Fishtales
March 16, 1998
A Texas Tall Tale - or is it true?
Worm Rigs I Have Known
Joe Bristor
You probably already know this, but the ZOOM pink worm you mentioned in your excellent article for 'weightless ' method is also very popular for Steelhead here in Oregon and all along the Pacific NW. The trend seems to be coming from BC where they fish the shorter pink worms under a float.
The worm works best if the tail is not hindered so use only one hook towards the front. I like to put a couple of red beads on the leader just above the hook and then a split shot or small bullet abd a propeller above that for a metallic sound that really irritates the steelie. I've heard a little yarn threaded thru the tail helps too. We use the DINK type floats alot, cylindrical closed cell foam, sensitive, durable. I make my own with snaps for easy on/off.
I grew up in Texas and my Dad would ship me and my sister off to Maben, Mississippi in the summer to stay a week or two with my uncle Lawrence who owned a small farm with bass ponds. I remember my uncle letting me use his favotie worm/spinner rig as you described as being popular in the sixties, this was ~1962-65.
Don't lose, he threatened. First or second cast I hooked a 5 lb largemouth. Naturally, he broke off. I ran back to tell him, he didn't believe me, so he called the help together They went down to the little pond with a seine net, walked it across and there must have been 200 bass 300 sunfish in it. And there in the middle was a big one with my uncle's worm rig in his mouth. Redeemed!
My uncle called off work the whole day and we all went to the other ponds and fished all day. Funny, 30 years later and I'm still fishin' worm rigs.
