Some time back, a question was asked by an angler who knows the basics of worm and jig fishing, but who has not been successful. He wanted to know how to develop a “feel” for this type of fishing.

It is important to build confidence along with a physical and mental feel. For this, a lot of strikes are needed. In Texas, many well stocked small lakes called “tanks” have very aggressive bass. In the Midwest, find a good, perhaps overstocked, farm pond or lake. The size of bass isn’t important since the main goal is to gain confidence and develop a feel for strikes and presentations.

To get the feel of a worm or jig, be sure to stay in contact with something on the bottom. Use a rod with good sensitivity, part of which can be the selection of line. A graphite rod with a braided or premium monofilament line will let you know when a fish is almost breathing on the lure.

Watch for line movement as well; you may want a high-visibility version. The highest visibility lines are solar green and yellow, but fluorescent blue is also good. Some anglers fear spooking the fish with bright lines, but in most cases, especially murky water, it doesn’t make much difference. Being able to see every movement is a great asset in developing both a physical and mental feel of what the lure is doing, and when a fish is striking.

You may want to use some sort of fish attractants. I’ve used pastes and liquids such as Kick’n Bass. These products hold to the bait longer, especially the paste, and help produce a longer hold time when the fish picks up the lure. They will also assist in planting a positive mental attitude, which is half the way to success. As the late Johnnie Crain always said, “I would rather be with it than without it, as it never hurts, but sure can help.”

Along this same line of thought, use lures with strong, built-in attracting factors, such as garlic, Power Bait, Kick’n Bass and salt. As I said, it will not only help produce a positive mental attitude, but will help catch fish, which will further enforce that attitude.

A tube is a great soft plastic lure that, when rigged Texas-style, is fished like a plastic worm. This will teach the technique of fishing a worm while providing a lot of strikes. These lures are very good scent holders; apply a small amount of your favorite attractant into the bottom opening.

Worms and jigs can be fished with a flip, pitch or cast method. They are used with crawl, bottom bounce, swim, pump, and drag techniques. Techniques are only limited by an angler’s imagination, but the ones mentioned are the basics.

While there are a lot of similarities between fishing a jig and a worm, one difference comes in the hookset. There is some forgiveness if you drop some slack with a worm, but dropping the rod tip, and giving a bass some slack on a jig, has a 98% chance of losing the fish. I learned this from the late Lonnie Stanley, one of the best jig fishermen in the country. If you drop the jig, the lure feels unnatural to the bass. When setting the hook, it is best to reel down while keeping a tight line, then “pop” the hook.

Fishing a jig with a worm trailer is a great combination. I like to use a small Blitz Spyder Finesse jig with a 4-inch Natural Forage Baits R4 Finesse Worm as a trailer. The straight-tailed worm makes an excellent trailer and ideal for triggering difficult bites. My favorite is a black/blue jig with a black/blue fleck worm trailer. The best retrieves are a slow crawl or bottom hopping with pauses.

While Texas rigging is best for fishing cover, a lead head jig, such as the BFishN Precision H2O head, works well in more open water. Worms of all lengths and styles can be given a waving and swimming action on a jig head. For finicky bass, a 4-inch finesse worm on a 1/8-ounce head can key success. This catches bass of all sizes and is a great way to “learn the feel.”

Color is another part. When trying to build confidence, you can’t go wrong with black for the worm, and black/blue for the jig, with a black or black/blue trailer. At this point, don’t get carried away with large color selections.

While I can’t explain all of the “feels” that an angler will sense through their rod, I can touch on one that fools many. I call it a “soft weight.” The best way to experience this is to place the rod tip under a tree limb, and lift. The rod will bend slightly but will still move upward with the pressure of the limb. This is exactly how many less-aggressive strikes feel—especially those on a jig.

Remember to concentrate on everything that the lure is doing by feeling it through the rod and watching the line. This helps develop a mental picture of what the lure is doing as it stays in contact with whatever structure is being fished. If anything looks or feels different, set the hook.

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.