Put a bassfisherman in an area of flooded willows or newly inundated buck-brush and even the most relaxed become excited. Spinnerbaits, lizards and jig and chunk combos are the usual fare but as fishing pressure increases across the country the need for the exotic can pay big dividends. Tubes have gained popularity in recent years and the old stand by craw worm still has a large following. Without a doubt though, however the floating worm is making major strides as the bait of choice for both spawning and post-spawning bass.

Across the country, a growing trend amongst the bass fishing fraternity has the floating worm as a can't miss as an early season bait. The popularity of this unique technique is now well known. Each section has its own special color or version, each with a particular reason for specialization. Colors like bubblegum, methialate, orange and sherbet have found places in the fisherman's arsenal, along with the standbys of pumpkinseed, June bug and chartreuse. Each area has its own special rigging technique like "wacky"(rigged with a straight shank hook in the center of the worm with the hook barb exposed), splitshotted, swiveled, and even weightless. Roofing nails, cut up coat hangers and even pieces of 10 gauge copper wire have found their places amongst these nondescript plastic creations in anglers tackle boxes. Special circumstances call for special products and no other bait gets more customization than the floating worm.

A newly discovered technique that has been a well-kept secret on the BASS Tournament trail is the pitching a weightless floating worm. It allows anglers to reach areas that were virtually unobtainable with any other technique and has also put finesse into an area where brute force was once the rule. Flippers with heavy lines, pool cue rods and heavy baits were once the rulers of these uncharted waters. Not anymore… Pitching a weightless worm in, over and through the toughest of cover is allowing anglers to get to fish that couldn't be gotten to before with any other technique. Low hanging branches, sticker bushes, buck-brush and densely vegetated willows made presentation impossible and even if the bait could be placed in the optimum area by skipping it, hook setting was still impossible.

Spinning rods, 12-17 pound clear or Camo-line, straight-shank worm hooks and a diametrically balanced worm like a Gambler Floating Worm, Yamamoto Senko and the Zoom Trick Worm have changed all of that. Texas angler Takahiro Omori has taken the BASS Top 150 Trail by storm largely as a result of the Zoom Trick Worm (pink/orange). He recently won the BASS Central Invitational on Lake Sam Rayburn and a second place this year at the Top 150 at Toledo Bend a week earlier with this unique worm. He has made over $200,000 to date this year, most of it directly tied to the Zoom bait and this technique.

Local Sam Rayburn Guide John Walker is a true proponent of this technique. "You can pitch the floating worm into the tightest of areas and because it is weightless it will not spook the fish. It also gives the fish, in my opinion, more time to see the bait and with its erratic motion is virtually automatic on bedding and post spawners alike. I really like TripleFish Camo-escent line for this application. It has great strength, is abrasion resistant and the fish can't see it. This is critical this time of year." Some anglers utilize bait-casting equipment but many have gone back to spinning gear because of its ease of use and anti-backlash properties. "You can hit a tree with a bait using a spinning rod and you don't get backlash, hit the same tree with a bait caster and you put the rod away for the remainder of the day" noted the well known Texas Guide. "I know of a fish over 13 lbs that was caught with this technique this spring and you can be guaranteed many more will come as the technique gets more press."

Although still not as universally popular as a jig and chunk or a spinnerbait the "floating worm" has its place as a specialty offering for spawners and post spawn fish and many anglers are finding it adding a little green to their pocketbooks, as well.. Once a bait that got stares for its unorthodox colors and shape it is now getting rave reviews and no longer one of the best kept secrets on the trail.