Pro tactics for doodlin' small hand-poured worms.

Doodlin' is a tactic I use mostly for spotted and large-mouth bass.

The doodlin' tactic I use involves fishing a four-inch straight tail Keeper Custom worm and a four-inch curly tailed Keeper Custom rigged on a unique rigging scheme and presented Texas style to the bass.

To rig up your worm correctly, first thread a 5/16 ounce or 1/4 ounce bullet type weight on your line above a “glass bead” (which should be either red or chartreuse) above a real sharp 1/0 or 2/0 light wire hook.

I always use this rig on six- to eight-pound green fishing line for spotted bass and eight- to 10-pound green fishing line for largemouth bass.

I use this tactic regularly for spotted bass that are holding on deep structure such as submerged brush piles, boat docks, standing timber and stumps.

For largemouth bass, however, I primarily use the doodlin' tactic for inactive bass, post-frontal bass and bass relating to boat-dock structure.

Now once I find the type of structure that the bass (whether spotted bass or largemouth bass) are holding on or around, I will cast my hand-poured worm presentation out and allow it to sink to the bottom.

I will then slowly crawl the worm until I feel the structure. Then I will doodle or shake the hand poured worm in place by shaking my rod tip back and forth, which in part makes the glass bead and bullet weight come in contact with each other, making a clacking noise in the water.

This clacking noise draws the worm and causes the bass to impulsively strike it.

Good fishing.
Chris Foster

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