Missig bites when fishing worm

[TrevBoy]

I have tried long worms, short worms, bits of worm, all with the same result. I assume fish are mouthing the bait, or grabbing the dangling bit and running off with it. Does it come down to simply waiting longer for the bite to develop? I did try waiting longer but the fish eventually either swallowed the hook (big perch) or dropped it.

 

Any tips?

[Andy Macfarlane]

Hook the worm in the middle, break the tip off the rear end. Leave the head for movement. Up the hook-size to match the size of the worm.

 

No use in using a size 16 with a lobworm.

 

Say, 16's for redworms, 16s-10s for debdrobes, 8s-6s for lobworms and leave the barb showing.

 

That's just a guide...obviously you get big redworms and small lobworms but you get the idea

 

If the worm is wriggling and covering the barb, use a small square of elastic band to hold the worm further round the bend of the hook. Stop it squiriming it's way onto the point.

[TrevBoy]

Thanks. I will give that a try. If what u say is true (and of course it is!) I have been using hooks too small.

[carp-catcha]

If you find yourself continually missing bites, then fish with just the tail of the worm (easier with lobworms) an inch or so long. I've found that worms aren't the best for ensuring hooking, but they are certainly one of the best baits around, and they're free!

[The Flying Tench]

Also with perch I guess it's better to use a bobbin than a quiver tip.

[Jim Murray]

Tip from Martin Bowler - Break lobworm in half then pass hook through both broken ends. Theory - fish will go for the juicy stuff

[Andy Macfarlane]

And a theory is all that is. Sorry Martin, you're good and all that but that's talking for the sake of it.

 

Do fish really choose an end? In my experience, fish try and eat the whole blinking worm, regardless of the end. If I thought fish would only choose to eat the open (juicy) end, I'd use far less of the worm, if flavour was the reason for the fish taking the bait. I actually think it's the fact a worm is a huge, wriggling lump of meat that the fish would be daft not the try and eat whole, that makes it effective.

[Jim Murray]

And a theory is all that is. Sorry Martin, you're good and all that but that's talking for the sake of it.

 

Do fish really choose an end? In my experience, fish try and eat the whole blinking worm, regardless of the end. If I thought fish would only choose to eat the open (juicy) end, I'd use far less of the worm, if flavour was the reason for the fish taking the bait. I actually think it's the fact a worm is a huge, wriggling lump of meat that the fish would be daft not the try and eat whole, that makes it effective.

 

Sure who could really know? Having kept perch in an aquarium and watched them feed nothing would surprise me. Since the OP was asking about missed bites I'd have thought it would be worth a try. Not tried it enough myself to draw my own conclusions.

[Lid]

You haven't said what you are trying to catch. However it's probably small fish causing the problem. Yesterday I caught a perch about 3" long on a lob-worm on a size 8 hook and it had manged to swallow the lot! I gave up the worms in the end because even the little roach were carting it around the river!