I have no idea how many plastic worms I currently own. Nationwide, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of fish have been brought to the net or the hand after inhaling this plastic offering.

When my uncle and I fished years ago, these worms were always Texas-rigged. He would use no weight, preferring to let the worms sink slowly and naturally. I always used a sliding bullet sinker. The difference never seemed to matter; we usually caught about the same number of fish. I think our best morning was 61 bass. We quit when the sun was high in the sky and the temperature was rising. By about 11:00 am, we were off the water and headed home. All fish were released.

Our worms were rigged in such a way that the sharp hooks would penetrate the bass’s hard, bony mouth. We figured that, day-in day-out, plastic worms were the most effective lures that we could throw at the fish. I still feel pretty strongly that this is true.

Presently, if you read some national fishing magazines, you may have to look hard to find an article on the plastic worm and its effectiveness. There are so many rigs on the dealer’s shelves, and they receive so much hype, that the lowly plastic worm seems to be forgotten. The Damiki rig, the Tokyo rig, and the Ned rig are all the rage right now.

So are the various swim baits, chatterbaits, squarebill crankbaits and jerkbaits, ad infinitum. It’s enough to make an old farm boy fisherman’s head spin. Is the worm gone and dead forever? Hardly! Check any big box store such as Bass Pro Shops and you will find more than one aisle chock full of plastic worms in every size, color, scent and configuration.

So, who is using them? The everyday common farm pond, river and lake angler, such as the broken down, old fisherman who is writing this. And we are still catching fish on them.

I recently fished a farm pond with my friend, John Simindinger. While I was preparing equipment in the boat, he was casting an old plastic worm with exposed hooks and a small propeller on the front. Not very sophisticated, but he landed two fish on it at the same time. The bigger of the two was a healthy 2-pounder. We fished from the boat for less than two hours and John landed quite a few healthy bass on that old standby.

Another time, John and I were given permission to fish a small, old pond where I had not wet a line for years. I began with a Texas-rigged, green pumpkin, 6-inch worm. After catching a couple of bass, a foot long or so, I hooked an ol’ sow of a bass in the 5-pound category. She put up a pretty lively fight, but soon gave up, was brought to my hand, captured in a picture or two and released.

The next time I visited that same pond, I began with an identical setup, caught the same big ol’ sow, released her, thanked God, fished for another hour or so and left.

These are just a couple of examples of the effectiveness of the plastic worm. Nine times out of ten, when I fish a pond that is not muddy, I will begin with an offering similar to the one mentioned above.

Why is the worm so effective? Bass are opportunistic sight feeders. A plastic worm resembles a snake, or a real worm—something that looks alive, edible and easy to catch. A bass feeds most every day, but not all the time. When it is in a neutral mood, it will not move very far to catch its prey.

A Texas-rigged worm is usually moved very slowly across the bottom of a lake, river or pond. Since it looks or smells like easy prey, even a bass in a neutral mood will be likely to flare it gills, suck it in and begin to swallow it. This produces the famous tap-tap strike, and if an angler quickly sets the hook, it will be impaled in its mouth, not in its throat. Since I release almost all the bass that I catch, I don’t want a hook in its throat where it will be difficult to remove.

So, what is the best worm to use? For some reason which I cannot fathom, green pumpkin color seems to be the hot ticket right now. For all-around best results, choose a worm in length from 6 inches to as much as 10.

Looking for some new fishing techniques to try this season? You’ll find plenty of suggestions in every issue of MidWest Outdoors. Subscribe on our website.