A barracuda may not be a live-worm eater, but it can hardly resist one of those bright-colored 6- to 8-inch numbers when fished right. Whether you are sight fishing for ’cudas on an oceanside flat, or under structure such as pilings or channel markers, it’s time to crank up the speed. Much like the time-honored, hard-plastic tube lure, a plastic worm zipping through the water resembles a needlefish and they are like candy to a ’cuda. Many of your worms come back sliced in two or with deep slashes. However, persistence pays off and you will hook up eventually with these drag-pulling speedsters. The most effective colors include white, chartreuse, orange, yellow and bright red. And with the plethora of colors for worms these days, I’m sure many others will work, too.
Plastic worms are easiest to cast with spinning gear and light mono or braided line. They splash down softly, slither through grass, and may take fish that shy from spoons and plugs.
Cobia is another nearshore species easily taken with plastic worms. A big plastic worm resembles an eel, a cobia’s favorite food source. Since your average cobia is larger than most shallow-water species, you need to adjust your rigging. For starters, add a bit more weight, perhaps 3⁄8 to 1⁄2 an ounce in front of your worm, or use a comparable jighead. And tie on a stronger hook while you’re at it.
In addition to myriad baitfish, striped bass also feed on eels, needlefish and marine worms. Surf fishermen and inshore anglers pursuing stripers can use plastic worms, especially at night, to take striped bass feeding from below on forage silhouetted against the night sky. As with cobia, you’ll want to step up the size of your line and the weight of jigs and sinkers when targeting stripers.
Bluefish are voracious when they feed competitively and a plastic worm, cut to the size of the baitfish they have herded and are devouring, will get snapped right up. I prefer worms that closely imitate the color of injured or stunned prey, or just a piece of their flesh. White, off-white, chartreuse and two-toned colors are among my favorites. One fish per piece of worm is all you expect with those toothy critters.
Snook will grab a plastic worm fished on the surface or below. Fished on the surface without added weight, you can get that “walk-the-dog” side-to-side action that drives snook mad. However, when you sink your plastic worm with weight, the action you get will tend to be up-and-down, much like a jig, which tickles a snook’s fancy, too. This is a good technique to use around docks and pilings, akin to what freshwater bass fishermen do when they crawl their plastic worms through submerged structure.
It may come as a surprise to you that I’ve caught numerous mangrove snapper, as well, with 4- and 6-inch plastic worms. I usually find the snapper around oyster bars, docks and seawalls where there is tidal current. The problem I have, however, is that when using much weight or a jighead in tandem with a worm, the lead frequently gets hung up. If you don’t use enough weight, the worm doesn’t get down to where the mangrove snapper are holding. There is no precise answer to this dilemma because the speed at which the water passes over and around the bars and walls is constantly changing with the tides. In other words, bring along plenty of worms, weights and jigheads. The same problem presents itself when fishing for flounder. From their hiding spots, flounder readily grab a plastic worm that is dragged on or just barely above the bottom (see “Wacky about Flounder” in the Dec/Jan 2004/05 issue). Be sure not to retrieve too fast—you want your plastic worm to be no more than a few inches above the flounder’s lair.
Both spinning and baitcasting tackle work well for fishing plastic worms in the salt and the choice is a matter of personal preference. In extremely shallow, or grassy water, you might go to the lightest worm possible, or one without added weight. In that case, spinning gear and light line can’t be beat. Probably any species discussed above will take a 6-inch plastic worm at some time, but not all can be landed with the same line and hook combination. Therefore, the species you are targeting will influence how lure and hook are paired together.
