Okay I really have two versions of the modified pink worm, one is simply the way that I hang the worm when fishing it free of a jig head which is not really my own personal design.

I thread it only partially so it almost looks wacky rigged when drifting in the water, it's not the easiest thing to cast and can get hung up on the float but it's dead sexy when it goes floating by. You thread from the neck to the middle of the tail and out.


The other way is my personal design with the jig head is for the short biting Steelies aka tail grabbers. I'm sure some of you have had a float go under only to have it come back with half the worm missing. So here it goes, cut your worm to the desired length for the jig head you're going to use, then thread a snell tied hook up through the worm from the tail side. Now tie that to the jig hook and then thread the worm onto the jig head the way you normally would.

Nice ideas! I like it, the only problem is steelhead don't eat pink worms or anything pink for that matter!

HAHA! Yeah, they prefer things like buzz baits and poppers.

Stinger hooks on worm jigs has been around a while, unfortunately it poses a risk to those fish that aren't short strikers. Preventing deep hooked native bleeders should overshadow a few missed fish.

Seamslayer wrote:Stinger hooks on worm jigs has been around a while, unfortunately it poses a risk to those fish that aren't short strikers. Preventing deep hooked native bleeders should overshadow a few missed fish.

Good point, I guess I don't think about it because I'm usually fishing in mostly hatchery fish water.

Reeling up a pink worm that has been ripped appart is no fun at all, especially since the pw carnage affirms that you were feeling a fish and not just a snag. Float fishing with the wacky rig is a great way to prevent these short strikes and lessen the chance for hook mortality. I usually run the wacky rigging with a bait weight sitting above my hook: all the benefits of a worm jig and wacky rig without the second hook.

From what I have heard and witnessed, steelhead eat the worms by the head almost 100% of the time. Daniel has rigged giant pink worms and drift fished them with a tiny #4 hook through just the head and his hookup ratio is near 100%!

hey reeltech, show the boy's a wacky set up with the o-ring. with this set up you will never tear a worm up. i think i'm on to something jonh. track with me, a four inch bubblegum senko wacky style, sidedrifted or under a float. or a smaller o-ring on a gulp worm that floats. chad, i think they just inhale it like a bass does. because i thread my worms with the hook out the tail,and i hook up 100% of time.

I think the top picture is a great idea. I have threaded mine from the head to 3/4 of the way down to the tail. I knew this probably didn't impart the best action but the wacky style just seems like it would get ripped off so easy even though it might have the most freedom of movement in the water. Don't know why I never thought of that. DOH!

like i said , if you put an o-ring in the middle of the worm, and put the hook through the o-ring and not the worm. it will not tear out.

That doesn't mean the o-ring won't break.

it doesn't. trust me. that's why bass fisherman came up with the idea. look how they set the hook. cabela's and pro bass shop sell a tool specifically made for putting on the o-ring. honestly i just came up with the idea tonight reading the other post and the light went on. o-ring wacky with a #4 wide gap finess hook. i'm going to try it sunday.

I would not do that, you are going to make John mad if you start hooking tons of fish next to him with a float and worm!

hollywood wrote:I would not do that, you are going to make John mad if you start hooking tons of fish next to him with a float and worm!

Go for it Danny Boy. John needs to be humbled a little bit anyway.

Actually a old guide who I talk to up north in Washington does exactly as Dan was talking bout. He says whacky rigging a senko is DEADLY for coho.

john's a bass fisherman at heart. if i pull out the senko, the next thing you know, he'll be throw'n the pig and jig.

WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!
Love it........yes Dan, that would be a fine way to do it for steelhead, as it is for the bass. Cant wait to see how it works Sunday!! Wonder if they will eat a spook?? Or a drop shot