I’ve been fascinated with all the ringworm talk. Ringworms have been one of my most productive bass worms for a long time. Who’d have thunk eyes?
Well, it sounds like walleyes take the ringworms pretty aggressively and deep when they want them, but have you ever tried rigging a stinger on one? It seems like a worm like this would be an easy platform for a light stinger. Or not? Thanks!
just my 2 cents worth… why mess around with stingers if you dont have to?… Ive seldom missed a fish on a ringer…… like Beaver and others claim.. they seem to just NAIL it……
In a recent report James spoke of “shortening” them by removing 3/4″….. Ive never tried that yet…. but that would be my option….
I used to use stingers quite a bit… there are some days when they actually impeded my ability to catch fish… and plenty of other days when the enabled me to just slam the 4″-7″ fish (oh goody!)…. I found the times were rare indeed where I found the actually helped me…. probably the biggest reason I ever NEEDED them was I use heavier than normal jig heads to get rock solid bottom contact (and oh yeah.. sometimes its REALLY solid contact!!)….. these heavier heads are tougher for light bite fish to “suck” in…… not long ago I switched to lighter line for vertical jigging.. now Im scrambling to come up with much lighter heads… and OH BOY!.. I can catch 4″-7″ fish without a stinger now!!… but the good thing is that I dont need a stinger at all…… and I seem to get bit more often too….
I would shorten it before I’d add a stinger. Think about it, over the course of an entire season, how many fish above 15″ are caught because of a stinger compared to how many little crappers are.
Never found a need to use a stinger. In fact, I think if you did add a stinger, you just might make it harder to get it out of a fishes throat that you want to release.
If you’ve been using them for bass, you probably never saw a need to use a stinger for them. Same holds true for walleyes.
Beav
Ok, I hear ya. Your point about getting that stinger out after it has been inhaled is a good one, and I do agree that bass suck in worms with no problem, however, I must say that there have been many days over the years when these cold water walleyes were sluggish and a stinger made all the difference. I thought it was a fair question.
I guess I just have to get out and experience this phenomenom. I can’t wait to try! And don’t worry, I’ve fished enough to know not to give up on it if it doesn’t work right away.
I may be dumb, but I’m stubborn!
Rivereyes, thank you too for the feedback! Glad to hear those 4-7 inchers haven’t eluded you. :>)
Disagreeing, stingers have saved me on quite a few fish. When fish aren’t as agressive that stinger really saves ya, on saturday a buddy and I caught 2 31/2-4 lbers on the stinger, they weren’t that aggressive, so it can help you.
You dont need them on ringworms. As said eairler,I would shorten up first. John
Skip the stinger…….snaggin is illegal !! lol If you need fish that bad your local supermarket sells fish boxed up and already breaded !! Skip the stinger, If your gettin short hit, I agree with Beav, shorten up or change your presentation… they’ll hit..Ring worms have changed the way I fish, I catch more and bigger fish now . AND I LIKE IT !!
ec
No stinger with ring worms. Why compromise the natural action of a ring worm by throwing a stinger on their. I guarantee you will run a high risk of killing a large percentage of the fish you catch if you did it because that stinger would be in their gills. Please dont do this. Ring worms end up deep in the fish’s mouth because when a walleye sucks in the jig, the worm is so limber and noodly and light that they get sucked way in. I see absolutely no reason to do this.
If your getting a lot of short hits on a ring worm try going lighter on the jig size if possible. Also your fishing line could could be to heavy causing to much drag for when the fish sucks the lure in.This all takes place in a blink of a eye and everything should be as perfect as possible to your advantage. Just my 2 cents worth. All have a good day on the big pond. Bass Bull
quick ring worm question as im new to fishing rivers for walleye..when vertical jigging (minnow or ringers) you want to use the lightest jig possible but still stay as vertical as possible…is that correct? if that is the case what wt jig should i need for this coming weekend around the dam and wing dams at pool 4?? ps i dont have a trolling motor yet..is it ok just to drift down with the current?
Post deleted by SteveO
Seems to make perfect sense to me NOT to use a stinger.
After I read the ring worm article, it seemed that Beaver was making it a strong point that this is a life-like presentation with light jig heads. Something as light as a ring worm on a light jig head can be sucked in effortlessly even by a small walleye. It seems to me that adding a stinger in the worm would take away some of the worms fleibility and make it more prone to snagging on the bottom.
Most guys that I see using jig/minnow/stinger combos are fishing vertical with heavier jigs than what the ring worm article talks about. Those heavier jigs aren’t sucked in as easily as a 3/32 or 1/8 oz. jig. Besides that, the fish that I usually catch on a stinger are sub-legal fish anyway.
I’m going to try ringworms vertically with as light a jig as I can get by with. If I’m getting hits and not catching fish, I’ll try shortening the worm as was suggested.
There seems to be an army of people with considerable know-how heading up this site. I’m going to take their advise and fish my worms bare. In fact, I think that I’ll leave the live bait home for the year and see how I fare. I have a funny feeling that if I go out and try what they are trying to teach us here, that I’m going to be at least as successful as I’ve always been and probably more-so.
I’ll find out this weekend. I’ll try the light, natural worm thing shallow, and if I go vertical, I’ll try my new Super-Dos. Seems that those two baits were made for completely different applications. Either way, no live bait or stingers for me.
FP
Please don’t use stingers, that leaves me more fish to catch. LOL…….TOMMY SCARLESS(spelling) even uses a stinger when fish are biting short on crankbaits. But regardless if you use a stinger or a light wire hook in the rear of the worm, on almost all plastics over three inches, I would suggest threading the line throught the body to the hook or stinger. If you visit sport shows there is a tool you can buy for this or just use a Vets needle long enough to go from the nose of the bait to where you want to exit the body. The needle diameter needs to be big enough for your line to thread through. Thread the line through,hold the end of the line and pull the needle out, and then tie on the hook. It is a little more messy, but it works on the ones God made , too. It doesn’t change the action much, and those little bumps everybody feels that “must be the bottom” , will end up in your boat with a funny big eye and a green and gold color.( I’m sure somebodys gonna bring it up so you just as well know a worm with two hooks snags more than a worm with one….. BOTH FISH AND THE BOTTOM) Yah I know what’s a walleye guy doing using a 20+ year old bass trick……. Lawrence
“There is no substitute for time on the water”
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