Summer Worm Fishing Tips for Bass Fishing

Hey, guys. Michael Neal here with BassResource. I want to talk to you about summertime worm fishing. And summertime is when those fish have really gotten out. They're way post spawn. They've transitioned to where they're going to be for when the water gets as warm as it's going to get. And most of the time, that's somewhere offshore for places. And there's a few rivers and things like that where they will stay up on the bank. But what I'm looking for is those offshore places, and your more natural, deeper water lakes.

And the way that I like to rig a 7-inch worm is to plain ribbon tail for that time of year is on a Wobble Head or a Swing Head. And the reason I like this is because you can use a really heavy weight, and it maintains bottom contact, but you can fish it really quickly. And it's not something that you just have to really throw slowly like a Texas rig. Or with that football style head, it's going to try and stay down on the bottom better. So, you're going to maintain better contact and be able to fish it just a little bit quicker.

Again, this is my favorite color, tilapia. This is a Big Bite Baby B2, just a 7-inch curl tail worm, nothing real fancy. And that's the thing about it is, a lot of times I think we get too fancy in our heads. And this is something that bass have been caught on for 20 years now, 30 years, just a plain simple ribbon tail worm. And it's just something that's overlooked.

But those summertime fish, a lot of times you find them on your electronics, and they are pretty pressured. So, giving them something that not everybody's throwing anymore, that's often a great way to get a few extra bites that the other guys aren't getting. This is just a great bait to throw out deep. Like I was talking about, you're using your electronics to find them schooled up on a ledge. Or if you're fishing points or if you're fishing channel swings or bluff ends, whatever you're fishing, this is just a great way to rig this bait.

And I like a longer rod for this. Anytime I'm fishing offshore, I want something at least in that 7:3 to 7:6 range. That helps you so much be able to make long casts and be able to get good hook sets at the end of those long casts. Especially in that deep water, you've got a lot of slack to take up. So, this is a Denali N3, 7 foot 4 inch, medium heavy rod. And it's probably the one that I throw the most when it comes to worm fishing or jig fishing of any sort. So, this Wobble Head, it makes it perfect for that.

I like 16- pound Sunline Shooter. That's my go to line for any kind of worm fishing that I'm doing on a casting rod. It's not too big to where it's going to affect the rate of fall of your bait, or try and get it up off the bottom. And it's not too small to where you can't give them a really good hookset. And I like a high-speed reel, also, for doing this offshore. You're going to be making long casts, like I said, so you have a lot of slack to take up. So, I like a 7:1 reel for anything worm fishing offshore summertime, cause you're not moving the bait with your reel. You're going to be dragging it.

And a lot of people think, with this Swing Head, that you just reel it. And yes, you can do that with this bait also, but the reeling it is more of a spring or a shallower water thing where you're throwing a creature bait or something other than a worm.

So, you essentially fish it just like a Texas rig, but you fish it a little bit quicker, and that football-style head, like I said, will keep it down on the bottom. You're going to have better bottom contact, and you're going to be able to get to those lethargic, deep, summertime fish with a 7-inch worm, Ribbon Tail on a Wobble Head.