Curly Tail Worms are some of the most common soft plastics that are used for largemouth bass.
What Sizes are Best for Largemouth Bass Fishing?
Finesse-Sized Worms (4 to 6″ Worms)
The finesse-sized curly tail worms will work great for catching greater numbers of largemouth bass with mostly smaller bass. These types of worms are perfect for smallmouth bass, but they are also great for catching lots of largemouth bass. They are definitely an action type of bait for largemouth bass.
Medium-Sized Worms (6-8″)
The curly tail worms in this size range used to be the standard for worms and largemouth bass fishing. The 5″ wacky worm has taken over that title nowadays, but plenty of anglers still fish with a curly tail worm in the 6 to 8 inch size range and it still produces like it always has in years past.
Big Curly Tail Worms (Over 8″)
The bigger curly tail worms are great for targeting big largemouth bass. Anything over 8 inches long would be considered a big worm, but the 10 to 12 inch worms are the preferred size for most anglers looking to fish a big worm. Worms in the 10 to 12 inch range range will catch big bass all over the country as long as you are fishing places with big largemouth bass.
How to Rig Curly Tail Worms
There are so many of these worms in so many different sizes that you can fish just about any popular bass fishing rig on some of these baits. The Texas rig is probably the most popular rig for the larger curly tail worms, but you can fish a variety of different jigheads, the Carolina rig, split shot rig, weightless rig and more with success.
Best Techniques
Flipping & Pitching Around Cover
Whether you are using smaller curly tail worms or the larger worms, flipping them around shallow water cover is one of the most popular ways to catch largemouth bass.
Hop Them Along the Bottom
Use your favorite soft plastic rig and work these curly tail worms along the bottom. Largemouth bass will almost always hit the bait on the fall, however, don’t be shocked if some bass hit the bait as you are lifting it up since the curly tail worm gives these baits a nice swimming action too.
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.
Swim Them
The curly tail finesse worms look great Some anglers choose to swim curly tail worms for largemouth bass. This can also be effective especially when using smaller worms that are similar in size to minnows. Pick a baitfish color and you’ll catch bass with a slow and steady swimming retrieve. Swimming the larger curly tail worms may be hit or miss, but they definitely have their moments, so don’t rule out this technique.
