For pretty much every bass angler, the plastic worm is a mainstay. When it comes down to it, there may be no more effective, versatile lure on the market.
Texas rigged, wacky-style, Carolina rigged, drop-shot, no matter the conditions there is a soft-plastic application that will catch bass.
Here’s one that may be new to you. Timmy Horton dubbed it the Mojo (MJ) Rig when he debuted it on his TV show. Keith Poche brought it onto the national scene in 2012, when he used it to place third in the Red River Bassmaster Classic. Still, there are tons of fishermen out there who have never used, thought of or even heard of using a small screw-lock blade to add some flash to their soft-plastic presentations.
Some companies market the little blades, either Colorado or willowleaf, as worm blades. Horton’s MJ Rig consists of a willowleaf blade on a Texas-rigged stickworm with a big hook and a 3/8-ounce head. Poche used a Colorado blade at The Classic. The thing is, there’s really no end to the applications for these little blades and soft plastics.
Whenever fish are shallow, screwing a blade into the tail of a floating worm to swim it through grass or cover adds just a little flash that draws attention without changing the action too much. Same deal with deeper applications like Texas rigs, Carolina rigs or drop-shot rigs. A little added vibration and flash could be the ticket to making a fish commit.
A word of warning, though. Bass will often short strike, plucking the spinner right off the back of the worm. Trimming the end of the tail before screwing in the blade is a good way to make the rig more solid and save some spinners.
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