Fine-Tune Your Worm Fishing

Foremost is the need for a drag-free drift.
The key to worm fishing in moving water
-- be it brook, stream, or river -- is
to present a bait that tumbles naturally
along the bottom, where trout spend most
of their time. Too much weight, and the
worm sits unnaturally on the bottom; too
little, and it is swept above the fish.
And as with dry flies, a worm skidded
across the current on a tight line is
more likely to alarm trout than elicit
strikes.

The easiest way to achieve a natural presentation
is to cast quartering upstream, using just
enough weight so that you can barely feel
the sinker ticking bottom as it slowly drifts
back downstream. Slack line is recovered
at the same pace that the bait tumbles back
toward you, and the rod tip is held high
to minimize the effect of other currents
on the drift of the bait and to help detect
bites. When a bite is detected -- either
through the telltale tap-tap of a taking
trout or by seeing the line move upstream
-- the fish should be promptly fed slack
line so it can mouth the entire bait, including
the hook. You should either drop the rod
tip and reach toward the fish or immediately
flip open the bail on your spinning reel.
Either way, after a pause of one to three
seconds, the slack line should be recovered
and the hook set with a snap of the wrist.
The larger the bait, the longer the pause.

When
Less Is More
Worm fishing also resembles flyfishing
in that worm fishermen must tailor their
offerings to the conditions at hand. The
most common mistake is to use too much
bait. As a rule, the amount of bait used
should steadily decrease as the season
progresses and the size of the stream
decreases.

Early in the season, especially on large
rivers that hold trout measured in pounds,
an entire 4- to 6-inch nightcrawler might
be called for, although far better are
"dillies," plump, 3- to 4-inch crawlers
that are weeded out by many commercial
bait dealers and sold separately to trout
anglers. On smaller streams, or as river
levels drop, half a crawler or a 2- to
4-inch garden worm is a better choice.
On low, clear waters and tiny brooks,
half a garden worm is called for, while
larger baits are needed whenever a hard
rain raises water levels.

Whole worms should be hooked in the middle
so that the ends hang free -- never ball
up worms on a hook. Worm pieces should
be threaded onto the hook starting at
the broken end. In all cases, use as small
a hook as is practical, ranging from size
8 for big nightcrawlers down to size 12
for garden worms and smaller pieces. Weights
should be small and easily removed, with
eared, size BB split shot the best all-around
choice. The addition or removal of a single
split shot can spell the difference between
success and failure, and expert worm fishermen
constantly adjust the amount of weight
on their line to match the depth and current
of the water being fished. Low-memory,
low-diameter monofilament line, either
2- or 4-pound test, also helps achieve
a natural drift by offering less resistance
to moving water.

ut measured in pounds,
an entire 4- to 6-inch nightcrawler might
be called for, although far better are
"dillies," plump, 3- to 4-inch crawlers
that are weeded out by many commercial
bait dealers and sold separately to trout
anglers. On smaller streams, or as river
levels drop, half a crawler or a 2- to
4-inch garden worm is a better choice.
On low, clear waters and tiny brooks,
half a garden worm is called for, while
larger baits are needed whenever a hard
rain raises water levels.

Whole worms should be hooked in the middle
so that the ends hang free -- never ball
up worms on a hook. Worm pieces should
be threaded onto the hook starting at
the broken end. In all cases, use as small
a hook as is practical, ranging from size
8 for big nightcrawlers down to size 12
for garden worms and smaller pieces. Weights
should be small and easily removed, with
eared, size BB split shot the best all-around
choice. The addition or removal of a single
split shot can spell the difference between
success and failure, and expert worm fishermen
constantly adjust the amount of weight
on their line to match the depth and current
of the water being fished. Low-memory,
low-diameter monofilament line, either
2- or 4-pound test, also helps achieve
a natural drift by offering less resistance
to moving water.