Wacky Worm Bassin

By Jimmy Houston
Trucking 2000

2/8/2008

Ever since Nick Crème invented the plastic worm back in the 1940’s, fishermen around the world have been trying to learn how to rig a plastic worm Texas style and get the worm to hang straight. This is a skill of accuracy, ask any angler about this dilemma and he will agree with what you are asking. Chris and I know how, in fact I think it was Chris who taught me, but I’m not sure. In the 21st century mankind has solved the issue completely! There is a new method of rigging a plastic worm that is fool proof, The Wacky Worm Rig.  Not teasing! This is a real way of rigging a plastic worm and catching a lot of bass under certain conditions.

The wacky worm rig is simply this: (1.) Insert your worm hook in the center of the worm. (2.) Pull the hook all the way through. (3.) Leave the hook exposed and just let the worm dangle off the hook, or you can imbed the point sideways into the edge of the middle of the worm if you are in really heavy cover; however, that doesn’t help the action of the worm. The idea is for the worm to flop around in the water. If you’ve ever dropped a redworm into the lake and watched it sink down, then you know what a wacky worm is suppose to look like. It corkscrews down to the bottom of the lake.

A guy was bass fishing in Florida and was catching bass left and right. When he got the bass into the boat, the worm would be dangling off the hook. He would re-rig the worm Texas style, but unknowing to him, when he would cast out, the head would pop off the head of the hook and the worm dangled. He finally discovered it was because of that, that bass were biting so well. Re-rigging the rig with a fresh worm Texas style brought a huge decrease in bites. So, he went with the wacky worm rig, which is not always the solution, so remember that. You have to experiment with your rigs.

Where to fish a wacky worm rig is not the same as where you fish a Texas style worm. The Texas style rig is so weedless you can cast it just about anywhere. The only way you get hung up is if the tail wraps around something, or if the hook comes out from the belly. If you don’t hide the barb with the wacky rig, the worm is very vulnerable to get hung up; therefore, the ideal place to fish is open water that is clear of debris. Well, areas like that are not very productive areas for holding bass, so the best open water is at the edges of weedbeds. 

The Texas rig you can cast right into the grass and weeds, and it will swim out for a bit. But, there are times when the action of the plastic worm tail is not enough to turn the head of the bass and the vibration is not for the bass to pick up with its lateral lines (hearing).

So again, the wacky worm produces more action in the water creating more “flash” in the water visually, and more vibrations. Plus, its looks like it is struggling or dying, and large female bass love prey like that. A large female bass is so attracted to a popping topwater because she thinks it’s something that is struggling to survive and is an easy prey. So we will explode on it. If not, then she will come up and tail slap the bait, as to stun or kill it. Have you ever been tail slapped by a largemouth bass? Whew!

I also like to fish near or in lily pads. Yep! Using lily pad bait absolutely tears them up. The bass come out from everywhere to swim up and grab the worm. The bass will bite it in the belly, or egg sack which is where the hook is at. In the springtime, bass will bite the worm on the head and drop it in an attempt to kill it, since they consider the worm to be a danger to their eggs. Or, they bite the egg sack and drop it. If a female bass bites the egg sack of a wacky worm, you’ve caught that bass! No doubts about it.

Last but not least, the wacky worm rig is great during that time of year when bass are schooling. The bass move up on a school of shad and break the surface engulfing everything in site. The larger bass are a bit late picking up the leftovers. A wacky worm cast into the middle of where a school has surfaced will most likely always bring a bite or two.

Oh yeah, before I run out of room, let me tell you how to rig a plastic worm Texas style so it hangs straight. Insert the point of the hook about ¼ inch into the tip of the worm. Pull the hook all the way through so only the eye of the hook is sticking out of the worm. Turn the hook so the barb is pointed at the worm. This is where most guys mess up. Don’t just impale the worm onto the hook. Take and “lift” the worm up about 3/8 of an inch. In other worms, push it up so there is a slight bow in the worm between your fingers and the top of the worm. Then, insert the hook into the side of the worm.  The worm will hang perfectly straight.

Hope you have tons of good luck fishing the wacky worm.

Jimmy