Rubber Bass Worms
Many anglers prefer to use a single lure for year-round fishing. If this sounds like you, Rubber or Plastic worms are your best bet. They are the most popular and frequently used lures to catch bass, and they can be fished during any season and through all weather conditions.
They're used by anglers of all experience levels and used to catch many of the trophy bass topping record lists worldwide.
These baits are used by anglers as the go-to option when the fish won't bite on anything else. In this article, we'll break down the different types of plastic worms, how to fish them, and provide our recommendations on the best rubber worms for catching bass.
Gary Yamamoto Senko
The Gary Yamamoto Senko is one of the most versatile and widely used baits of all time. The popular stick bait works in any water clarity and during any time of the year. The most effective way to cast a Senko is to take advantage of its subtle falling action.
When it drifts down to the bottom, the Senko flutters and wiggles and has great natural movement, the key to knowing when you've got a fish on is to watch your line and gauge how fast your bait's falling. If the line twitches or speeds up, it's a sign you've probably caught a fish.
You can rig this worm with a Neko Rig, Wacky Rig, or Texas Rig Setup. We have a guide on the best Senko Worm colors for bass for more information.
Strike King Fat Baby Finesse Worm
This worm comes in great colors, it's a great size for almost any bass, and it's a fantastic worm to set up with a Drop Shot Style. You want to use a finesse fishing style with the Strike King Fat Baby Finesse Worm and target any cover you find. Cover can mean bushes, trees, lily pads, or anything else that a fish could hide behind.
When you're finesse fishing with this worm, the key is to fish slow and really give the fish a chance to bite. These baits are also softer than others, which means bass are less likely to spit them out after biting. This can be a huge advantage as it will give you more time to react to a strike and nail your hook set.
Strike King also makes many popular baits. We have a guide to the best Dream Shot worm colors for more information about their products.
Googan Baits 10" Mondo Worm
Larger worms, such as these 10" Googan Baits, are popular in Texas but are used everywhere. The Googan Baits 10" Mondo Worm is ideal for deep water fishing, flipping under shallow docks, casting in between trees, and more. This bait is especially popular for anglers targeting brush piles and drifting over ledges.
This bait has a much shorter tail than most Ribbon Tail style worms. This is almost like a Sickle Tail Bait with its proportions. The shorter, compact tail helps you get through brush piles better. The flange at the end kicks out water and has a great thumping effect.
This worm will prove extremely productive from the late march through the fall when these big worms become more popular. The 10" Mondo Worm is best used for catching big fish when the water starts to warm up. During this time, the fish become more active and prefer something with a larger profile.
The bait is made with 40% shrimp scent that really makes bass aggressive. In our opinion, this worm is one of Googan Baits' best products. Googan Baits is at the forefront of Rubber Worm innovation, and they really got the design on this one spot on.
T-mac 6" Worm
The T-mac 6" Worm deserves to be on this list because it is a less known bait that absolutely hammers fish. You could probably draw the most similarities between this lure and the Zoom Trick Worm, but the T-mac has a better quality design.
T-mac thought of the angler first as they built in a fatter head, helping keep your worm on your hook longer. If you're an avid angler who's currently throwing a Zoom Trick Worm, I implore you to try out baits made by T-mac.
Out of the pack, these baits are ready to be set up with a Shaky Head Rig, and they also are a great choice if you lean towards using Texas Rigs. These baits also have a superior scent to almost all other rubber worms, and this more pungent scent means higher hookup ratios.
Roboworms
The Roboworm Live Shad really shows its best qualities when Dropshotting Deep Clear Water Reservoirs. This bait is a great choice for targeting slower-moving, colder water bass. This worm specializes as a drop shot bait, and the colors it comes in gives it a realistic presentation.
There are many great colors of the Roboworm, but one that stands out is the Hologram Shad Color Pattern, which matches a shad or baitfish profile.
The Roboworm has a great variety of colors, which allows you to match it to the baitfish colors in your specific bodies of water. If your not a fan of the drop shot approach, an alternative is to rig it up on a small shaky head. The Hologram shad color pattern will mimic a wide variety of baitfish.
If you fish this bait early in the morning during the fall, you'll also see some incredible results. Try your best to target shallow water areas along the bank where plenty of weeds provide enough bass cover.
TRD by Zman (Ned Rigs)
The Ned Rig TRD by Zman is made from elastic and malleable plastic that makes it exceptionally stretchy and resilient. This will catch lots of fish in a short period of time, especially if you're fishing for smallmouth bass, which hammers this style of worm.
This is a Ned Rig plastic bait, and when the fishing gets tough, you can rely on putting this thing on a Mushroom Jig Head or Ball Head to get fish into the boat.
We want to mention that if you're fishing in a lake or river where it's already common for anglers to use Ned Rigs, you should consider using a different style bait, such as a tube bait. However, if the fish aren't already used to them, you need to try the TRD by Zman on a Ned Rig setup because the bass will smash it. This holds true, especially during Springtime when the compact soft plastic style is best.
Fat Romoworms
When it comes to Fat Roboworms, go with either the 4.5" or 6" long varieties. This bait is universal and comes in realistic and unique colors. Romoworm has been winning tournaments for years on the Westcoast of the United States, so there's little left to be said about this one.
The 6" Margarita Mutilator seems to be everybody's favorite worm on the Westcoast, but the bass are getting too used to it in many fisheries. This bait will catch fish on the Eastcoast, in Southern fisheries, and overall, Roboworm delivers outstanding products.
How to setup a Texas Rig
The Texas Rig is the best go-to style for rigging Rubber Worms. This style provides the best weedless presentation, but it keeps its realistic look.
To rig the bait, insert your hook into the end of the worm. Push the bait through until it hits the sharp bend in your Worm Hook, then poke the hook out of the worm. Slide your worm to the top of the hook to hide the hook's eye and make this rig even more weedless.
Then, bend the worm and push the hook's end through the egg sac to prevent it from catching onto weeds. If you're fishing a two-tone worm, there will be a lighter side and a darker side. You want to keep the lighter side of the bait on the bottom with your Texas Rig presentation.
Wacky Rig Setup
A Wacky Rig setup is great when the bite is super tough because it gives more action to your worm. If you get a Wacky Jighead, you'll be able to cover more water and present your bait to more fish.
You can fish this rig with spinning tackle, and a 20lb braid is a great starting place for deciding on your line strength.
Choosing Hooks for Rubber Worms
The best hook size is one that will hit the front of the egg sac. Make sure it doesn't pass the egg sac into the body of the worm. If you're missing fish, you're probably using a hook that's too big.
When you're targeting smaller fish, you'll usually want a smaller hook, but use a larger hook in other situations. It's essential to consider hook size when targeting largemouth bass.
Conclusion
If you have a handful of colors of the worms on this list, you can confidently fish anywhere in the country, year-round, and produce fish.
We've recommended worms that work in every part of the country, during every season, and under any conditions. If you follow our advice, you will start to catch more fish.
