Hot-Weather Worming Tactics for Bass
Day 5: Fishing a Worm that Does Nothing and a Texas Rig
Editor’s Note: When the Dog Days of summer drive bass deep, these special techniques may be your tickets to success.
  When Jack Chancellor of Phenix City, Alabama, won a Bassmaster Classic on what was called the Do-Nothing worm years ago, much of the bass fishing world became very excited about this particular style of worm-fishing. But the worm that does nothing hasn’t made a dramatic impact on the worm fishing world, because, according to Chancellor, who invented the successful lure, “It is just too simple to fish. Because this style of worm fishing is so simple, and anybody can catch bass using this tactic, most serious bassers won’t give the do-nothing style of fishing the credit it is due.”
Fishing with a worm that does nothing involves a 1-ounce lead sinker, a red plastic ball, a barrel swivel, about 3 feet of leader line and a 4-inch plastic worm with small hooks embedded in it. The angler swings this rig around his head and casts it out as far as he can throw, usually onto a mud or a clay bottom. The lead is allowed to sink to the bottom, and then the angler retrieves line slowly and steadily.
“That lead digs in the bottom and makes a little puff of smoke in its passing,” said the late Jack Wingate of Wingate’s Lodge ( HYPERLINK "http://www.wingatelodge.com/" http://www.wingatelodge.com/) on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia. “I think the bass is attracted to the sound the lead makes as it scrapes along the bottom and the puff of mud it sees after the lead passes. The next thing the bass sees is a small morsel of juicy worm floating just above the cloud of mud, swimming slowly and within easy reach. When the do-nothing worm comes along the bottom and a bass spots it, the worm appears to the bass to be a piece of prime steak that is being drug in front of a doghouse. Although the dog may have already eaten, when that tasty meal comes by slow and easy, instinct supersedes the lack of appetite. The dog and/or the bass will bite, whether it’s hungry or not.”
If getting a strike on a worm that does nothing is easy, properly setting the hook is even easier. The angler never should rear back and try to break the fish’s jaw with the do-nothing system, because the small hooks in the worm don’t bite very deeply into the bass’s mouth. “Once you get a bite on a worm doing nothing, just start reeling steadily,” Jack Chancellor explained. “The small hooks are so sharp that they will easily go into the bass’s bony jaw. Actually landing a big bass is surprisingly easy with the little hooks, if you don’t try to manhandle the fish.”
The Texas Rig
  The most-popular method of worm fishing in America today may be the Texas rig, which catches tons of bass. Utilizing a bullet-type sinker, the angler can put as much or as little weight on the worm as he deems necessary. In a high wind, when casting long distances, most anglers use heavy bullet sinkers to gain the distance they need to reach the fish. When the wind is calm, and you want to fish up-close or flip, a very-light bullet sinker or no lead at all may be preferred. By sticking the worm hook through the head of the worm and then embedding the point of the hook back into the worm, it becomes one of the most weed-free fishing lures available. Texas-rigging a worm permits anglers to drop their baits through treetops and bushes, swim them through grass, bounce them off logs, cast them into rocks or swim them up breakwalls. The Texas-rigged worm allows more bass fishermen to catch more bass under more fishing conditions than any other lure. If you don’t believe that, just ask the men who guide fishing parties or enter fishing tournaments.
 To learn more about how to fish for bass, click here, or go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, and type in the name of the book, “How to Bass Fish Like a Pro” to buy it. Too, you can download a Kindle app for free and buy the book from Amazon to read it on your iPad, Smartphone or computer.
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