I use 5" Reaction Tackle plastic worms. They are 9.5mm in diameter (0.374016 inch). Last year I had been using 5mm VMC Crossover Rings with them and had no problems. I bought two more packs of 5mm rings early spring.

 

With the same worms this year, I'm finding I'm losing a lot of worms. The bass are pulling them out of the rings! And it's not just one or two, it's two or three per 3 hour fishing trip! I'm not sure if the two packs I bought are a little larger than the 5mm they're supposed to be (I do have calipers, but I keep forgetting to take them with me to check the ring size), or maybe they're a bit softer than the ones I was using last year.

 

What ratio of Crossover Ring size to worm diameter do you folks use?

 

It's frustrated me enough that I switched to using plastic crawfish.

 

 

Are you sure its bass pulling them out?  I've had sunfish grab the end and pull them out but generally speaking if a decent sized bass takes it, they are going to get the hook too, unless its just a dink.

 

I have been experimenting with the crossover rings this season a little and I like them.  I use the 7mm ones for 5 inch stick baits.

1 minute ago, gim said:

Are you sure its bass pulling them out? 

 

They're fairly hard strikes in an area where Largemouth are abundant.

I use 6mm for a regular 5" senko, 5mm for thin senko. 

I use 5’s for the crush city pigstick. Don’t have a measurement on them, but that’s what works for me…I literally threw a worm and nail weight out of a size 7 once…

29 minutes ago, AdrianLP said:

I use 5" Reaction Tackle plastic worms. They are 9.5mm in diameter (0.374016 inch). Last year I had been using 5mm VMC Crossover Rings with them and had no problems. I bought two more packs of 5mm rings early spring.

 

With the same worms this year, I'm finding I'm losing a lot of worms. The bass are pulling them out of the rings! And it's not just one or two, it's two or three per 3 hour fishing trip! I'm not sure if the two packs I bought are a little larger than the 5mm they're supposed to be (I do have calipers, but I keep forgetting to take them with me to check the ring size), or maybe they're a bit softer than the ones I was using last year.

 

What ratio of Crossover Ring size to worm diameter do you folks use?

 

It's frustrated me enough that I switched to using plastic crawfish.

 

 

This has happened to me too. Fish absolutely can pull it out.  They grab a good mouthful of the tail and take off. You feel the tug and presume a fish is on. So you put some pressure on the rod to fight the fish and the line goes limp. Crossover ring comes back intact, no fish. Has happened to me several times with the 5mm.

 

I have switched to the 4mm. Tighter fit. Seems to be working better. Though I do wonder if this will split the worm easier.

 

I'm also using plain old silicone tubing in 4mm and I think it works just as well. At least for Neko fishing.

This is odd to me, because we use 7mm and even 8mm crossover rings (not always using Yamamoto senkos) and don’t lose any baits.  🤷🏼‍♂️ 

I use.006 for Senko's and.003 for finesse worms like flickshake.

If you can't open the small rings with the VMC tool just use needle nose pliers, works great.

That’s good to know. I’ve got some new flick shakes I want to try now. I am going to throw them on the Zappu inch wacky as well…

Started our with 7mm on Yamamoto Senko  inch but I ended up using the 5mm, did a lot better. 

For the pigstick I had been using 5 but I just dropped down to a 4. Anything bigger on that bait with sunfish around and it’s like a hot dog in a hallway.

1 hour ago, Pumpkin Lizard said:

sunfish around

 

This is why it leads me to think that the OP is dealing with those pecker heads and not bass.

7 minutes ago, gim said:

 

This is why it leads me to think that the OP is dealing with those pecker heads and not bass.

I've seen a fry guarding bass suck a senko out of a 7mm band, why I switched to the 6 originally. But I agree at least for me it's almost always gills ripping worms out of the ring.