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Ultimate "Pink" Worm?

15K views 49 replies 32 participants last post by  MetalHead101 
#1 Ā·
I have decided lately that I am going to add the rubber worm to my arsenal this winter. I have been looking at many, many worms in all kinds of colors and set ups. I am wondering from you good folks out there what colors are your favorite? I know there is a time a place for everything. But if you could only have a few which would you choose?

3 years ago when I first started steelhead fishing I caught my first 2 steelhead drifting a 4" bubblegum pink worm on the S. Santiam. I've tried it halfheartedly on tough days since and haven't had any luck. This was before I even knew about corkie and yarn so to chalk it up to pure luck wouldn't be a far stretch.
 
#2 Ā·
I mostly use 3" Mad River worms in fl. pink/chartreuse tail, nightmare, cerise, and nail polish pink. Honestly I don't think there is a color that doesn't work well. I have found success, though, by changing colors and drifting past fish that had refused the first or second offering. I've found that fish that won't take one of the pinkish variations will often hammer the nightmare. I've also found that sometimes all it takes is a different colored jig head on the same worm. I bounce between white, black and pink.

Being relatively new to worm fishing but having had tremendous success with them last winter, I thought I'd give them a try this summer on fish that were refusing shrimp and hackle jigs. They weren't playing along. I tried them again after the rains at the end of Sept, though, while the water was still up a bit with some color, and the fish HATED them (in a good way). I had several hard hits and some nice fish landed before the water got real low again.
 
#22 Ā·
wfo pink with bluetail works really well, I also use the 3 inch mad river and my all time favorite is the 3 inch nightmare worm. use a white 1/8 once jig head made by aerojig. it's killer for steelhead.

I've been searching high and low... Where do I find these?
 
#6 Ā·
Try them under a bobber 1/8 or my favorite 1/4 oz pink pearl or white head with a 4" mad river bubblegum or clearwater pink are my favorites for steel. I imagine the berkleys are pretty comparable. I caught my biggest steel ever on the wilson river with a 1/4 oz. pink pearl head 4" bubblegum mad river worm under a bobber. That was one of four fish I landed on that exact rig that day. 21 lbs 40x20" brute.
 
#9 Ā· (Edited)
These are just a few of the colors that I make. The bottom 2 pinks (red sparkle tail) were the absolute favorites of my buddies who fish worms for steelhead. They caught a ton of fish on them. The third from the bottom is bubblegum with a hot transparent pink belly and a red sparle tail. The second from the bottom is hot transparent pink with a red sparkle tail.
 
#46 Ā·
I saw a guy 30 years ago using plastic worms--brown, natural color. 6" long and he caught fish. I thought it was just a fluke because the fish were biting everything else also--a red hot bite on the Kalama River in July. (The good ole days) I remember thinking he was an odd ball, but did make a mental note about the effectiveness of plastic worms. Of course it was years later until they caught on.
 
#12 Ā·
i have had a lot of success with berkley power bait worms...6 inch bubble gum pink...I aslo have a special knot that I use to rig my worms....I sent an email to berkley to see if they wanted it...heck I would taken a pack of worms for it! since they havent responded, I think im going to post it here ion ifish and give back a little of what I have recieved from ifish and its members...

Im on the road right now traveling but i will do it before winter steelhead arrive!
 
#42 Ā·
I have had luck using under a bobber and drift fishing. I have had them hammer a worm while drift fishing much the same as hitting a spinner. I normally run a shorter piece of the worm tail while bobber fishing; normally no longer than 2 inches but that is just my experience.
 
#18 Ā·
I like to rig them with 1/8 oz owner white jig head 3" mad river worm. I clip off about 1/4 inch of the head. Run it up the hook. Now this is where I started seeing some great results. I wrap about an inch of the worm in black sparkle or flat black or red or pink yarn and add sent. I use a few wraps of ghost wrap or magic thread to hold the yarn and worm on the shank. Float it or jig it off the bottom with a "back bounce". I like to "dredge" with them under a 5/8 oz. Float. Meaning I intentionally let them kick and bounce off the bottom. A cheater drift if u will. The stop start motion of the worm tends to get those steel very reactionary. I've had some absolutely unbelievably deep takes on that set up.
Need to fiddle with drifting them under a leader. Heard rigging them backward on a leader with a corkie can produce well in dirty water. I'll have to try that this winter on the clack.
 
#20 Ā·
Definitely going to grab a couple different WFO worms. Has anyone used XFactor Tackle "steelhead slayers" they have scent built into them. Thanks for the insights into how to use the worm. 5-6 weeks weather permitting, I'll be trying for an early chromer.
 
#24 Ā·
I made a bunch of 3 1/2" nightmare (white head, black body, red tail) worms for a local guide a couple of years ago and he has had great luck with them. I made some eggs in nightmare (black with red and silver flake) the works well on little rivers like the Skookumchuck. I prefer pinks and reds and maybe a little orange.
 
#33 Ā·
Checked that web site but none of the pictures will show up on my browser for some reason.

Gotta admit I like the idea of a threadable worm that doesn't require a threader. I like that they recommend wetting it with your favorite beer too, though that's kind of a foul wasting beer like that. I guess if you just dip your leader in it instead of pouring it...
 
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