Worm Tips and Facts Related to Fishing

As far as we know, fishing dates back at least 10,000 years to the Mesolithic period, with worms probably being used for bait about the same amount of time. Many people of course still love to fish today and worms are inevitably a part of the bait they use. Even if someone is trying to catch fish that are normally responsive only to flies, minnows, plugs, or poppers, many fishermen will take along a few worms just in case that may be the only way they can string up a good catch.

Here is a quote concerning worms as bait from one of the most popular and beloved fishing books ever written, The Compleat Angler, by Izaak Walton, published back in 1653: "... and that one day especially, having angled a good part of the day with a minnow, and that in as hopeful a day, and as fit a water as could be wished for that purpose, without raising any one fish; I at last fell to it with the worm, and with that took fourteen in a very short space."

Despite having years of experience, many fisherman still do not know the best way to bait a hook with a worm; and some think a larger hook with a heavy line will catch a lot of fish. But it has been shown that a smaller hook baited properly on a moderately light line actually works better for catching fish. Here is the proper way to bait your hook:

The clitellum is that thickish band of flesh located near the head of the worm (about a third of the way down); you should first stick your hook through the clitellum, then go to the head of the worm (or the tail) and hook him one time there also. Two hooked places are all that is needed for the worm to stay on your hook. Do not thread the hook through his entire body since the worm will quickly die that way. When you use only two hooked places, the worm will stay alive much longer (for as much as an hour underwater) and will wiggle a long time to attract fish.

Now that you know the correct way to bait your hook, here are eight more facts and tips related to using worms as bait: