Fishing with Kenny: Float a Worm, Swim a Jig

article by Kenny Covington

In the world of bass fishing it seems more and more there is a new “perfect” lure being introduced to supposedly help us catch fish better than ever before. More often than not when I see something new the first thing I do is consider what I may already have that will do the job just as good, if not better, than the newest toys. Most of the time I go back to my reliable stand-by’s because tried and true is more effective and efficient than what is new.

Now that we are in the beginning parts of spring, bass will be migrating shallow for their spawning rituals. To consistently catch fish I find myself turning to a couple of techniques that are just as deadly now as they were when I first used them close to 30 years ago. Granted there are several effective techniques for catching shallow water springtime bass, not all of them are fish catching friendly for both size of bass and numbers of bass. A floating worm and a swimming jig are a deadly combination that give you the best of both worlds.

THE FLOATING WORM
When I first began using the floating worm technique, I can remember being enamored by the bright colored worms being used to catch spawning bass and I was determined to try it on our local waters. It took some time experimenting with the technique to become totally comfortable with it and to learn the how and whys of it.

The fist key to this technique is the set up. I like a medium action 6’10 rod teamed up with 15 lb. Big Game line. I will tie a #5 barrel swivel on my main line and then create a small leader, usually no more than 10 inches in length, and tie on a 3/0 offset worm hook. The barrel swivel is important for a couple of reasons; it gives the lure just enough weight to keep the worm under the surface and it also keeps your line from twisting due to the action imparted by the angler.

The floating worm is usually more effective in water less than four feet deep. It’s a great choice when fishing submerged or scattered grass. Once the cast is made a simple “one-two” twitch cadence with a pause in between is all that is needed to make the worm come alive. Note: Always rig your floating worm with just a bit of a crook, as this will give the worm a lot of action during the retrieve.

It has been my experience the earlier in the spawn the brighter the worm you will want to use. I like pink, white and yellow and almost always start out fishing the pink colored one. I use the Zoom Trick Worm 100% of the time. As the spawn progresses and we move into post spawn I have found the more natural colors, such as watermelon/red or redbug, tend to work better. In overly stained water, regardless of time of year, I have found the yellow colored worm to be the best choice.

THE SWIMMING JIG
Springtime and spinnerbaits go together almost as much as peanut butter and jelly. It’s just a perfect match. The only problem with spawning fish is they tend to become conditioned to spinnerbaits quite quickly and become increasingly difficult to catch once this happens. This is where the swimming jig comes into play and is a deadly alternative.

Swim jigs aren’t much different than your standard flipping/pitching jigs. The main difference is the style of hook used and the thickness of the weedguard. For all intents and purposes, any jig can be used for this technique but I have found the more cone shaped head jigs tend to do better when coming through shallow cover. Most of the time I am going to use a 3/8 ounce jig but on occasion I will go up to a ½ ounce if I want to fish it a bit deeper if there is a problem with the wind. To make things easy I use the same rod/reel combination for my swim jigs as I do my spinnerbaits.

When fishing a swim jig, choosing a color and style of trailer should be based on water color. I do better when I keep my lure and trailer combinations simple so I throw three color swim jigs: shad, a bream color and black neon. For clearer water and fishing vegetation I match the shad swim jig with a white trailer. When fishing stained water later in the spawn, bream colored jig with a green pumpkin trailer is hard to beat. My favorite all round color combination, regardless of water color, is a black neon jig with the exact same color trailer. When using a swim jig I always use a Strike King Rage Craw as my trailer.

Just as spinnerbait fishing is mostly a cast and retrieve technique, so is fishing a swim jig. A good slow steady retrieve will usually do the job. I do like to skip it under over hanging limbs and docks in order to show fish a bait that they normally wouldn’t see. I do believe one of the critical points of fishing a swim jig is rod position. I always keep my rod at a 10 o’clock position during the retrieve because by doing so I don’t lose contact with the jig at any time. This also puts you in a better position to set the hook once you get a strike.

When fishing both the floating worm and the swimming jig I have found that the bigger fish tend to be in the “toughest place to cast” category. Being precise with your casts will pay off. Both techniques are great for beginning anglers and are great search tools when scouting for a tournament. Give them a try this spring, I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Well it looks like we have run out of space again for another month. I sure hope we were able to give you some tips that will help you put more fish in your box this spring. Be careful out on the water and be sure to catch one for me. See you next month!