form that flea flickers proclaim their form of fishing to be.
So what is this bait bag thing? A bait bag is simply a bag that attaches to your fishing vest or shirt that enables the angler to carry their worms. That way they don't have to carry those bulky worm containers with them on the river. A bait bag eliminates any unneeded or inadvertent littering of said worm containers as well. You can buy one of these bait bags or make one yourself, the point is that if you fish with worms, you need one.
What about this gang hook thing? A set of gang hooks is simply two small hooks tied in tandem. You see, rather than "threading" a worm onto a large hook (like when you were a kid), with two small hooks tied in tandem the worm can be presented in a completely natural manner. Gang hooks are absolutely deadly for worm fishing. You can tie them yourself or you can purchase them from somewhere like JRWfishing.com, the point is that if you fish worms, you need to use gang hooks.
The bottom line is that if you fish worms, you need to begin employing the proper gear in order to maximize your results. Everything in your life has progressed as you've gained years; there is absolutely no reason that your worm fishing shouldn't follow the same progression. As mentioned earlier in this article, we as worm fishermen (if using ultra light gear) can be considered every bit the "artist" that any flea flicker has ever proclaimed themselves to be.
Carrying Worms
Colorado Fishing