Worm fishing during the pre spawn? 2025
fishermantony reply :
Outside of the Senko my worm fishing is pretty unpolished. Since I'm already looking ahead to the pre spawn, I was wondering if worm fishing can be successful during this time? I believe I've read somewhere that the pre spawn is not the ideal time for plastic worms. Thanks!
gotarheelz14 reply :
***Before you read anything I am about to write, be informed that I only have a post spawn (very little of it), summer and fall's (very little) worth of experience under my belt.***
Unlike you, I am in love and extremely polished with the worm. Indeed, I have been called "a master with the worm" by a friend of mine...hahaha!
One thing I have found is that when the fish are feeding, they will readily take on a worm as much as if not more than any other bait. I have caught more fish with a plastic worm of some kind than all other lures combined.
As much as I love it however, I do not think a worm would be my first choice pre spawn. From what I have read about prespawn fish, they are feeding tremendously; almost every day. They are just coming out of winter and they are just getting ready to start one of the most stressful times of their lives. They will not be eating for quite some time so they are gorging themselves in preparation.
So, at this time, they will probably hit just about anything you throw at their general direction, even if it means they have to move a ways to get it. Baits you might want to throw include fast moving "search baits" such as flukes, spinnerbaits, cranks, lipless cranks, etc.
Because you typically fish these baits faster, you will be covering a lot more water and hopefully putting the bait in front of more fish's general vicinity. You will get a lot of takes from these mad hungry fish. In a perfect world, you you will be putting a ton of fish in the boat and doing so very quickly.
If you were fishing a worm, you would get a lot of takes, but it would take you quite a while to find these fish. Once you found them though, you could probably put a hurting on them. I would just think it would take wayyy longer than fishing something fast.
During the prespawn you might want to save the worms and other plastics for post frontal conditions, or to pick up any stragglers in a fished area who were weary of fast moving baits and did not take them.
This is just what I would do in this situation 
---Carlos
TBendBassin reply :
of course its a great time!! lol i don't know about up there but down here soft plastics dominant!! im not sayin i dont throw cranks, spinnerbaits, and other reactions baits but when i want good quality fish its soft plastics and jigs all the way and theres nothing i love more than throwing a big ol worm in the pre spawn
Catt reply :
Pre-spawn:
Find em with traps/spinners & then slay em with plastics
Craw worm, lizard, creature, senko, & any type of worm
I no longer consider myself a worm fisherman but a plastics fisherman
Gangley reply :
pre-spawn is great with worms, but like mentioned above, pre-spawn is great with just about any plastic, and thats not to exclude spinner baits, cranks, jigs, etc. During the early spring, I like to use a faster (spinner, crank, topwater) lure to find them, then when the bite falls off, hit them hard with the slower presentations: worms, jigs, craws, etc. This has made for some really good and exciting days of fishing.
OHIO reply :
Worm fishing can be great during the pre spawn.
Smaller worms have worked really well for me, specifically the Berkley Powerbait Original Worm (I think that's what it's called).
It seems that you don't have to work plastics as slow, which is why I like fishing them during the spring.
SoFlaBassAddict reply :
QuoteI no longer consider myself a worm fisherman but a plastics fisherman
Thats probably one of the best quotes I've heard in some time. I haven't actively fished a "worm" for a while. I've found myself using creature baits or plastic craws much more. There certainly are times that a worm can be more effective though.
As far as the pre spawn goes: Once you locate fish and work through them with your typical moving baits, you should always go through the area with some type of plastic bait or a jig at some point. Changing up to a bottom bouncing bait is almost always a good way to get a few more bites out of the area you're fishing in.
Uncle Leo reply :
Also once you find them try a Shaky Head Lizard. Bass just hate them nosing around anywhere near a spawning area. This will continue to work into the spawn also.
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
QuoteUnlike you, I am in love and extremely polished with the worm. Indeed, I have been called "a master with the worm" by a friend of mine...---Carlos
Really?
Let us know when you attempt to master the trouser trout. :-*
fishermantony reply :
Thanks for all the advice guys! I've had success with a number of baits during the pre spawn period, especially search or reaction type baits like spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Over the past couple of years a jig has become my favorite prespawn bait. I never really thought of finding them with the search baits and then slaying them on plastics. It's not just worms that I've got to improve with but I've got to up my confidence in alot of soft plastics like creature baits and lizards. My goal is to become as Catt said "a plastics fisherman." Thanks again.
gotarheelz14 reply :
QuoteQuoteUnlike you, I am in love and extremely polished with the worm. Indeed, I have been called "a master with the worm" by a friend of mine...---Carlos
Really?
Let us know when you attempt to master the trouser trout. :-*
Oh man I've slayed so many of those. I've definitely mastered it...
Buzbait88 reply :
QuoteAlso once you find them try a Shaky Head Lizard. Bass just hate them nosing around anywhere near a spawning area. This will continue to work into the spawn also.
I knew they hated lizards, but never thought about shakey heading a lizard so it nosed down in a bed. Great tip.
smallieking reply :
Kevin VanDam always says keep an open mind about everything and i agree. there are no guidelines on what to use when. so worms work year round as long as its what the bass want. since the water is still cool bass are sluggish but moving shallow. even tho reaction baits like jerkbaits. lipless cranks and spinnerbaits are great chooses, bass will hit anything. i had most luck prespawn with worms using the zoom trick worm. i like using a light texas rig and fish around isolated grass patches. if your lake has lilypads, then target the outside isolated ones this time of the year and experment abit and with enough combinations you are sure to find some good fishing action on worms.
Tin reply :
There are better options than a worm....
Catt reply :
QuoteThere are better options than a worm....
On any given day any lure can be a better option to any other lure
SeanW reply :
QuoteOutside of the Senko my worm fishing is pretty unpolished. Since I'm already looking ahead to the pre spawn, I was wondering if worm fishing can be successful during this time? I believe I've read somewhere that the pre spawn is not the ideal time for plastic worms. Thanks!
Ideal time? I think you need to let the fish tell you what they want. Usually pre-spawn you can catch em about anyway you want to. I prefer a jig, but a creature can also be very productive. Drop-shotting can be a great method as well. Just depends on the type of area you are fishing.
SeanW reply :
QuoteQuoteAlso once you find them try a Shaky Head Lizard. Bass just hate them nosing around anywhere near a spawning area. This will continue to work into the spawn also.I knew they hated lizards, but never thought about shakey heading a lizard so it nosed down in a bed. Great tip.
Almost forgot how awesome a carolina rigged lizard can be. 8-)
fishermantony reply :
QuoteQuoteOutside of the Senko my worm fishing is pretty unpolished. Since I'm already looking ahead to the pre spawn, I was wondering if worm fishing can be successful during this time? I believe I've read somewhere that the pre spawn is not the ideal time for plastic worms. Thanks!Ideal time? I think you need to let the fish tell you what they want. Usually pre-spawn you can catch em about anyway you want to. I prefer a jig, but a creature can also be very productive. Drop-shotting can be a great method as well. Just depends on the type of area you are fishing.
Yes, like I said I've had a good amount of success during the pre spawn with a number of different baits. I'm asking about the worm and the pre spawn specifically because spring will probably be the next time I catch a bass (unless I catch one through the ice) and because I'm anxious to try the worm due to my limited worm experience. I've had alot of success with senkos and worms on a drop shot, I was thinking more T-rigged, c rigged and shakey head.
kikstand454 reply :
QuoteQuoteQuoteAlso once you find them try a Shaky Head Lizard. Bass just hate them nosing around anywhere near a spawning area. This will continue to work into the spawn also.I knew they hated lizards, but never thought about shakey heading a lizard so it nosed down in a bed. Great tip.
Almost forgot how awesome a carolina rigged lizard can be. 8-)
yeah... man i dont remember the last time i drug a lizard. i have tons of them too.... maybe everyone is finally not throwing them and i can go back to them? :-?
c-rigging a big worm on secondary points near spawning coves will get your arm broke.
BossHoss reply :
QuoteAlso once you find them try a Shaky Head Lizard. Bass just hate them nosing around anywhere near a spawning area. This will continue to work into the spawn also.
You just can't be giving away my secret pre-spawn/spawn so casually . The momma bass around some of the ponds I fish are particularly protective of their beds from lizards... For fun one day I got one to pick one up and move it off the bed 9 times in a row... The streak was only broken because she had to go and hook herself.
Tin reply :
QuoteQuoteThere are better options than a worm....On any given day any lure can be a better option to any other lure
I'm talking in terms of locating and fishing for actively feeding fish by covering water.
Catt reply :
QuoteQuoteQuoteThere are better options than a worm....On any given day any lure can be a better option to any other lure
I'm talking in terms of locating and fishing for actively feeding fish by covering water.
There are no laws stating worms (plastics) must be fished slowly; Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, Wacky rigs, & Flukes/Senko are all very productive when fished faster during pre-spawn. Plastics can also cover the entire water column from surface to bottom just like spinner baits or lipless cranks.
Many anglers do not consider plastics assearch baits when the fact is all lures are searching for a bite.
Tin reply :
So it is more effective to cover water with a plastic than a spinnerbait or crank? :-?
Catt reply :
QuoteSo it is more effective to cover water with a plastic than a spinnerbait or crank? :-?
If the bass want plastics then yes it is more effective than a spinnerbait or crank; the best option is what the bass want.
Do you think it is more effective to force feed the bass something they don't want?
Tin reply :
lol...you're something else Catt...at least it is good discussion...
Is a reaction strike considered force feeding? That is what I go for most of the spring and thus why I feel as though you can cover more water and therefore go through more fish. If anything I would say forced feeding to me would be sitting on a area and casting to a drop or group of stones repeatedly until you get those fish you know are there. Granted I will do this (my bait of choice in the spring is a tube). Both can be productive, I just see more fish coming from reaction strikes on the cranks and spinnerbaits.
Catt reply :
Tin, all strikes are reaction strikes bass sees lure bass reacts
Force feeding is repeatedly throwing a spinner bait hoping the bass will get tired of it and strike, while all it would have taken for the bass to strike was a piece of plastic.
The question at hand is if worm fishing can be successful during pre-spawn?
The answer is absolutely!
Is worm fishing the always the best option?
Absolutely not but nether is spinner baits or cranks!
RoLo reply :
That pretty much sums it upQuoteIf the bass want plastics then yes it is more effective than a spinnerbait or crank; the best option is what the bass want.
Do you think it is more effective to force feed the bass something they don't want?
I too am guilty of reiterating the accepted rhetoric: "Locate bass with a search lure
then mop them up with soft-plastics". It's nice to think of that way,
but ask yourself honestly, what percentage of time does it actually work out that way?
If soft-plastics are putting bass in the boat, we're probably going to stick with soft-plastics.
If lipless plugs are putting bass in the boat, we're probably going to stick with lipless plugs.
Switching from crankbaits to soft-plastics can make the switch from catching bass to marking time.
--------------------------------------------
As for plastic worms during the pre-spawn, I don't know of any time of year
when the provocative worm profile doesn't appeal to bass 
Roger
fishermantony reply :
QuoteThat pretty much sums it upQuoteIf the bass want plastics then yes it is more effective than a spinnerbait or crank; the best option is what the bass want.
Do you think it is more effective to force feed the bass something they don't want?
I too am guilty of reiterating the accepted rhetoric: "Locate bass with a search lure
then mop them up with soft-plastics". It's nice to think of that way,
but ask yourself honestly, what percentage of time does it actually work out that way?
If soft-plastics are putting bass in the boat, we're probably going to stick with soft-plastics.
If lipless plugs are putting bass in the boat, we're probably going to stick with lipless plugs.
Switching from crankbaits to soft-plastics can make the switch from catching bass to marking time.
--------------------------------------------
As for plastic worms during the pre-spawn, I don't know of any time of year
when the provocative worm profile doesn't appeal to bass
Roger
Good post, if I'm slayin em with a spinnerbait or jig I don't think I'll switch or if I do it will be for a cast or two and I'll to quickly say "this ain't working." and go back.
related Fishing Tackle topic
previous topic
next topic
© 2025 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.