Cookoo Bird - Trick Worm Trick
by Rex Chambers

It's hard to believe that we're already in the second week of May. Seems that winter fishing was just a week or so ago, now we're faced with high, warm water and post spawn conditions. There are dozens of different ways to go about the task of catching bass right now, but some are more productive than others. Spinnerbaits in the bushes, topwaters in the morning and evening hours, crankbaits on the ledges and the lists go on.

One trick that works great this time of season is going to the reliable "trick worm". The do-nothing straight worm that comes in dozens of colors and made by many brands. Anglers have been using this bait for a couple of decades now, even longer if the truth be told by some of the seasoned anglers. A weightless trick worm fished in heavy cover can sometimes trigger strikes when nothing else will, and this happens to be the time of season that it works the best.

Some fish the trick worm weightless on a #4 or #5 wide gap hook. Others prefer to use a swivel and small leader to keep line twist out of the equation. Either way is acceptable and both ways work. But, there is a different way to fish the trick worm that not too many anglers are aware of. It's called the Cookoo Bird method. Don't ask where the name came from, because I don't have a clue. To rig the worm this way is simple. Don't start the hook at the top of the worm in the conventional manner. Start rigging the hook Texas style about a third of the way down the worm. You can even go almost half way down and it will work great. Run the hook point through and out, and then back in to make it weedless. The hook eye will be exposed and at an angle. A drop of fishing glue comes in handy to keep the worm on the eye of the hook, but it's not a necessity.

This Cookoo way gives the worm a whole new action and triggers more strikes when the bite is tough. It can still be worked through heavy cover without much snagging and also gives a better hook up ratio than the conventional method since the hook is further down the length of the worm. Just a slightly different way to fish an old standby.

Rex Chambers site Smithlakebass.com. is dedicated to bass fishing at it's finest. Read articles and fishing tips from some of the best outdoors writers in the nation. Tournament journals, techniques, tournament results, how-to's, bass photos, inside stories on tournament trails and much, much more.