I bought and was given a few of the Mann's big jelly worms. I fish them like a normal worm but I'm having no luck any advice.

Are you catching bass on 6" to 7 1/2" worms?

Tom

Yes I am WRB I was just looking to catch #s of larger fish.

I use the Ol' Monster a lot. Its a 10.5" worm. Like everything. Its a confidence thing.

Maybe a slow gradual increase in length to work up to the big worms.

just to let you know a little hint about those big worms you have gotten , just cause their not working for you now,and might not be because of the bass want something smaller doesn't mean they won't take it later on. it varies in my op ,but will have its place and time when those big worms you have will tear up the water with those big bass!

would agree about maybe trying a 9 or 10" worm to step up the size a bit and boost the confidence level in terms of them biting bigger worms.  if you're still catching them, i'd keep throwing that mann's worm and wait for the bigger bite to come along

Mann's big worm could be 12" (spade tail) Jelly worm?

Big worms work when bass are looking for larger size prey or under low light conditions like night or rainy weather.

Most anglers fish big worms too fast and try to give them too much action or movement. It takes a lot of patients to slowly work a big worm along the bottom, especially if you don't know bass are in the area and at what depth.

Split shot or finesse C-rig (slip shot) with 8" to 18" short leader distance between the worm and weight is a good presentation for big worms. The traditional sliding bullet weight Texas rig using glass faceted bead with 3/16-1/4 oz sinker painted the similar color as the worm, 5/0 Owner 5103 hook is a good night rig. You don't need heavier weight or larger hooks with the T-rig, you tend to fish too fast with heavier sinkers. 3/8 to 1/2.is OK with C-rig or finessecC-rigs.

Tom

Question for Tom.

With a slip shot rig, are we trying to cover some water, that is, not fish isolated spots-on-spots? (This is what I think we're doing.) In that case, how slow should we ideally fish, as in how many minutes per retrieve (assume a long cast ~30 yards)? Thanks,

I've had good success this year fishing big worms on a swinging football head and just dragging them across the bottom. I pour my own so I can mess with hook size so I make some with oversized worm hooks in 6/0 and 7/0 just for big worms and they work great. 

Question for Tom.

With a slip shot rig, are we trying to cover some water, that is, not fish isolated spots-on-spots? (This is what I think we're doing.) In that case, how slow should we ideally fish, as in how many minutes per retrieve (assume a long cast ~30 yards)? Thanks,

It helps to know the depth the bass are at and exactly what the structure/ cover looks like where you are working worms, especially big worms. If you are crawling a worm slowly through rocks with some brush you can visualize what's going down there and when to expect a strike.

Tom

PS, covering some structure, yes. A better description may be saturating a specific spot very thoroughly. You need a stable platform to work from and make several casts about 5' apart covering a spot from at least 2 different directions. It takes me about a minute for each  10'  of retrieve depending on how fast or slow the bass want the worm moving. Slower in rocky structure with heavy cover, faster in smooth bottom areas. I like to make moves about the length of the worm and pause on average.

It helps to know the depth the bass are at and exactly what the structure/ cover looks like where you are working worms, especially big worms. If you are crawling a worm slowly through rocks with some brush you can visualize what's going down there and when to expect a strike.

Tom

PS, covering some structure, yes. A better description may be saturating a specific spot very thoroughly. You need a stable platform to work from and make several casts about 5' apart covering a spot from at least 2 different directions. It takes me about a minute for each  10'  of retrieve depending on how fast or slow the bass want the worm moving. Slower in rocky structure with heavy cover, faster in smooth bottom areas. I like to make moves about the length of the worm and pause on average.

 

 

Sounds good Tom. Thanks.

 

Could you tell us when you'd fish a worm over a jig at a given spot or viceversa? Is it just a matter of finding out what the bass prefer on the day, or are there subtle clues to look for that might point to fishing a worm over a jig?

To me there is jig water and worm water, not really the water but the type of structure/cover and type of bottom composition. I prefer the bottom to be soil, not clay, gravel or shale with worms. I like wood of some type like brush or stick up in dirt with worms and the bottom sloping slowly, not a steep bank.

Crawdads like to hide in clay, burrowing holes and under or in rocky crevices on steeper tapering banks or point sides....this is jig water. A mixture of baseball and grapefruit size rocks, broken rocks like rip rap, this is jig water. Deep standing timber or big stumps, that is jig water. Mostly it's soil type and cover that dictate what I like to use.

Tom

Thank you for the details Tom. Makes choosing a bait somewhat easier then.

For big worms I like the Culprit 10" & 12" worms in black shad & red shad. No weight just a large weedless hook in its nose. Even the 13" fish will strike it.

To me there is jig water and worm water, not really the water but the type of structure/cover and type of bottom composition. I prefer the bottom to be soil, not clay, gravel or shale with worms. I like wood of some type like brush or stick up in dirt with worms and the bottom sloping slowly, not a steep bank.

Crawdads like to hide in clay, burrowing holes and under or in rocky crevices on steeper tapering banks or point sides....this is jig water. A mixture of baseball and grapefruit size rocks, broken rocks like rip rap, this is jig water. Deep standing timber or big stumps, that is jig water. Mostly it's soil type and cover that dictate what I like to use.

Tom

  

Thank you for the details Tom. Makes choosing a bait somewhat easier then.

Yes it does...Thanks for posting

Mike

Thanks guys