Big Wormin' Help

Got to throwin one of my summertime staples a little bit today and had some trouble. Had a few really solid bites but when I went to set the hook nothing was there. On my last bite the fish about took the rod out of my hands but I still came back with nothin'. I've never had this issue before and I feel like I give them enough time to eat the whole worm before swinging on them so I'm puzzled on what I'm doing wrong. I feel like a bigger hook would impede some of the action but maybe that would help hookups. Let me know what yall think.

The setup I used today was:
-Dobyns 704
-18lb fluro
-3/8oz weight pegged to a 4/0 EWG
-Zoom Ol' Monster

Thanks

Was they pulling worn down on hook ? If that's the case tail grabbers what i would guess.

possibly short strikes, blue gill, setting the hook too fast or too slow, just finacky fish, hard to guess. did you look at the worm for teeth rash marks? your set up is good.

Set up sounds good, my guess is the fish were just finicky. Maybe try downsizing to an 8 inch worm in the same color. You could also try downsizing to a quarter or 1/8 ounce weight. Sometimes that can make a lot of difference in getting a bite and getting them to hang on. Also try fishing it un-pegged if you think you can get it through the cover without getting hung up. Scent never hurts either.

Everyday is a new day and the fish never seem to do the same thing 2 days in a row. They could have been in a finicky mood. The color of your bait may have been off a shade, The moon's gravitational pull on the earth may have been off slightly. Who knows what it may have been. It has been a weird spring.

Friday we caught two 3 pounders off a bed. I am talking locked on guarding a bed. The bluegill are also spawning and we had many bluegill bites on big worms. I was throwing a Zoom Ol Monster for a bit. Some of the bluegill in this lake we were fishing near Glen Rose are over a pound and will give you a pretty good tug on a worm before they turn loose. We wound up catching most of our fish on a weightless Super Fluke in pearl color. Big bluegill would be following it nearly every cast but they rarely bit the Fluke. If I threw the WM red worm the bream bit it every time. Go figure.

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll try downsizing next time. They did pull the worm down on a few bites so I guess it was just short strikers. Was starting to have some serious doubts about my hook choice as I know a lot of guys throw straight shank for worms vs EWG. But I figure the EWG would actually improve hookups with all that extra bite.

Wow that's crazy. I had been catching a few with beat up tails that were biting very much like they were protecting a bed over the last month just couldn't confirm it as I usually fish lakes that are fairly stained. I know I've heard people say they catch spawners into June but I've just never heard there be this many this late. Weird spring for sure.

I have had this problem before, and I was able to get them to hit the head by using a 10in worm as a jig trailer. I think the bulk of the jig made them quit pecking at it and really try to kill the bait by striking the head.

Same setup I use. I will add, almost all of my good fish on a big worm gulped the worm and did not give a head shake. They were very soft feeling bites and the line movement is generally what I set the hook on. The smaller fish I catch tend to hit hard and pull.

good point. big fish are usually loners next to some kind of cover. when they hit they dont have to run like smaller fish, they can just sit there. when the inhale a big worm they also inhale a gallon of water making it very hard to feel the bite. when they spit it out you can really feel it. the fish i used to have over 15lbs taught me this well, you couldnt feel the initial bite but you could see it.

All good info above. Your setup sounds fine. Only difference is I use a 5/0 hook w/10”-12” worms. Sunfish do like yanking on larger worms. Sometimes they won’t let go but that bite usually feels different. Instead of the defined “tap-tap” of a bass inhaling the worm the sunfish feel like a constant “machine gun” pecking.

Small bucks pulling on those tails, or bream pecking at it time to move on

Sounds just like small spots or bream

Even though you are throwing a big worm doesn't mean 8in bass aren't trying to get it. I often dye the tail of my big worms and the perch and all bass always eat the dyed part off... so annoying lol

Last summer I caught a 5 on a 10" curly tail and followed that up with a gut hooked dink. I play around with all kinds of baits in ponds and catch all kinds of fish on all kinds of baits. Lately catching 2 lb LM on crappie jigs just jackin around. Nothing surprises me anymore. 10 lb cats on a square bill gets my adrenaline jacked till i realized its cat.

I'm starting to believe it is mostly put A bait in the right place at the right time more than what the bait looks like to the fish.

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