How to Fish the Texas-Rigged Plastic Worm

By Carlton Holliday

A how-to manual to buying the necessary equipment, properly rigging the Texas-rigged worm, fishing the Texas-rigged worm, various techniques for fishing the Texas-rig, additional tips and techniques.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 2, 2007
• ISBN: 9781312415256

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How to Fish the Texas-Rigged Plastic Worm

How to Fish the Texas-Rigged Plastic Worm for Bass

All Rights Reserved.  This Book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal

New Revision

Sixth Revision February, 2017

ISBN #: 978-1-312-41525-6

Carlton Doc Holliday

5277 HWY 270E Lot 3

Mount Ida, AR 71957

[e-mail]

Copyright © 2017 by Carlton Doc Holliday

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First, I want to thank You for your interest in this e-book "How to Fish the Texas-Rigged Plastic Worm for Bass" and Congratulations for taking a positive step towards becoming a more informed bass fisherman or lady.

The intent of this book is to provide You an overview of rigging a worm properly, types of worms, terminal tackle and what to look for as to cover, where to fish, what rods and reels to use and what special circumstances to look for.

The ebook will provide education about many of the factors You need to understand Bass and their habits, some tools You can use to make better decisions about where, when and why to fish at certain times and places and how to identify the best cover and structure for the circumstances You are encountering.

There is also information on equipment, tackle and baits plus a discussion of bait colors to provide You enough information to make informed decisions and choices.

This e-book is intended to give You as much of the needed information available to make You a better worm fisherman or lady.

Preface

Every day it seems that the public is taking notice that there may be just a bit more to bass fishing than just the Sunday morning bass fishing shows they see on TV.  Look in your neighborhood and see how many bass boats are parked in the driveway or garage.

Bass fishing presently is America's number one freshwater sport.  In fact, the bass fishing industry has grown to be 70% higher than any other type of fresh water fishing.  In the past 25 years’ bass fishing, has grown from a million-dollar industry to an estimated 4.8 billion-dollar industry in today's world and is still growing each day.

The most productive and tournament proven bait and technique for catching bass is the plastic worm.  This technique has won more bass tournaments than any other combination of techniques used!

I am a bass fisherman and have fished professionally for many years winning tournaments in several circuits including the Redman, Country Boy, USA Team Bass, Anglers Choice, Arkansas Guys and Gals, three different bass clubs, Arkansas Team Bass, Mr. Bass of Arkansas and many open tournaments.  In every instance of a win or top five placement, it was done with a plastic worm.

Most fisherman are very shy about using the plastic worm for several reasons; it’s too slow, I can’t tell when I get a bite, it costs too much for the equipment, it is too time consuming, and it is too slow not allowing me to cover a lot of water.  These aspects of worm fishing will be addressed throughout this e-book.

Bass fishing offers some other intrinsic values to the participants that not many other sports can offer. There is no other feeling in the world than sitting on a completely calm lake at daybreak and just enjoying the view or trying to fathom the enormity of it all.

One of the other intrinsic values is the quality time it provides for You and your family.  I especially enjoy the time spent on the water with my wife when we have a chance to get out on the water for a few hours of bass fishing.

One other value bass fishing provides is competition.  Not like other types of sports such as football, soccer, basketball, or baseball where You must be a top athlete and prove extraordinary abilities to become a successful pro, bass fishing is quite different.  Yes, the more time You spend on the water, the more You practice, and the more You learn the techniques of bass fishing You cannot help but become a better fisherman.

From the competition angle, You are facing a wary, smart foe in his environment and on his terms.  There is also the thrill or disappointment of beating or losing the day’s battle to your wife or buddy and who caught the biggest bass.

The basis of this book is the mistakes, screw-ups and lessons learned both from several top bass fishermen and the hard way as I learned to fish with the plastic worm.  I have included some tips and helpful hints I learned from several top professional fishermen to make your bass fishing much more enjoyable and successful.

My goal for this e-book is to provide You with enough information through this e-book to at least make the right decisions when buying and using equipment, tackle, what colors to look for, what cover and structure is productive and which techniques will work best for You.

Biography / Credentials

What gives me the right to offer or teach You anything about fishing rivers?  Here is a brief bio of my career as a Professional Bass Fisherman.

Carlton Doc Holliday began his competitive fishing career in Fort Smith, Arkansas in the mid-1960’s with the Fort Smith Bass Club.  At that time, Bill Norman was the best fisherman in the club and spending a lot of time working with REBEL Manufacturing to get it off the ground.  Bill and I became very good friends and fishing partners.  During this period, Bill and I became the fishermen to beat in the bass club by consistently finishing in the club Top 6 and going to the State Federation Tournaments for several years in a row.

Bill introduced me to Bill Dance by an accident.  Bill Dance was considering one of the new Rebel Boats as a sponsorship offer from Rebel.

This weekend, Bill Norman, Bill Dance and the prospective Rebel boat were on their way to Shoal Bay on Lake Dardanelle.  Somewhere along that road the Rebel boat wound up in the woods off the road.

Bill Norman knew I was at Shoal Bay camping and fishing with my family.  He continued to the campground and knocked on our trailer door.  He told me what had happened and introduced me to Bill Dance again.  He asked me if I would show Bill Dance all the good fishing areas close to Shoal Bay on Lake Dardanelle as Bill was practicing for a BASS Regional Federation tournament.

Bill Dance and I fished all the areas I would normally fish at Shoal Bay and we caught a lot of fish.  This information provided Bill several options for the upcoming tournament.

Bill Dance, with some help from Bill Norman, tried and tried to talk me into turning Pro and joining him on the BASS circuit.  I had a wife and three children and a good job and was not willing to gamble on the fishing circuit at that level yet.  Bill Dance did spark my interest in tournament fishing and I was committed to fishing bass week end tournaments while still working from then on.

In the 1970’s, I moved to Oklahoma and began fishing the Oklahoma Outdoors Tournament Trail.  During these bass tournaments, I was paired with Jimmy Houston a couple of times and became good friends with Jimmy and his wife, Chris.  Jimmy and I teamed up to fish buddy tournaments on Lake Tenkiller for a couple of years and won several of them.

Jimmy got the bug to go pro from Forrest Woods and joined BASS as a pro angler.  He introduced me to Forrest and both kept after me to join him.  I got to fish a couple of BASS tournaments at Jimmy’s insistence and Forrest Woods' help.

In the 1980’s, I moved to South Arkansas and really began tournament fishing in earnest.  I teamed with my Quality Supervisor and we both joined the Camden Bass Club and the El Dorado Bass Club.  We fished many open buddy tournaments together and won most them.  We were consistently the number 1 and 2 point leaders of both clubs for years.  We decided we were good and joined the US Bass Buddy Circuit.

We had won many open buddy tournaments and it. became very clear after joining US Bass and fishing one of their tournaments that we still had a way to go.  We discovered that fishing a national circuit was a whole lot different from fishing local buddy tournaments or bass club tournaments.  Obviously, a memory loss of my fishing the two BASS Tournaments a couple of years prior to this experience.

Eventually I branched out and began fishing circuits like Mr. Bass of Arkansas, Country Boy Arkansas Circuit, and the Redman Ozark and Arkie Division.

In 1987, my wife Darlene (Dee) retired from Wal-mart and decided she wanted to bass fish.  We bought a Bass Tracker 1800 fiberglass boat with a 150 HP Mercury motor and began fishing as a team.  She learned quickly and before long we were fishing the Arkansas Guys and Gals Circuit, Arkansas Team Bass, and Anglers Choice Team Circuits.

Carlton Doc Holliday and his wife, Darlene Dee Holliday only tournament fished together for 5 years.  In early 1991, Carlton and his wife were practicing for a bass tournament the following weekend on Lake Ouachita.  The wife got a call from home and promptly went home and when she got back that evening, informed Carlton that we had inherited and now had custody of our grandson.

Later that year, Carlton had a heart attack thus the early retirement ended along with the professional fishing career.

After the early retirement from bass tournaments, I did go back to work at a local college as a Teacher, Trainer and Consultant.  During this time, I discovered an opportunity in bass fishing that had always been a thorn in my side as a bass fisherman.  There is a lot of good useful information about bass fishing available if You know where to look but it is scattered all over the internet.

I set-up a series of websites pertaining to Lake Ouachita to centralize pertinent information about fishing the lake.  One of the websites offered a newsletter and I began writing articles for the newsletter about bass fishing.  Before I knew it, I was publishing articles on the internet and several bass article sites.  I started getting thank you letters for some of my articles and was encouraged to begin writing books about bass fishing.  After a couple of years, I started getting requests for guided fishing trips for several of my readers and did guide on Lake Ouachita for 4 years.

The thing I noticed the most on these guiding trips was the fact that most bass fishermen were not knowledgeable about the fine-tuning techniques and proper presentations of the bait to catch bass.  Thus, an author was born.

Everything told, both individually and as a team, Doc and Dee won over 30 bass tournaments and placed in the top 5 in over 70 bass tournaments.  The last 3 years of their career as professional bass fishermen were spent in 1990 with Doc qualifying and fishing in the Mr. Bass of Arkansas Championship on Lake Ouachita and finishing third, winning the Arkansas Guys and Gals Championship in 1991, Doc finishing seventh overall in the Arkie Division of the Redman Circuit in 1991 and becoming eligible to fish the Redman Regional Tournament in Columbus Mississippi where he finished in the top 20.  Doc also had a free chance to fish the Redman All American Tournament.

Career winnings resulted in a little over $85,000.00+, but remember, bass tournaments did not pay the big bucks back then that they pay now. 

Carlton Doc Holliday and his wife, Darlene Dee Holliday are both retired and live at Joplin, Arkansas three minutes from Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs, Arkansas. 

We still fish the lake at least two times per week year around.  We can be reached by email at [e-mail]   if You should happen to want or need info on the lake or ask a question about any of this material.

I believe these credentials do qualify me to offer information to You about bass fishing.

S5030064

Carlton Doc Holliday

Chapter 1 – The Quarry and the Environment

Part 1 - The Quarry

A - General

Make no mistake, the Largemouth, Smallmouth and Spotted Bass are just as intelligent as You are and You are at a disadvantage to begin with.  You must try and outsmart these wary creatures in their own environment and surroundings.  It just makes sense that to level the playing field for these contests You must learn as much as possible about these adversaries.  A discussion about the quarry is in order.

Micropterus Salmoides is the scientific name for the Largemouth Bass.  The common names for the largemouth bass include black bass, green bass, Florida bass, bigmouth, bucket mouth, line sides and green trout.

The largemouth bass is the largest member of the sunfish family.  It generally has light greenish to brownish sides with a dark lateral line which tends to break into blotches towards the tail.  Sometimes confused with the smallmouth and spotted bass, it is easily distinguished because the jaw extends beyond the rear edge of the eye.  Also, its first and second dorsal fins are almost separated by an obvious deep dip, and there are no scales on the soft-rayed second dorsal fin or on the anal fin.

There are two recognized subspecies:  the northern largemouth and the Florida largemouth.  The two look very much alike, but the Florida largemouth has 69 – 73 scales along the lateral line compared to the northern large mouth’s 59 – 65 scales.  Florida bass grow to trophy size more readily than northern largemouth in warm waters.

The range for largemouth bass includes virtually every state within the United States.  There have been many stockings in the South, Southeast, and Southwest part of the country of the Florida strain of largemouth bass.  Genetic mixing between the species has occurred.

The habitat preferred by largemouth bass is clear, non-flowing waters with aquatic vegetation where food and cover are available.  They occupy brackish to freshwater habitats, including upper estuaries, rivers, lakes, reservoirs and ponds.  They can tolerate a wide range of water clarities and bottom types, prefer water temperatures from 65 to 85 degrees, and are usually found at depths less than 20 feet.

The Senses of a Bass

Image result for bass anatomy image

Vision

Bass have a keen sense of vision, which helps them find food, shelter, mates, and avoid predators.  A bass’s vision is on a par with our own vision.  Many largemouth bass can see colors and some can see extremely well in dim light.

A bass’s eye is different from ours.  The bass eye has a lens that is perfectly spherical, which enables them to see underwater.  They focus by moving the lens in and out instead of stretching it like we do.  The Largemouth bass possesses a special eye structure which amplifies the incoming light.

Smell

So how does a bass smell?  Bass have two nostrils on each side of their snout.  One is the anterior nostril and the other is the posterior nostril.  Water flows into the anterior nostril, over the olfactory nerves, and back out through the posterior nostril.  No link exists between the sets of nostrils and their throat.  As the water holding the scent molecules flows across the olfactory nerves, a message is sent to the brain, where the scent is classified as a positive or negative scent.  Bass then act on the sense by a conditioned response.

A lot of scientific research shows some fish are drawn to chemical sources from hundreds of yards away.  Other studies indicate fish can recognize aquatic plants and other fish in the same school by individual smell.  A fish’s ability to smell has been documented to be approximately 1,000 times better than a dog.  Fish Biologists also proved in some fish species that a fish’s system of smell can double and even triple as the fish age.

Let us look at the normal behavior of a bass.  Bass find their prey by sight or sound first.  The last sense activated is smell.  It still plays a critical role in a bass’s life.  When a bass hears, or feels the presence of bait he comes over to investigate the movement or sound.  As the bass moves closer to the bait, he is expecting the final stimulus, smell, to be coming from the bait.  As he strikes and crushes the bait, he is expecting the flavor of the prey to be confirmed by his sense of smell.  Smell is an important final stimulus.

Hearing and Touch

Have You ever seen a bass’s ear?  Probably not, but they do have them.  They are located within their bodies as well as the lateral line system that allows them to feel their surroundings.  Bass do not have external ears, but sound vibrations readily transmit from the water through the bass’s body to its internal ears.

The Largemouth bass also has another sense that is a combination of hearing and touch.  The lateral line receives signals stimulated in sequence, and gives the bass much more information (feeling other fish around it for polarized schooling, and short-range prey detection, kind of a sense of distant touch).

Spawning habits include occurrence from December through May, but usually begins in February and March in most of the southern part of the country when water temperatures reach 58 to 65 degrees and continues as temperatures rise into the 70’s.

The male builds a saucer-shaped nest 20 to 30 inches in diameter by placing its lower jaw near the bottom and rotating around this central location.  Bass prefer to build nests in hard-bottom areas along shallow shorelines or in protected areas such as canals or coves.

Depending on her size, the female can lay up to 100,000 eggs, which are fertilized as they settle into the nest.  Distinguishing between male and female bass is very difficult.  Generally, the smaller of the two on a nest is the male.

After spawning is complete, usually 5 to 10 days, the male guards the nest, the eggs and later the young (called fry) attacking anything that approaches the nest.  The female bass stays near the nest or may swim a short distance and remain listless for up to a day.

After hatching, the fry swim in tight schools, disbanding when the small fish reach a length of about one inch.

The size of a bass determines their feeding habits.  Young fish feed on microscopic animals (zooplankton) and small crustaceans such as grass shrimp and crayfish.  Fingerling bass feed on insects, crayfish and small fishes.  Adult bass will eat whatever is available, including fish, crayfish, frogs, salamanders, snakes, mice, turtles and even birds.

Growth rates are highly variable with attributes pertaining to their food supply and length of growing season.  Female bass live longer than males and are much more likely to reach trophy size.  By age two or three, females grow much faster than males.  Male bass seldom exceeds 16 inches, while females frequently surpass 22 inches.  At age 5, females may be twice the weight of males.

A one-year old largemouth bass averages about seven inches in length and grow to an adult size of 10 inches in about 1 ½ to 2 ½ years depending on location.

The largemouth bass has become the most popular freshwater game fish because of its aggressive attitude and willingness to strike a lure or bait with explosive force.  The value of the largemouth as a sport fish has prompted a movement toward a catch-and-release philosophy to preserve the resource for future bass fishermen.  Keep a few to eat and release the rest for a continuing resource.

The most detrimental occurrence to bass is hot grease!

The Largemouth bass have a white, flaky meat that is low in oil content.  The flavor depends on the way the fish are cleaned and prepared.  Filleting, skinning and frying the fillets are the better methods for preparing bass to eat.

The world record bass was 22 pounds 4 ounces caught in Georgia in 1932.

Current World Record bass 22lbs. 4ozs.

Manabu Kurita with his World Record Bass. Photo courtesy of the IGFA.org

Pending World Record Bass (Tie) 22lbs. 4ozs.

Spotted Bass

There is another bass primarily in much of the country called the Spotted Bass (Micropterus punctulatus) also called the Kentucky Bass.  A species of black bass native to the lower and central Mississippi River basin in North America.  It has been introduced into other U.S. states as far west as California.  This bass can be the dominant species in some river systems.

The spotted bass is a fish with a slender body marked by black blotches on its side   As the fish matures these become an irregular band.  Their color ranges from a light green to light brown.  Unlike the largemouth, the tongue of the spotted bass has a patch of teeth.  Their gill covers also have a large dark spot on them.  The average size is four to five pounds.  The IFGA world record is 10 pounds 4 ounces.

Unlike the largemouth bass, the spotted bass seems to like current (moving water).  They can tolerate warmer water than the largemouth and do well in streams and rivers.  They can also thrive in southern reservoirs that have gravel and rock bottoms.  Like its better-known cousins, the spotted bass is carnivorous.  It will eat prey from the bottom to the surface of the water.  If available, it will feed primarily on crayfish.  It also preys on minnows, baby catfish, and insects.

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Spotted or Kentucky Bass

The anatomy, with a few exceptions, and the senses of the Spotted Bass are like the Largemouth Bass.

WORLD-RECORD-BASS

Pending World Record Spotted Bass 10lbs 4 0zs

Smallmouth Bass

The scientific name for the Smallmouth Bass is Micropterus dolomieu.

The characteristics of the Smallmouth Bass include the dorsal fin on the smallmouth bass is distinctly separated and contains nine to 11 spines and 13 to 15 rays.  The anal fin has three spines and 10 or 11 rays.  The bases of the soft dorsal and anal fins are covered with scales.  The complete lateral line has 68 to 80 scales.

The characteristics of the Smallmouth Bass include the dorsal fin on the smallmouth bass is distinctly separated and contains nine to 11 spines and 13 to 15 rays. The anal fin has three spines and 10 or 11 rays. The bases of the soft dorsal and anal fins are covered with scales. The complete lateral line has 68 to 80 scales.

The mouth is relatively large, with the upper jaw almost reaching the rear margin of the eye.  The eye may have a reddish tint.

Smallmouth bass lack the characteristic black stripe or jointed, lateral black blotches found on largemouth bass and spotted bass.  Instead, the back and sides are bronze to olive green, with many irregularly spaced dark spots.

The venter is generally white in small individuals, becoming dusky with age.

Young smallmouth bass may have several vertically oriented dark blotches along their sides that usually fade with age.

The adult Smallmouth Bass reaches 15 to 20 inches in length.  Males are generally smaller than Females.  The males tend to range around two pounds, while females can range from three to six pounds.  Their average sizes can differ, depending on where they are found; those found in American waters tend to be larger due to the longer summers, which allow them to eat and grow for a longer period.

Smallmouth bass inhabits clear, small to medium-sized streams, rivers, and reservoirs. They favor such underwater structures as rock outcrops, logs, treetops, and constructed riprap walls.  Their habitat plays a significant role in their color, weight, and shape.  River water smallmouth that live in dark water tend to be rather torpedo-shaped and very dark brown to be more efficient for feeding.  Lakeside smallmouth bass, however, that live in sandy areas, tend to be a light yellow-brown to adapt to the environment in a defensive state and are more oval-shaped.

Spawning usually occurs in April and May, when water temperatures reach 59º to 63ºF.  The female can lay up to 21,100 eggs, which are guarded by the male in the nest.

Smallmouth feed primarily on small fishes, crayfishes, and insects.  The Smallmouth has also been observed eating tadpoles, frogs, small birds and mice and a variety of aquatic insects.

The life span of Smallmouth Bass is reported as six to 14 years in southern and northern populations.

world record smallmouth bass

World Record Smallmouth Bass 11lbs. 15 oz.

B - Seasonal Tendencies of Bass

Before I discuss the tendencies of bass during different seasons of the year I want to discuss the environment in general.  The environment bass habitat includes reservoirs, lakes and rivers.  The tendencies differ slightly in the different environments.  I will discuss the environments in detail later in this Chapter.

Seasonal Tendencies of Lake or Reservoir Bass

A discussion of the general tendencies of bass during seasons of the year must be prefaced by the author with the following stipulation:  The following tendencies are a composite or average of tendencies for bass in reservoirs and large lakes.  Individual bodies of water may not have a population of bass that follow these general tendencies and the location of the body of water may have a direct influence on these tendencies.

Largemouth bass has, over the last several years, gained a reputation as being creatures of habit.  Most fishermen expect the bass in their area bodies of water to do the same things from year to year.  This holds true in some areas and bodies of water but false in others.

I live and fish on Lake Ouachita in Arkansas and I can assure You after fishing this lake for over 30 years, the tendencies and patterns of the bass in this lake will not be repeated the following year.  Sometimes the same baits, colors and techniques will work from year to year but they must be tweaked in some manner to be effective.

A lot of the reason for this is the age of the lake.  I will use Lake Ouachita as an example.  I tournament fished Lake Ouachita in the mid 1980’s until the early 1990’s and had very little problem finding bass or catching bass.  I won 4 tournaments and placed in the top 5 in 12 tournaments and generally did very well.  During this period, there was an enormous amount of visible structure such as timber and moss beds available.

As Lake Ouachita, has aged, the visible structure has disappeared, especially the standing timber and the moss beds on the upper end of the lake.  We have found ourselves depending on our electronics more and more to find underwater structure that bass utilize and hold on.

All the above-mentioned factors play a role in affecting the general tendencies of a bass.  Let us look at these general tendencies.

Winter:

Largemouth Bass

During this period the bass are most lethargic.  They tend to stay in one place and do not move far or fast to eat.  One good characteristic of this time period is the fact that bass will tend to school and if You can find a school, You can or should be able to catch multiple fish.

Water temperatures during this period will be in the low to mid 30’s to middle 40's in most reservoirs and lakes depending on the location.  If You can get a pretty day during this period, do not sit in the house and wish You were out there, go fishing!  Look at the northwest corner of the lake for the fact this water will warm faster than other areas of the lake.  A few degrees in temperature can produce some good results.  Try to find a large tributary with decent depth or main lake areas having a fast descent into deep water.  Vertical rock bluffs or steep banks with gravel or chunk rock on them.  Try to pinpoint areas that have fallen trees or stumps along the slopes.

Spotted Bass

As winter hits the central and southern states, the Spotted Bass are hard to find and catch.  Most fishermen that depend on a bass’ instinct to feed often come home empty.  Like all bass, Spotted Bass head deep, if water is deep enough, in winter months and are hard to spot without a depth finder. They can still be aggressive but not as hungry as they are not very active.  Your best approach during these months where the water temperature is below 50°F/10°C is to appeal to the bass’s instinct for survival and to protect its territory.

Spotted Bass start slowing down as the temperature closes in on 50°F, but when the temperature drops below 45°F they