We’re heading towards that time of year when chopped worm dominates on commercials – albeit for only a very short period of a fortnight when fish begin thinking about spawning and go for worms.
Why this happens isn’t really known, but like meat, worms work and can often outfish anything else – and not just for carp. All fish love worms and when a mixed bag is on the cards, there’s nothing better.
While the water remains cold, I’d lay off them, but hopefully we’ve now seen the last of hard frosts and snow and can now look forward to some warm weather and a bit of worm fishing.
Dendrobaenas are the only type of worm you should consider using, whether you’re after bream on the feeder or F1s on the pole.
Although the cost of worms can put a lot of people off using them, the truth is that you don’t need kilos and kilos of the things for a great day out. In fact, a match pack is often ample for a frugal feeding strategy that’s the best bet while the conditions remain on the cool side.
Mince for bream
I use worms as an impact feed for bream, putting a hit of them in after a few hours’ fishing to trigger a response and a run of fish. These worms are always chopped to a mush.
Cloud the mudline
I’ll fish worm for carp on the mudline and feed the worms in the soil they come in with casters. This creates a bit of a cloudy slop in warm weather when the fish are active in shallow water.
Only use a little
Fish chopped worm either with groundbait for deep water or with an overwetted mix for shallow water. The key is to only use a thumbnail of worm to starve the fish into taking the bait.
Fish a dendra head
On the hook, whole worms are reserved for trying to catch a big carp. A much better bet is to use the head of a dendra. This will catch everything that swims, and is a very tough bait too.
