KEN COOK ON BASS FISHING

Ken Cook's Doodling Worm Technique

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ken Cook of Meers, Oklahoma, a professional bass fisherman since 1983, and before that a fisheries biologist, won the BASS Masters Classic in 1991, as well as other B.A.S.S. events.

Question: Ken, what is doodling?
Answer: Well, fishing for bass has gotten tough. Anglers are having a rough time catching fish on crankbaits, spinner baits and/or jerkbaits. Therefore, many fishermen have started slowing down and fishing deep, clear water. And I don't know of any better technique for fishing deep, clear water than doodling a plastic worm.

Most anglers who doodle use a plain, straight-tail worm. I'll usually Texas-rig a straight-tail worm with a 1/4-ounce to a 1/16-ounce sinker, depending on how deep I'm fishing. If I'm fishing a bigger worm, I'll fish with a 1/8- or a 3/16-ounce sinker. I use a glass bead and Berkley's Vanish, a fluorocarbon line that's truly revolutionizing worm fishing. Vanish sinks with the bait because it's heavier than nylon line and has less stretch and more hook-setting strength. So you have two advantages. One, you feel more confident because the line goes straight to the bait and doesn't have the coil in it that nylon does since nylon floats, and Vanish also falls faster, getting the bait to the bottom quicker. Often I'll use 6-pound-test line, sometimes 8-pound-test up to 10-pound-test line with this technique because I'm fishing 10 to 40 feet deep, often vertically.

For instance, when you read the fish on your depthfinder, and you'll be able to tell whether the fish are suspended up off the cover or holding on the bottom. The doodling technique involves shaking the rod tip. I use a rattling brass sinker, a Thunder Bull, which already has rattles in the sinker. Then I'll put on a glass bead and tie it to the hook. When I shake the rod tip, it all rattles together. Watch it in the water when you drop your rod tip. The sinker, the bead and the worm will separate. When you jerk it, it all comes back together and that makes it click. As you shake the rod tip, you're clicking the sinker and the glass bead together, which gives off a lot of noise and attracts fish to the bait. Many times you'll pull fish a long way with this technique, even in clear water. What you're doing is creating an attraction through sound. You have a little finesse worm that looks like something easy for the fish to eat. This technique really pays off in bass when you fish deep, clear water when the fish aren't biting.

Question: Is doodling usually a hot-weather technique?
Answer: Generally doodling is a summertime technique, but it works very well in cold weather, too. I use the same tactic with maybe a jig head or a little more bulky bait in the wintertime. This jig head will slow down the fall of the bait, and you'll get a little more action with a curly-tail grub. But in the summertime, I usually use the straight-tail Power Finesse Worm.

Question: You've got a finesse rod, right?
Answer: The Ken Cook Signature Lightning Rod we've designed for this is a 6-foot, 4-inch medium-heavy fast-action rod with a stout butt. But the tip is light enough that you can cast light bait with it. You have sensitivity because of the light tip, and yet you have enough butt power to set the hook. When you Texas rig a worm to doodle, you'll have the hook buried in the plastic. You need power in the rod to set the hook, even with 6- or 8-pound test line. This rod has the right amount of power and yet it has a tip that allows you to feel the bait and make casts with light bait.

Question: What makes your finesse rod different from everybody else's?
Answer: This rod has super-hard stainless-steel guides that give it tremendous balance. I'll put an Abu Garcia reel on it, depending on the size of line I'm using. With those reels, the rod balances perfectly. It's not tip-heavy because the stainless-steel guides are very light and make your rod tip very lightweight, which contributes a great deal to sensitivity. The rod is well-balanced and has the right action. This rod has everything you need for doodling a worm.