Chunk worms have gotten very popular for smallmouth bass. These baits have become an awesome action bait that will also catch big bass too.
Ned Rig
The Ned rig has been modified and in its current form, it is a really awesome way to fish these shorter, but thicker soft plastic worms. There are so many awesome jigheads and baits that are being made by manufacturers that cater to anglers that want to fish a Ned rig.
Do You Have to Use The Ned Rig Jigheads and Wacky Style Worms?
No, you do not. You can do great by using your favorite jighead paired with most 3 to 4 inch chunk pieces of worms. Obviously, some works do look better under water and will attract more bass, however, this is a tough technique to mess up. Just about any decent looking worm can be made into a chunk worm and fished on a jighead.
What Sizes are Best for Smallmouth Bass Fishing?
Most anglers will be fishing with a piece of worm in the 3 to 4 inch range, but anglers have success with just 2″ chunk and up to those smaller wacky worms in the 4″ range. The shorter, thinner worms do attract a lot of smaller smallmouth bass while the thicker and slightly longer chunk worms give you a better chance to catch a big smallmouth bass.
How to Rig Chunk Worms
While the Ned rig may be the most popular way to fish these chunk worms, you can easily use your favorite jighead or even just the cheap ball style jigheads with a chunk piece of worm to catch smallmouth bass. Take any of your extra soft plastic worms that you would normally use for largemouth bass and cut off a 2.5 to 4 inch piece of worm. Rig it on a jighead and you’re set to go.
Best Techniques
Hop Them Along the Bottom
Chunk worms look great when hopped along the bottom. Use your favorite jighead and worm slowly along the bottom and you should get bites from smallmouth bass. This is one of the best ways to catch large numbers of smallmouth bass and it works for bigger bass as well.
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Fish Them Slowly Through the Water Column
Many anglers fish them with a very light jighead and let it fall slowly through the water column. You can keep it up off the bottom and still catch a lot of smallmouth bass, especially when bass are suspending up off the bottom. You can also fish some of these baits weightless with good results too.
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Shaky Technique
The shaky technique works great for drawing strikes from smallmouth bass that are not in the mood to chase a faster moving bait. Chunk worms don’t have great action with the shaky technique, but there is something about the worms that drive smallmouth bass crazy. If you can give these worms a little bit of action with this technique, you are most likely going to get bit.
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Vertical Jig Them
There is something about these short, but thicker worms that just drive smallmouth bass crazy when fished vertical over deeper water. It’s an awesome summer through early fall presentation.
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Dead Stick Them
In deeper water, you can often just dead stick them for smallmouth bass that are suspended. This technique usually works 15 to 25 feet down over water 20 to 50 feet deep. Large schools of smallmouth bass will often just move off the offshore structure and suspend around schools of bait in very deep water. A well-placed chunk worm can get the job done with the dead sticking technique.
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