WRB-2.0

Prefer straight tails, Upton makes a dragon tail; it's similar to a fat spade tail and floats higher than the straight tail. 10" ribbon tail is 1/3 rd tail, not really a big worm. Berkley's 10" Power worm has won a lot of night tournaments! Tom

Today the most popular soft plastic lure for big bass are swimaits. Forgotten by most bass anglers are big or giant soft plastic worms. When Pual Elias cuaght his record tournament weight at Falcon lake he used 2 lures; deep diving crank bait and Mann's 12" Jelly worms. Talk about old school, most of today's bass angler were not born yet when Tom Mann was tournament fishing and came up with the Jelly worm product line back in the early 70's. I would bet nobody else fishing Falcon during that tournament had Jelly worms in their boat, let alone the rare 12" worms. If you polled the Elite anglers today, most still don't have any 12" worms, 10" worms are far more popular. So what is a giant worm? To me any worm over 10" falls into that category. Most of these giant worms are made locally by hand pourer's like Jose Uptom, Upton's Custom's. Mann's still makes the 12" Jelly worm and there are a few others on the market. So when and where do you fish giant worms? I fish them year around, always have 2 jig rods rigged and 1 giant worm rod and 1 swimbait rod. . For giant bass the pre spawn through post spawn is the best seasonal period for catching big bass and giant worms are a big bass lure. Next to horizontal jig fishing, giant worms comes in second to my all time favorite big bass lure as far as number of DD bass caught. When I was fishing the San Diego area lakes, giant worm were the number 1 big bass lure, second only to live Crawdads and mud suckers, by bass anglers during the 70's and 80's. The popular worm in San Deigo area was the DeLomg 12" Otay special. My favorite location to fish big or giant worms is clay banks with isolated brush and rocky areas, secondary points adjacent to cuts or deep breaks. I also like to work big or giant worms uphill or along breaks....slowly. My rigging is usually a 1/8 to 3/16 oz bullet weight, glass bead, straight shank 4/0 premium worm hook, T-rig and skin hook the side. I use a 4 power 6'10" worm/jig rod and 14 lb FC line. My retrieve is similar to how fish jigs, except with more rod tip movement and slower retrieve speed. I like to move the worm about a foot, shake it for 10 to 15 seconds, let to dead stick for about 15 to 30 seconds and repeat until I am through the structure/light cover zone that I feel the bass should be located. I will continue the retrieve with a more traditional hop and drag when the worm is within 30' or so from the boat, depending on what the bass are doing. My average cast is about 60', shorter than my jig casts, so I can get a good hook set. Too long of a cast with t-rig worms ends up missing hook sets, with big or giant worms, there is a lot soft plastic in the basses mouth. I use the drop the rod tip and hard snap hook set with giant worms. Unlike jigs where you can't set too fast, giant worms bass tend to keep in their mouth longer, giving you time to get the hook set. My favorite colors are; dark brown/black blood line, cinnamon brown/neon blue blood lime, green with black & red flakes/brown belly, black grape/ neon blue blood lime. I prefer hand poured worms; 10" to 16", 12" most of the time. I fish giant worms a lot during the mid day slow period, dawn & dust and at night. A lot of the time I follow up fishing an area with jigs with giant worms. If you are a shore bound angler, giant worms should be one of your presentations. Tom

PM alpha jig Bo offered you first hand info what is currently going on the lake you plan to fish, it doesn't get any better. I can tell you what may work in general terms, but only someone who regularly night fishes Table Rock can give you first hand info. Tom

Gamakatsu makes a heavy hook with a wire wrapped keeper shank, check their web sire. Tom

It's the title of the post and a lot of misinterrations. The -Arrkie jig has been around a lot longer than Do-it molds, it dates back to the early 70's and named from the region it came from Arkansas. The reason I recognize the brush jig is I just sold my Do-it brush jig mold, a good design for brush and weeds or grass, better for brush OK for weeds or grass. The Arkie and brush jigs are what most folks consider traditional jigs and they aren't going out of style any time soon! No harm, no foul. Tom

I didn't take anything for granted in my post. I also said my jig was a poor choice for weed cover. I have fished Minnisota and your neighbor Canada and there are locations where my jig worked good; steep rocky ares and reefs. The Scaramento delta area has the heavestist cover I have ever fished and there I use a local jig called a Wadda jig, the delta is a testing ground for heavy cover jigs and the area where flipping and punch rigs got started. Time will tell if Bo's jig catches on or not. Tom PS; the jig in your avatar looks a lot like a Do-It brush jig with Owner 5304 hook.

Stan Sloans Booza bug with the wire weed guard was the forerunner of the Bitz bug that Bill Dance popularized. The Booza bug is a far better jig, stronger sharper hook and better weed guard. Another excellent finesse jig is Skinny Bears original jig or signature pro series with living rubber and premium hook, a popular jig out west. Some giant bass have been caught on Skinny Bears with #101 spin frog trailers. Tom

Before you condemn Bo''s design, give it a try, the proof is in the fishing and catching. With any lure the initial time the lure passes through the basses strike zone results In a high percent strike rate, if the bass are active. Here is an important %; bass are only active about 10-20 of the time during a 24 hour period, 2 1/2 to 5 hours out of 24 and bass due eat 24-7. A very active bass is easy to catch compared to inactive bass. I don't use a fiber weed guard for a good reason, missed strikes from big bass. If fiber weed guards worked I wouldn't have had the need to develop my own jig and use a piece of soft plastic worm to protect the hook point. I was missing strikes and loosing big bass and that drove me to make changes and the changes worked very well. If the bass doesn't eat the jig on the fall and I mean engulf it, crunch it to kill and keep the jig in it's to continue to eat the jig, you or I can't react fast enough to get a hook set. Bass are bass, but NLMB, SMB and Spotted bass eat a jig differently then FLMB. FLMB tend to be less aggressive when striking lures in general and they are bigger bass with huge mouths. Like all bass FLMB eat crawdads and will eat jigs. Few anglers fish giant FLMB with jigs, preferring live bait or swimaits, but jigs can be deadly. What design you use should allow the jig to be fished without snagging into cover or structure and have a premium hook. Not bragging , well maybe just little, my top 5 jig bass are: 17.4, 18.6, lake Casitas and 17.4, 17.6, 19.3 lake Castiac, all caught on the same jig in the Horizontal jigging thread using that presentation. 2 of those 5 bass bit the jig on the fall or first movement, 3 bit after moving the jig several times and for that reason I keep my concentration on retrieving jigs. If I believed your 90% strikes happen on the fall, why waste time retrieving a jig? The reson should be obvious! I also make several casts at different angles to the same structure area, the angle the jig approaches the bass can be very important or sometimes the bass was spooked with the first cast and returns, see's the jig and strikes it. If make 1 cast and moved on, you miss that fish, regardless of the lure you are fishing. Tom

To understand bass forage you should take some time studing what they look like N's what are their natural colors. Prey colors vary seasonally and can change depending of the water clarity. Find out what the lake or river has for bass prey, google each or set traps and catch the prey. Tom

I make my own jigs to suit how I fish them, see Horizontal jigging post. The vast majority of jig designed for fish heavy cover have a single fiber weed guard. The jig manufacturer doesn't trim the fiber guard, it takes too much time to handle and trim each jig. Fiber weed guards come in 3 strelight; light, medium and heavy based on the individual fiber diameter and count. The over the counter production jig usually uses medium in brown or black color, 1 1/8 long to appeal to the average angler, whatever that means. Your fiber weed guard is met to be trimmed, otherwise it's just a post that prevents hook sets the majority of the strikes. I will not waste my time fishing to miss strikes and for that reason do not use a jig with a center fiber weed guard for decades. A jig is only as good as it's hook.....do not over look the hook size, shape, strength and sharpness! The hook is what puts the bass in the boat. Tom

Myth'; bass like crayfish with big claws. The fact is bass prefer crayfish (Crawdads) without big claws or any claws for that matter. Experienced live bait bass anglers often remove the crawdad claws by pinching the arm joint at the claw until the crawdad drops the claw to escape. Crawdads can grow a claw to replace the lost claw. For this reason I don't fish soft plastic draws with big real looking claws. Curl tails like GY twin or single tails grubs provide movement without a well defined claw. To the bass the missing claw should be better than 2 claws. Tom

The pickerel hater is a resident, so try to educate the homeowners if they have a HOA. Otherwise all you will do is anger the home owner and lose your fishing rights. This was not the first or the last pickerel to die at this pond. My guess is some of the home owners don't like the bass eating the other fish and kill the bass. Remember you are a guest and enjoy the fishing. Tom

Classic Arkie jig, compact with heavy hook and fiber weed guard. Good for vertical presentations like flipping or pitching into heavy cover. The weed guard is usually modified by anglers; fanned out and cut flush to the hook point. I call this type of weed guard a fish guard, it prevents both from snagging the hook point. Did you take a look at Horizontal Jigging post? Tom

A look at a site like Tacjkewarehouse specialty products should help to learn what's available with punch rigs. A look at jigs is also an amazing assortment jig types, very hard to stereotype what a traditional jig is. Football heads were popular out west for decades, only about 10 years nationally, when longer 60 degree style hooks came out that accommodated a fiber weed guard. The Arkie head was one of the first fiber weed guard jig and popular flippin jig.. Tom

The question was ; Best craw for jig trailers? Why limit the choices? If you don't have confidence with a jig trailer, why waste your previous time on the water using a product because it's free or less expensive? Use a trailer that works for you and keep trying out trailers during a good bite, don't wait until the bite is tough, there is nothing like catching bass to boost your confidence. My answer is none of the choices and I have tried them, they don't work well with my jig fishing techniques. Tom

Standup jig heads are not new, the jig I made back in '71 is a standup head, see Horizontal jigging post. Garry Garlands spider jig that dates back to the late 70's was a stand up Do-It molds offers a few standup designs. Attaching a soft plastic trailer to a spring or post isn't new, there is a picture of a wire keeper that pre dates springs in the '95 In-fisherman articleI referenced in the horizontal jiggling article. What may be fairly new is the shaky heads popularity. By traditional you may be referring to the Arkie jig.that is designed to be fished in heavy cover. Punch rigs have come a long way in a short time period and still developing. Looking at the Mega Strike 2 shaky head; it's a round head with an added standup pad, molded post to hold the soft plastic. Limitations; a jig is only as good as it's hook, my guess it's a Mustad round bend, medium wire 3/0 maybe 4/0. This hook is OK, but may open up under pressure of a big bass or when snagged. If a jig hook bends open, it's should scraped. Another problem with a molded keeper post is holding the soft plastic in place, you may need to super glue it on. Punch rigs work good when fished verticle and if the weight doesn't leverage the hook put of the basses mouth. One reason there are so many punch rig designs is over coming fishing cover degrading them and bass destroying the rig. Jigs are very durable. The advantage is you can use whatever hook you prefer without making your own jigs. Interesting topic and I agree a good casting jig design should keep the hook upright. Tom

Ken, You really need at least a 7'6" medium/hvy pitching rod, the reel is OK with 50-65 lb superbraid. You can get by with 20-25 lb mono, but 30 lb superbraid is difficult to handle with your fingers when pitching. Your current tackle is too short and too slow of an action to pitch accurately and accuracy with low trajectury is why you pitch in the first place. The problem with buying a rod from EBay etc, is the shipping cost are $35+ , you would be better saving your money and watching for a good deal locally. Another option is to learn the roll,or loop cast, depending on what the cast is called in your area. The cast is basically making the lure do a 360 loop with a wrist motion, keeping the lure near the water surface and controlling a soft accurate landing. With a little practice you can hit a 6" target at 25-30' consistantly and use the same tackle you have. Hank Parker uses this casting motion a lot, I am not sure where a vedio is, but someone should be able to add a link. I do a lot of horizontal jigging, see the post, and sometimes make loop casts when the situation requires it and use my standard jig tackle, not a pitching or flipping heavy rod. Just another technique you may want to add, it comes in handy at times. Tom

Color only matters to the bass. Here is a little trivia for those who always use black and blue jigs and matching trailers; in 50 years of jig fishing, during the day time, I have never caught a DD bass on that color combination and several hundred on black/ brown/ purple. The reason is I rarely fish off color water. I have caught some DD bass at night on black and blue. For that reason I have zip confidence with black and blue during the day. Experiment and you will find a color combo that works where you fish and how you fish and at the end of the day only you can should make that decission based on success. Tom

If you ate pitching a jig, then you are fishing heavy cover or dock pilings. It!'s more about where you fish then how you fish. The bass must be in shallow cover to catch them pitching a jig. Your tackle needs to be able to hook and control the bass in heavy cover, unless you are targeting juvenile or young adult size bass. Pitching; start with Denny Bruaer's book, he is an expert on the topic. Tom

There is no doubt if you always fish black amid blue, that color works for you. The question; what color are the bass biting on that day or night? If it's not black and blue, you doing a lot of fishing and not much catching. Black and chartreuse, black grape and green (June bug), purple and brown, and brown and orange will sometimes out fish black and blue in stained water Let the bass decide and try a few colors. Tom

There is big difference between stained and muddy water. Stained water can be fairly clear like a cup of tea, add milk and you have muddy water. Muddy water, to me, is water with a lot of suspended soil particles, like run off water from heavy rain. Stained is water stained from vegetation like tea leaves stain the water color. Green water from suspended vegetation particles mixed with wind and wave soil errosion could be called off color water. If the light is defused and depth of light is reduced, then adding a rattle would be like fishing in very low light conditions, it may help the bass locate the jig. I would also suggest darker colors with some highlight colors in those low light conditions. Tom

You like the way Roboworms float, try a Roboworms Zipper worm or grub; wider body, lots of surface water displacement. Josh Uptom makes a good straight floating worm with a swimming tail; 6" to 16", go online to Uptom's Customs. Tom

Not really T-rigged, keel weight rigged. The difference is how the rig falls down through the water, nose first for a T-rig with the weight sliding away from the worm verses a weighted hook that tends fall slower and glide more, then the worm lays on the bottom. The T-rig the worm can float off the bottom. The CPS or spring attaching the worm head to the hook does eliminate the problem with worm sliding down the hook shank! Tom

Size 6 is a tiny hook and may be OK for nose hooking small 3" finesse worms, size 4 wold be a lot better. Size 1 is a good size for 5 to 6" finesse worms, nose hooked. Gamakatsu drop shot hook and Owner mosquito hooks are very similar. Take at look at both; Owners Down shot/Drop shot system and Gamakatsu drop shot hooks web sites. Owners 5133 down shot hook is over looked and is excellent rigged as illustrated;. Size 1/0 is a good size for 5133. These are light line hooks; 5 to 8 lb FC line, finesse presentations. Tom

It looks like you got mixes replies, the only reply that makes sense to me was; let the bass decide, which means you need to have both types of jigs; with and without rattles. I usually fish in more open water areas with deep clear water and rocky structure. I start off without a ratle during day light periods and with a rattle during very low light or at night. I never add a rattle to a jig trailer and prefer the rattle be attached to the hook shank or skirt collar. The reason is rattles can change the balance of the jig and I don't like to add weight to the trailer. Glass rattle in a plastic worm is OK, just not the jig trailer. Tom