So I need some help for the coming year and I will preface with a story.

Toward the end of last season, I was in a team bass tournament and going into the final hour of the event, I was pretty sure we had a competitive bag for 1st place and a solid shot at big bass so I decided to fish for one more big bite and try to get a heavy cull. I had purchased a pack of 13" Zipzillas (https://fishingcompleteinc.com/collections/zipper-worm-company/products/zip-zilla) the previous winter and decided now was the time. I had watched on YouTube how guys were using the big soft swimbaits and figured that this was similar. I put it on the biggest hook I had which was only a 7/0 and tied it on to the only rod that had enough juice to cast and effectively work the bait. The weight of the Zipzilla totally overpowered my rod but everything seemed stout enough. I let the bait sink down down to the bottom and was creeping it along over the tops of some low wispy grass in 12ish feet of water. After a few casts, I felt the telltale vibration of something clamping down on my bait and the instant flow of adrenaline because I "knew" that this was a big one. However, when time slowed down and my mind was working through what to do next, I realized that I didn't know what to do next. Do I swing right away or give a bit to let the fish inhale this giant meal? I defaulted to waiting for the second tick like I would if I was fishing a normal worm. Then the second tick came, right at the cadence I expected and I reeled down, felt the rod load, and I swung. Fish on!! For about 3 seconds anyway. Line goes slack and I reel my bait back to the boat to inspect it and hopefully figure out what went wrong. That zipper worm resembled a baseball more than a lure. It was literally balled up in what I assume was the general shape of the inside of a fish's mouth. No more bites that day on the big bait but I developed a bit of a fascination with big baits. This year I will have a proper rod and reel but what I can't buy on Tacklewarehouse is the knowledge of what I did wrong.

What size hook would be best paired with a big 13" bait like that? I'm thinking a 12/0 Owner Beast hook, but that's not based on anything but a guess. Was the 7/0 laughably small? Also, using a stinger has been suggested to me but won't work because I am fishing in a lot of grass and stumps.

What is the hookset timing for this kind of bait? Do you reel down and swing on that first tick or wait for the second one? Or is there a different method?

I know losing fish is part of fishing but I also know that if you are paying attention, running proper gear, and using good technique, you get the majority of them. I can buy the gear but I don't know the technique, please swimbait gurus, teach me. I live in Michigan and there's not a lot of local resources I can draw on for this knowledge. Guys just don't fish like this over here, not for bass anyway. Pike and musky tend to always freight train a lure which makes the whole process much more straightforward and I have years of experience with them but not with using big baits for bass.

I'll stop rambling now. Thanks!

 

Zipper introduced this worm in 2009 as the Goliath 13" worm.

I have treid Owner's 11/0 off set hook and 8/0 beast screw lock hook with 3/4 oz tungsten bullet weights. To say this worm is big is a understatement due to it's width creates a mouth full of plastic for DD size bass.

I found that my Irod IRG754F was a good choice using 16 lb FC.

You don't have bass big enough for this worm in Michigan!

Tom

9 minutes ago, WRB said:

Zipper introduced this worm in 2009 as the Goliath 13" worm.

I have treid Owner's 11/0 off set hook and 6/0 beast screw lock hook with 3/4 oz tungsten bullet weights. To say this worm is big is a understatement due to it's width creates a mouth full of plastic for DD size bass.

I found that my Irod IRG754F was a good choice using 16 lb FC.

 

Yes, it's a big "worm" that really has me by the heartstrings right now. So were you successful with those hooks? Was one noticeably better than the other? What is your hookset like? I'm so out of my element at this point.

40 minutes ago, WRB said:

You don't have bass big enough for this worm in Michigan!

Tom

Ok, I can deal if I have to move these into my musky box, their mouths are plenty big enough.

 

What size should I switch to for 4-6 pound  largemouth?  Is the 10 inch still to big? Or must I go down to the 7"?

It's not the length of the big Zipper worm it's total mass that acts like a base ball size gum ball in the basses mouth. For bass in 5 lb to 8 lb size range 9" to 13" straight or ribbin tail worms work good. Lots of choices including Berkley's 10" Power worm.

I prefer Uptons Customs 9" & 13" dragon and straight worms using standard jig & worm bass tackle. 

Tom

4 minutes ago, WRB said:

It's not the length of the big Zipper worm it's total mass that acts like a base ball size gum ball in the basses mouth. For bass in 5 lb to 8 lb size range 9" to 13" straight or ribbin tail worms work good. Lots of choices including Berkley's 10" Power worm.

I prefer Uptons Customs 9" & 13" dragon and straight worms using standard jig & worm bass tackle. 

Tom

I have plenty of 10" worms like Powerworms and Jelly worms, and they are fine. But the shape and glide that the Zipper worms have is what gets my interest going. So are you saying that the volume of the 7" Zipper would be most appropriate for my size fish?

Bass don't know their size vs whatever they are willing to strike and make mistakes with a fish stuck in the throat. The 13" Zipper worm is about 1 1/2" wide and 1/2" thick, mostly ribs with normal 3/8" center wine spline. If the bass initially strikes the worm by it's head or front end they tend to try and engulf the entire worm before you can get a good hook set. If you set the hook quickly your odds are better counter to using other big worms to hesitate before hook setting.

8" to 10" Zipper style worms about 3/4" wide and 3/8" thick that should work for you.

Tom

Ok, that actually makes a lot of sense about a quicker hookset and also explains why I got a ball of plastic back instead of a fish. Given this revelation about total bait volume vs available space in the fish's mouth I think I will move the 13" versions to my musky box and pick up some of those 7" for normal fishing and the 9.5" for when I need a kicker.

 

Thanks, Tom!