Get rid of the EWG, go with round bend.

I usually dye the tip of my worms as well. I was fishing 10" worms and kept having the same issue with them grabbing the dyed tail. I tried dyeing the head of the worm instead and started catching fish. Of course they were mostly 10"-12" fish. Just goes to show that bigger baits do not always equal bigger fish!

A-MEN

Only use J-hooks

If you swing a time or two and miss the fish the worm will pull down, fish or no fish. Typically after you swing once & miss the next time you swing harder. If a perch or small bass has the tail the worm will pull down on the hook.

Also I am not a fan of the EWG hooks. I lost a fish at CB two springs ago that was 13-15# on a Mag Fluke on a 6/0 Owner Jungle Wide Gap hook. That hook has a bigger gap that any hook of its size. I felt the bite, I reeled down & got all the slack out, I hit the fish as hard as I could and she came up and jumped. The bait came flying back at me. When I got it back the big Fluke was balled up on the point of the hook. All she had was the tip of the point. The barb never made it into her.

I still get mad every time I think about that fish.

I called a friend of mine from Cali that has landed three over 18 pounds and probably a dozen over 13. Two of his 18's were the same fish one year apart on Lake Dixon. He is uses a T-rigged soft plastic lure that makes a Mag Fluke look like a finesse bait. He told me he had the same problem with EWG hooks so he switched to an old school round bend hook and it increased his hooking percentage.

Bass fishing is not an exact science. You can use an extra heavy rod, 80# braid, a 7/0 hook and you will still lose a fish from time to time. It has a lot to do with how the bait is turned in the fish's mouth when you jerk.

Also Don't use EWG hooks they are terrible with hook ups... Trust me I spent a few months trying it and comparing lol

Yep, it's so true. Went to a nearby pond after work last Thursday and nailed about 7 fish all on a weightless Texas-rigged Zoom trick worm. Some of them came on back to back casts. Went back to the same pond yesterday morning, had a couple bites on it including one that got off but the action wasn't anywhere near what it was just a few days earlier.

Good advice or offset round bend.

Yes good catch, I intended comment to be “offset” ..... thanks

+1

I had the same problem the other day and found they were perch and small bass .sometimes fish are protecting a bed when doing this