How to Fish Swimming Worms for Spring Bass

Fishing with swimming worms can be an effective way to catch bass in the spring. These soft plastic baits are designed to mimic the natural movements of forage swimming about in shallow water so they can be deadly when used correctly. 

Here are a few tips to help you fish swimming worms effectively for spring bass:

Select the right gear: Start with a 6'6'' and 7'6" medium-heavy power, fast action rod, paired with a matching, high-speed spinning or baitcasting reel spooled with 12 to 20 lb. fluorocarbon line. Next, tie on a Texas rig with a pegged 1/8 to 1/4 oz tungsten bullet weight, a 2/0 to 4/0 light wire worm hook size appropriate for the length of the worm you'll be using.

Choose the right worm: Select a swimming worm around 5-8 inches in length, with a paddle tail (Zoom Speed Worm or Big Bite Baits Tour Swim Worm) or vibe-cut (Zoom Ultravibe or Gambler Burner) tail design that creates a lot of movement in the water. Colors that work well in the spring are natural greens, browns, and pumpkinseed in clear water, black, red bug or junebug in stained water as well as brighter colors like chartreuse or pink when standard colors fail.

Check different cover types: Target areas where bass are likely to be feeding, such as shallow coves, points, and flats. Focus casts around shallow cover like weed beds, stumps, laydowns and docks; all great ambush areas where feeding bass lurk. 

Experiment with presentation: When the water is still cool in the early spring start by casting your worm around cover, then let it sink to the bottom and finally begin slowly reel the worm back on a steady retrieve. If the bass is not responding to a slow. straight retrieve, begin making small twitches with your rod to impart a slightly erratic swimming motion. Keep your rod tip down and your line tight to ensure you can feel any bites. When the bite is detected, use a side-ways sweeping motion to set the hook.

If you're not getting any bites when fishing along the bottom, try varying your retrieve speed and depth you start the retrieve to determine what speed/depth combination triggers strikes during that outing. You can also try using a scent or attractant on your worm to make it more enticing to bass.

Take a few moment to watch the following video from the folks at W2F demonstrating the basics of fishing swimming worms for bass hiding around shallow cover: