Ring worms are one of the better action baits you can use for largemouth bass. Whether you drop shot them or swim them, they are an excellent bait. Because most ring worms are smaller finesse-style baits, don’t expect to catch a bunch of big bass on these baits. They are more of an action bait. If more manufacturers would make larger ring worms, they could easily become a big largemouth bass bait, but at this time, it’s definitely an action bait.
Popular Fishing Techniques
Hop Them Along the Bottom
A ringworm looks great worked along the bottom on a jighead or drop shot rig. Work it along slowly and wait for your bites.
Swim Them
A slow swimming motion drives bass crazy when they are active and looking for a meal. Use a bait fish colored worm and you will get a lot more bites with the swimming technique.
Twitch Them
The twitching technique is a technique you can use with a shaky head jig or a drop shot rig. It works better with a drop shot rig, however, the shaky head jigs look good too. Basically, you’re trying to give the bait action without moving it much out of its original spot. By doing this, you’re creating action while keeping your bait in a good spot to draw more strikes from largemouth bass.
Fish Them Slowly Through the Water Column
Use a simple lift and pause retrieve with some occasional erratic jerks to tempt bass that are suspended in the water column. Most of your bites will come on the slow fall on the pause of your retrieve.
Popular Fishing Rigs
Bass Jig
Bass jigs and ringworms look great. You can use. variety of color patterns, but the baitfish color patterns work awesome when swimming a bass jig and ringworm.
Bladed Swim Jigs
A bladed swim jig and ringworm work well together, especially when you use a color pattern that matches popular baitfish that can be found in the body of water you are fishing.
Drop Shot Rig
The drop shot rig is one of the better ways to work a ring worm, especially if the ring worms float. The action is great with a lift and fall retrieve and you can also swim them slowly with this rig too.
Jighead
Jigheads are one of the best ways to fish ring worms. Cast them out and either swim them in with a slow and steady retrieve or hop them along the bottom.
Scrounger Jighead
Scrounger jigheads work well with ring worms. With the scrounger, you can bring the worm in with a slower retrieve which helps you work these baits in shallower water without getting hung up on the bottom.
Spinnerbaits
Spinnerbaits and ringworms are an awesome combination. Use a color pattern that mimics popular baitfish that can be found in the water you are fishing and you’ll definitely get more bites.
Standup Jighead
A standup jighead is a great way to fish these worms along the bottom slowly. Use a lift and pause retrieve and the bait will sit up off the bottom on the pause part of the retrieve. This will help to trigger bites.
Underspins
You can fish ring worms on many of the underspins that are on the market. Some underspins are a little big, but many of them work great. Cast them out and wind them in with a slow and steady retrieve.
