The Wacky Worm… when I first saw this lure, I thought, “What the heck?” Matt and I were fishing with some friends on a lake they know well and told us just to trust them! At this lake, the bass hit it like crazy – what a blast! So after several fishing trips with them and several shopping trips to Bass Pro, Matt and I have started using the wacky worm at some of our local fishing spots and had success!

The Setup
For our wacky worm setup, choose from any of the wacky worm colors in the 5-3/8-inch size (ours are salted as well). You’ll also need large off-set shank wide-gap hooks for soft plastic bait application (we use size 3/0), an O-Wacky Tool and O-Wacky O-Rings. The O-Wacky Tool makes it extremely simple for rigging. Start by tying a plain hook on your fishing line. Then have your o-rings on the O-Wacky Tool and insert your wacky worm in the tool. Slide one o-ring over the tool and onto the middle of your worm. Then slide your hook under the o-ring on your worm. You’re ready!

We use this setup with the o-ring because it saves your worm and lasts much longer than hooking on the worm directly!  Wacky worms have a couple names – Bass Pro’s version is called Stik-O-Worm.

Showtime!
When using wacky worms, you typically want to be fishing on a boat and casting to shore. However, this weekend I landed this big 19- to 20-inch bass using a wacky worm just on shore! Matt and I were planning to take the boat out, but with storms hanging around, we thought we better play it safe and wait it out on shore. How I made it work for me was by fishing corners of the pond where I could cast to the adjacent shore.

Wacky worms give you some nice weight so they are easy to cast out and make you feel like a pro (it always feels so good when you fling your lure and it lands perfectly next to shore or a structure)! First, let it just sit and drift down. Next, you can try a slow, constant reel but many times bass will strike when the worm is falling. To do this, I swing my fishing pole away, pulling (can twitch it as well if you want) the lure slowly forward in the water, and then reel in my slack line as I swing the pole back. I’ll keep repeating this until the lure is back to my shore or, of course, a fish hits! This technique lets your worm fall between swings and gives bass that irresistible opportunity at your lure!

I’m no pro at fishing, so whether you are an experienced angler or not, this lure is a blast and something easy enough for anyone to use! Give it a try!

~Jen