How To Use A Worm As Bait – The Best Way To Rig A Worm For Fishing
For anyone who uses worms as bait, this article is for you. Whether you are new to fishing or you've been fishing for many years, worms are one of the best known and most effective baits that can be used. Fishermen have been using worms as bait ever since the only fishing rod available was a long stick. The interesting thing about this is that for most of that time the way that anglers use a worm as bait is not the most effective way that a worm could be used as bait.
If you want to know how to use a worm as bait you need to consider what a worm looks like in normal situations. Have you ever went out on a summer night after it rains and caught night crawlers? Or seen a worm on the sidewalk after it rains? A live worm is outstretched and moving in normal situations. If a worm accidentally crawled out of a river bed and got pulled downstream by the current, what would it look like? Again, outstretched and wriggling, while suspended in the water.
So why as anglers have we always figured that the best way to use a worm as bait was to thread said worm on to a hook? Or to hook the worm over and over again creating what I've always called a "worm ball"? The most likely reason is because no one ever showed us a better alternative than the two that I just mentioned. Now don't get me wrong, the two ways to rig a worm mentioned above will obviously catch fish, it's simply that they aren't the best or most effective way to rig a worm for fishing.
The best way to use a worm as bait is by making your worm appear as much as possible like it does in nature. This is accomplished by using a set of gang-hooks. Gang hooks are simply a pair of hooks tied in tandem which enable your worm to be presented as bait in an outstretched and natural manner. Presenting your worm in natural manner is much more effective, especially when it comes to larger more experienced fish.
Gang hooks are attached to your line using a barrel swivel (to prevent line twist) and can be used with almost any fishing method. These hooks are most effective when fished in rivers and/or streams. A live (or synthetic) worm rigged on a set of gang hooks and allowed to flow naturally with the current of your favorite river or stream is an extremely effective fishing technique. This technique can be used to catch fish such as smallmouth bass, trout, and even walleye at certain times of the year.
The bottom line is that the best way to rig a worm for fishing is a set of gang-hooks. As I mentioned earlier, this configuration of hooks can be used in almost any fishing situation from bottom fishing to fishing for Crappie with a slip bobber. Add these effective fishing hooks to your fishing repertoire sooner rather than later.
