So breadballs have been pretty good for me for catfishing, but im looking for some multi species action now. Ive already had a wormery going for awhile and i think its time for me to use some of them for fishing. I have some questions as to the best setup when worm fishing. I know i can get alot of info online but i came here since you guys should all be from texas and texas fish might behave a little differently from fish in other locations. Ill be bank fishing.

I know there are many types of worms such as the african/european nightcrawler and red wrigglers. However which one do you guys prefer?

And how would i go about presenting it to the fish? Ive read contradicting accounts of people just letting it sit there with a bobber or reeling it back in weightless. Which method tends to yield the most fish?

And lastly, which rig do you guys recommend? Ive been thinking texas rig but without a bullet weight. Non texpose.

Thanks alot guys!

Use red wrigglers for sunfish, rigged with a #8 hook on the end of your line and a #3 split shot 10 inches above the hook. Use a 7/8 inch Thill oval balsa bobber rigged as a slip bobber. Cast the bait past the area you want to fish, then slowly retrieve through the fish zone.

Use Canadian night crawlers for catfish rigged with a #2 drop hook above a 1/2 oz. sinker. Cast the bait out as far as you can, then tighten the line and let the bait sit there.

The biggest mistake people make is using too big a hook and too much of the worm. For sunfish use a small bit of the wriggler. For catfish use the entire night crawler.

Great info for Smithhaven, works for me too. Texas rigging is typically for plastic worms/baits. I don't think a live worm will stay on the hook texas rigged and you'll have problems with sunfish stealing your bait. If you want to try to catch bass you can try pushing half the worm (canadian) on a 1/0 or 2/0 bait keeper hook(has barbs on shank) and let the other half dangle behind freely, work it around brush piles and on the bottom slowly, weightless, careful not to get hung up with the exposed hook. Bass will hit it if the sunfish don't get to it first.
For catfishing keep your rod at an 90 degree angle (if not in a rod holder) with a tight line so you can detect the bite, it will also give you time before a large cat pulls your rod in! Don't ask how I know.

yea i wouldn't texas rig a live worm, just use a small piece like said above and try different presentations till you find one that works...
if you want to use the worms for catching sunfish i just use the canadian nightcrawlers from academy and cut em into small pieces and put on a small hook and let it either sit on the bottom or use a bobber just depend how they want it but usually sunfish arent too picky. also mealworms/superworms from the pet store work

The sunfish (white crappie, greens, bluegills, and i think few warmouth) in my area respond well to my mini breadballs so i dont think im gonna waste worms on them. Hehe they like to eat my bread before i can reel it back it for another recast for the channel cats. Its rather funny watching a mass exodus of small fish screaming after a chunk of bread.

So i noticed you guys recommended the canadian nightcrawler. Is there any particular reason? Ive read that they are less active in the water.

Is it completely neessary to use weights when nightcrawler fishing? Ive never handled a live worm so idk if theyre heavy or not, but when i do breadball fishing with catfish, i never used weights.

Im guessing baitholder hooks are better than worm hooks?

And do these tips work for most other fish in my ditch? I think there are carp, and for sure gar.

When I use worms for catfish bait I often like to dip them in substance called Top Secret. It is an amino acid powder that you dip your bait into. It will create a gel coating. Since amino acid is what a catfish senses can detect, this does bring them in somewhat. I have used this gel on worms right next to worms without the gel and can say that I would just about get all the bites on the worms that have been dipped in the Top secret. This was something that I have used and tried and so if you would like some more information about it here is a link I found that still sells it. Good luck on your fishing adventures.
http://www.fishdreams.com/prods.top_secret_aminogel.html

Ok ill look into that.

The worms i have are compost worms. So sholdnt they be stinky enough for most fish? Hahahaha

Anyone have any more suggestions for presentation? For bass?

when I used to fish for bluegill alot, I would catch a few bass every now and then on live worms on the bottom or even wacky rigging a full live worm and letting it sit, but very few and they were all small. I would just suggest for starting off fishing for bass that you use some basic soft plastics like zoom super flukes, zoom centipedes, 7" curl tail worms, or Yamamoto senkos. or even use small spinners like beetle spins because you will catch both bass and big bluegills
hope this helps

Ive tried lures on bluegill, but they dont work very well.

Why do lures work better than bass's natural food? Wouldnt the taste, smell, movement of real food be more enticing to bass?

As a compromise btwn lures and bait, could i fish a nightcrawler with the same presentation as soft plastic? Lol