Floating Worms.

Bass love topwater. Period. Topwater is a term that describes any bait that does not break the surface of the water. The most widely known topwater bait on the market today is the original floating Rapala Minnow. Since the original Rapala was invented there has been innumerable advances in bass fishing lure design and technology, one of which is the topwater plastic. There are two main subdivisions of soft plastic topwater baits widely used nowadays; worms and snakes. Both of these baits produce a similar effect, snakes tending to be larger. I find that, in using topwater plastics I can effectively extend the topwater bite, which is generally restricted to morning and dusk.

The brand of topwater worms I use and will be giving my opinion on is Strike King. Strike King has been my choice for floating bass worms for a couple of years now for a couple of reasons. These topwater worms have the shape of a trick worm, which lends to erratic snake-like motion across the surface, which drives bass insane. The difference between the Strike King Floating Bass Worms and an ordinary trick worm is the low density material that the Strike King is constructed with. I really don't know how to describe the feel of the rubber, all I know is that it is virtually indestructible. Below there is a picture of me holding both ends of a 7" Strike King floating worm and stretching it to about 4'. This is by far the most durable plastic I have ever fished.

The difficulty in fishing floating bass worms lies in simply keeping it floating. Using a standard texas rigging hook that you would use for fishing a Senko styled lure will inhibit the ability for this bait to float. In order to keep the bait afloat I fish it with a smaller texas rigging hook, the same size I would use for a 3" Slug-go. This of course can lead to some frustration when a bass is nipping at the tail of the bait. For those of you searching out larger fish, in the range 3 pounds and up I would strongly suggest switching to a 10" Topwater snake. Topwater snakes are very similar to basic floating worms, just larger, with a head shaped like a snake. The great thing about topwater snakes is that they can float a size 5/0 hook. The ability to fish a bigger hook means an increase in your chances of hooking a bass that takes your bait.

Floating worms are most effective in shallow structure under clear waters. Fishing topwater worms is known to be an effective tactic in the spring when pulling spawing bass off of their beds. There are three ways that I rig a floating worm, the first being with a small hook so that it doesn't break the surface. Using a small hook and making small jerks with your rod tip will give the bait an erratic motion across the surface which entices bass into striking. This approach is best in the morning and at dusk when the sun is not on the water and the fish are most likely to break the surface, however will produce solid catches all day long.

The second topwater worm approach I use is texas rigging a larger sized hook to create a suspending subsurface walking effect. Depending on the depth you wish to achieve with this approach your hook size will vary, but you will get the same effect. This will created the same erratic motion created by the topwater approach, just slightly below the surface. This is a great approach for shallower water where the bass seem too timid to break the surface. For bass holding deeper in the water column I rig the topwater worm with texas rigging hook with a light lead or tungsten head on it, about 1/8 ounce. The weight you choose to fish this rig with will also depend on the depth you wish to reach. Allowing this weight to sink to the bottom will let the floating worm float straight upwards, which gives a bass a lot to look at and to grab on to. Remember, fishing any of these three rigs allows us to bury the hook back into the bait, therefore making it weedless, so the only thing stopping your lure will be a bass' mouth.

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