How to Fish with Live Worms

It perplexes me, but many anglers aren’t aware of how to fish with live worms. Fishing with live worms isn’t difficult, however there are a few things that can be done to tip the odds in your favor, and those things don’t involve “threading” a live worm onto a hook or creating anything that even remotely resembles a “worm ball”. Threading live worms onto hooks has long been the standard for fishing with live worms, and this is crazy because it’s not the most effective way. The most effective way to fish with live worms, or any live bait for that matter, is to have it look as natural as possible. This simply means that it should appear like it would in nature. And when’s the last time you saw a live worm all “balled up” in nature? In nature worms appear outstretched, the way God intended.

So the way to fish with live worms is to have them appear outstretched and natural and the best way to accomplish this is through the use of a set of gang hooks. What is a set of gang hooks? A set of gang hooks is simply a pair of small hooks (usually 6, 8, or 10) that are tied in tandem, thus enabling the angler to present live worms in an outstretched and natural manner. Gang hooks are the most effective way to present live worms while angling and will out fish “threading” a worm onto a hook 2 to 1. This is especially true for larger, more experienced fish. If a “worm ball” looks strange to humans, what do you think it looks like to fish?

The other piece of fishing gear that needs to be employed if you fish with live worms is a bait bag. What’s a bait bag you ask? A bait bag is simply a small bag that hangs from your fishing vest, belt, or shirt, and carries your live worms while fishing. This may sound strange, but if you move from area to area while fishing, like I do, then you need to use a bait bag to carry your live worms. Always knowing right where your bait is and having is literally “at your fingertips” is a godsend, not to mention a HUGE time saver. If you don’t move around at all while you fish, then forget this tip, but if you are at all mobile while fishing and fish with live worms, do yourself a favor and look into a bait bag.

These simple tips will help you become a better live worm angler. To me, when done properly, live worm angling is every bit the art form that flea flicking has ever been purported to be. It’s simply that many anglers think that “threading” a live worm onto a hook and chunking it into the water is live worm angling? I have to disagree. To me, there is much more to fishing with live worms than that.


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