Pink Worms

[Tanner]

Can someone fill me in on this pink worm I hear everyone talking about? I am assuming you fish it on a leadhead under a float just like a jig. What size worms are you using, what brand (ie: Berkley Power Worms)? Do you use the whole worm? Has anyone ever tried one on a bait diver? (I fish hoochies on bait divers and do fairly well.)

Tanner

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There's No Nookie Like Chinookie

[Jigman]

Pink worms are a great technique, I've been fishing them for 3 years now. They work well for summer fish and winter fish but where they really shine is for native winter fish........they can't resist them! I fish them on a jighead below a float, 1/4 oz heads in the winter and 1/8th oz heads in the summer. Always use a jighead with a collar or the worm will slide down the shank. It's not necassary to have any paint on the head of the jig, in fact I think it's better to just have it plain. I use Rainbow Jigs jigheads, they have a collar that holds the worm on well and have a heavy wire hook that holds the fish after you hook them. If you try it you'll have a ball! As for worms I run a 4" bubble gum pink Yamaguchi worm with a small curly tail, it has great action in the water. I imagine any worm will work. Hope this helps.

[DanS]

Tanner,

Jigman has you covered on tips for using them on a jighead. You can also dangle them under a float, using splitshot to keep them down. You'll need a needle or threader for this method because you'll want your hook protruding from the midsection of the worm.

Another method is to "boondog" a worm using a dink float or Thill Brute Force. Tie up a drift rig with a longer leader and tie off to a snap swivel with a short piece of 3/16" pencil lead. Now run the float on your mainline. Pull off enough line for your lead to touch bottom occasionally, and use the float against the current to drag your offering through the slot. Don't hit bottom too much, or you'll be hanging up and losing floats. If the float heads upstream during the drift, set the hook.

The worm is a powerful tool. And these days guys won't look at you like you're a lunatic like they used to. (Bet you've had some looks, huh, Jigman? ) They're also versatile; under a float, on a jighead, driftfished with a corky, behind a diver, they work in all these situations. Still experimenting with color, I'll let you know......

Fish on.........

[Centerpin]

In BC we fish pink worms under a float with your standard piece of pencil lead. We don't use lead jig heads as they get better action when they are free swimming. They are lethal on fresh run fish in clear water.

[Snagly]

Drift fishing with a floating 4" or 6" pink worm is another deadly method: cast straight across and swing it with the lead occasionally ticking bottom. Caught two 20lb hens within 45 minutes doing it this way -- believe me, it works.

Bill Herzog in STS described the best way I've seen for rigging the worm. Use a bait threader (hollow needle). Tie a #1-1/0 Octopus hook w/ a bait loop (snell) and 40" of 12-20lb leader. Run a 3-4mm red bead down to the hook. Thread the bait threader w/ leader. Poke the needle in 1- 1 1/2" up from tail. Keep worm straight. Leave 1/2" leader protruding from "entry wound" at tail end of worm. Used yarn to tie tightly around the leader and the worm right below the entry wound. Snug up the leader till the red bead (eye of hook) is against the yarn tie. Now the leader won't tear out of the worm so readily. Coil up the extra leader (I run 30" leader to the lead) and secure with twist ties (or vinyl tape). Put in groups of 3-4 in Ziploc bags and you're ready for some worming!

Hang on to the rod -- no subtle takes here!

[Tanner]

Thanks,
You guys are awesome. I'm going to be trying some of these methods real soon. I really want to try one on a bait diver.

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There's No Nookie Like Chinookie

[meyersbilly]

Tanner: Beany-weany all the way. I buy them by the 1000 pack. Pink pearl rigged up with a darning needle smacks natives hard. They bottom bounce and float fish extremely well (bc style holding back on the float). Swing them through the tailout and hang on.

Many years ago I used to rig them up with two hooks. The further back the hook (on the worm) the better (90% of the fish are hooked on the back hook).

I find worms really shine in cold/clear water and when fishing untouched water they are often my only choice. Rub them up with a little scent, highly illegal, but extremely effective.

[Centerpin]

Since when did you stop tying the two hook special? If you guys come up to Skeena country leave your pink worms at home because they can't fool the fish up here.

[meyersbilly]

Since BC went to a single barbless hook regulation. Shhhh I think I keep the odd one in my vest for nostalgic purposes or when fishing the ocean with my steelhead gear.

Hey BillyJay (kinda has a southern sound to it, eh?), best be careful 'bout what ya say on here. I've heard rumors that RCMP's are monitoring yankee fishin boards looking for BC guys talkin up double hook scented pink worms . ... Nah, actually they are watching for Yanks at the border and shakin' down suspicious looking fishermen for possible hidden cans of strong Capsasin bear spray. The guys I went with told me it isn't allowed to bring that thru customs, but they were allowed to bring in a shotgun. Huh? B.C. F&W would rather fishers shoot the bears instead of spray them? I hid the big can in a pack and brought it up anyway. Caused me to do a stupid thing; I was so confident in this stuff that I got out of our boat and chased an adult black bear. It wasn't used to that so it took off running into the bush (it was about 350 lbs. or so - no way with a brownie; or a black one again for that matter). ... So, getting back to the pink rubber worms. What other colors if any do you use effectively up there? And down here you other guys? Seems like black ones with a little piece of cerise or white or chartruse yarn would work well. Many colors should work well. Why do I just hear about pink. Oh ya. Other colors are killers and it's zipperlip. Right? .... I haven't tried backtrolling a Hot N Tot and rubber colored worm yet but I bet that will work great! Use your double hook sandshrimp rig for them and scent them with some shrimp oil. I would try the threaded leader from the mid point forward and let the lower half of the worm dang free. I would also experiment leaving the second hook out of the worm as a trailer/attractor hook in size 2 red (for short strikers), and the upper hook a size 1 imbedded at the mid-point threader entry. For some added flash you could put the smallest tiny metalic Spin N Glo or corkie above the worm and bead. Should be killer I would think. - RT

Steelhead love purple worms. Shhhh

[buzzerbaby]

Back in 1987 I was fishing the Mckenzie and had spotted a steelie lying in the head of a hole, tried everything with no luck, out of frustration I put on a purple "bass worm", and you guessed it first cast he shot up river and HAMMERED that thing, I lost the fish and never put a worm on my rod again until last year. Makes me wonder how many more fish I might have caught if I would've stuck with it.

[FISHFINDER]

All this talk about plastics has me wondering why the good old live nightcrawler hasn't been brought up. I can't count the number of steelhead I have hooked using them. Some of them were quite interesting while geared up for trout and not expecting a steelhead.

FF

[smilesforu]

Steelhead like worms in the normal colors we usually fish with. They have been catching on since we have more popular steelhead colors available now. For cheap plastic worms go to the bass fishing catalogs. For custom worms you can pour your own shapes and colors. Lots of experimenting when you make your own.
Tight Lines


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Marty M
Steelheader.net

[scooby]

I started fishing worms a couple of years ago and use them a little more each year. I have had good luck with suducer worms in either a pearl pink color or the bc orange.

One thing is that I have not had that much luck hooking hatchery fish with the worm, but the nates love them. I fish them the way our brothers up north do it, I think this is a better way than with a jig head.

I saw some the other day that had the little squiggly tail - I have not tried these yet. Any ideas on the effectiveness of this type vs the works that have a tail that just tapers down?

scooby out

I'm a fishing experimenter Scooby and I've thought about those squigly tailed bass worms too; but I haven't tried one yet. Might be getting a little lazy. Another thing I think would work, but haven't tried and should, is the good looking candy gummy worms my son buys and I eat . They are mostly gelatin, sugar, and coloring. They have several good semi-transparent colors, including rainbow color, that should work well in clear water; maybe add a little fishing scent too. I really do think there are so many more things out there that will work for steelhead that few, if any of us, have tried yet. Makes it more interesting. - RT

[scooby]

I have never tried the gummy worm for steelhead.. But where a grew up on the coast of washington we used to get a run of trout in July and August that we called "Blueback" or "Harvest Trout" . They looked like little steelhead. anyway, one year while plunking in tidewater we did pretty well with pieces of Gummy Bears added to our crawdad tails.

The only problem was I had to keep going back to the store for more - for some reason I was running out

scooby



[This message has been edited by scooby (edited 12-09-2000).]

[tadpolly]

Been playing with worms since our honeymoon in B.C.The statement about the lockjaws(see hatchery steelhead)seems to be true.Sandshrimp and eggs seem best there.But for natives,whether summers os winters,they work well.I don't like to use bait for natives 'cause we were hooking them too deep.Worms that have caught us the most fish have been the really soft ones.These wiggle better than harder ones and have a much better action.Hot-n-tots are the diver of choice (so far...) and a 5 or 6 foot leader.Limited success on a jighead under a float.Rigged bass style and bounced back to ya the fish will hammer 'em.Under a float we run em on a 1/0 Gama with the worm above the hook.Weight about 2 feet above the slug.This rig lets the worm bounce around in the current.After you see it once you will understand why those crazy cannucks catch so many fish on 'em.Our best colors are dictated by the color of the water.In clear water the translucent bodies in 3-4" work well.Twister tails...hmm don't have that much experience to say but they probably ain't gonna hurt.Under perfect conditions the 4-6" pinks,blues,reds,purples,and clear metal flake(wow)have all caught fish.Some days they like a certain color.Oh yeah,on the diver run a "thin twin"(I think thats the name of the little mylar propeller)in front of the worm with a little bead for it to spin on.The plunkers at the Clack do this and they are on to something! Try pretty heavy line for worms as the strikes are hard.Real hard.15 # maxima leader hard.Now please leave this thread alone.If people find out how good it works it'l be like jigs were in the 80s.Nobody used the and they worked better than drift fishing(yea really).And stay off the John Day.This is a N.W Oregon board.I would like her all to my greedy little self.He he he.Have fun Mark D.