When is a swimming worm a better choice than a paddletail? I don't hear much about them anymore except maybe in Florida.

What would you see to lead you to stop using a keitech and start swimming a worm?

 

Here in the midwest, I love throwing the gambler burner worm w/ 3/16oz weight post spawn till midsummer.  It can work fast/slow and low/high.  The bigger profile seems to protect the dinks.  I'm sure it can work more often than what I'm doing, but it really comes in handy when I'm not sure what part of the break the fish are set up on.  Dragging, hopping, straight reeling, they all work for me.  I will say if the bite is happening on straight reeling, I usually switch out to a swim jig.  I'm more confident that it gets bigger bites.

 

scott

We do the ol' floatin' worm deal around here a lot. Mainly a post

 spawn fry guarder thing.

Don't really swim it as much as twitch it like a Fluke.

I got on a great swimming worm bite last fall just burning it down the center of coves in 2-6'of water. No idea what made me throw that, probably a YouTube video or something, but it sure was fun! I still generally definitely to a rage swimmer over a worm, to me it looks more real like a shad which is primary forage here and it gets bit in a variety of conditions. 

A swimming worm like an ultravibe speed worm is one of the best drop baits made. Combine that with a slow retrieve back to the boat and you have a presentation that covers the water column and allows you to move constantly. 
 

On top of that, a swimming worm is a great topwater bait, especially over vegetation or pad fields. 
 

I got on a great swimming worm bite last year until midsummer when it very abruptly stopped. They wouldn’t even sniff at the worm anymore. 

To me it depends the time of year. From mid February into early June I like to fish a weightless Gambler 13 inch ribbon tail worm or their ER 16 inch soft worm. As the water warms I  will mix in  a 3/16 No bullfrog. The big girls like to eat too. The above baits work well in the hucklebuck. In June I start using more smaller baits on Carolina rigs & swim baits etc. One of the better ones is a 8 inch super floater on a Carolina rig. I guess my answer is I feel the chance of catching a bigger fish is greater during those months.

I use em all spring and summer. My favorite is a Rage cutter. 1/8 ounce weight and fish it slow and close to the bottom. 

On 4/18/2024 at 8:02 PM, Glenn said:

 

Big Bite Bites Tour Swim Worm and the Zoom Ultravibe Speed Worm are my favorites ...

Deep, clear water and spotted bass I’m throwing the Keitech. Largemouth,vegetation and shallower water then I’m throwing the speed worm. They are interchangeable to a degree but those are the guidelines I follow. I like to keep both with me no matter what kind of lake I’m fishing. 

I have been working with the Zoom Z-craw worm since last fall I think it works out for the best.

Thanks for all the comments - my biggest take away is it fits a good spot when the mode is "trying to figure them out" since it can be fished in a few different ways (more like a worm at targets or more like a paddletail) and likely at a wider range of speeds as well.