Summer Curly Tail Worm Patterns & Techniques

With so many new fishing products flooding the market, it’s easy to get caught up in all of the latest fishing trends and techniques, but during the summertime, never overlook the fish-catching power of the Curly Tail Worm. An oversized worm that moves tons of water, the Curly Tail is great for navigating deep structure thanks to its slender body that slithers through wood and cover with ease. A great alternative once the fish have seen hundreds of crankbaits and jigs, the Curly Tail Worm helps you target large bass in laydowns, rock, brush piles, stumps, deep points, offshore structure, and channel swings near cover. Slow down when you are marking fish or bait near one of these ideal locations, and watch the subtle tail action of the Curly Tail Worm entice big bites from lethargic summer bass looking for a substantial meal.

Before selecting a rod for the Curly Tail Worm, consider the type of cover you intend on fishing and the size of worm you will be throwing. In most cases, a heavier-duty jig rod or a light-duty flipping stick will get the job done. If you are fishing near heavy cover with a magnum Curly Tail Worm, use a longer rod in the 7’3”–7’6” range with a medium-heavy to heavy action and a fast taper so you can direct fish away from cover. If the cover is sparse, your favorite rod to throw Texas-rigs with will suffice, something medium heavy-powered with a fast taper in the 7’–7’3” range.

Choose a casting reel with a high-speed gear ratio, so you can quickly pick up slack line and be ready to drive and set a large worm hook. The Curly Tail Worm excels when fished inside of nasty cover, so you want to be able to rapidly manage your line as soon as you are bit to help you remove and direct the fish away from cover. Any 100- to 200-size casting reel with a 7:1–8:1 gear ratio will suffice; just be sure to consider what size line you will be using. If you will typically be using 20-lb test or more, a 200-size will offer more capacity to accommodate larger diameter fishing lines.

Heavy fluorocarbon is the preferred line for most anglers when throwing a Curly Tail Worm as it provides sensitivity, abrasion resistance, and is virtually invisible underwater. The low-stretch nature of fluorocarbon provides deep hook penetration on big hooksets, so you have the power to drive the hook beyond the barb. Much like rod selection, the line rating you select should be relative to the thickness of the cover and the size of the worm you are throwing. Keeping these factors in mind, try using a 100% fluorocarbon line in the 12- to 20-lb test range, with 15 lb being a good starting point.

There are many different ways you can rig the Curly Tail Worm, and your rigging methods may vary based on the type of structure or thickness of vegetation you are fishing. Size your hook to the size of the worm. For a 12” worm, you may be using a mega 11/0 worm hook to avoid short bites. Peg your bullet or flipping-style weight on your Texas-rig to avoid hangups in heavy cover, increase the feel of your Curly Tail Worm, and make it easier to flip under docks and into overhanging cover. If you are dragging long stretches of rocky structure or casting to an offshore hump or rock pile, a Carolina-rig or magnum shakey head will maintain good bottom contact and add action to the worm as it deflects off of hard cover.

The Curly Tail Worm can be fished much like a football jig — drag, hop, pause, and repeat. If the cover isn’t overly snag ridden, try removing the peg to change the action of the worm. With the weight unpegged, the sinker will settle on the bottom before your plastic, and with a hard pop of the rod tip, you can snap the worm back toward the sinker, maximize tail action, and illicit heart-stopping reaction bites. Experiment with rigging your oversized Curly Tail Worms tail-side up to maximize tail action; this is where the hook is positioned sideways within the body of the worm instead of through the flat, belly side. Adding a touch of scent to the tail will help you get a few extra bites when the bite is tough.

Starting with a color you have confidence in is never a bad idea, but you want to take water clarity and light penetration into account when selecting the color of your Curly Tail Worm. Often, this type of worm fishing involves getting your bait into areas with low-light penetration like deep structure, matted vegetation, or overhanging cover. Generally speaking, darker colors perform better in these situations as they provide good contrast and are easy for bass to pick out. Green Pumpkin is a stand-by color that works well in practically any condition, but some of the most popular Curly Tail Worm colors are purple, brown, red, and black variations like Junebug, Plum, Red Bug, Blue Fleck, and Black-n-Blue.

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