Ringworms

What a ring worm bite at Red Wing on Sunday. This was my first serious attempt with them. I put the first six sauger in the boat and WOW did they hit it hard. My stubborn buddy stayed with a jig and minnow and caught one keeper fish all day. The sauger on the ring worms also ran a lot larger. Why do these fish hit a ring worm so hard while you might only feel weight with a jig and minnow? They completely inhaled the worm and jig. I couldn’t believe it.

yeah… .like I said in my last week post.. they work. I dont know why… but they sure do work…… Ive experiemented with them all year… but last week was my most dramtic success……. where they clearly outfished anything else I tried…… by a large margin…

Edited by RiverEyes on 12/10/01 11:53 AM.

If I was to order some just how soon could I get them. Or what would be the fastest way in acquiring some?

Jim W

I got mine from Tim Hutchison at [email protected]

Jim,

Hasting Outdoors, which is located on Highway 61 at the foot of the bridge, has Hutch’s ringworms. They have a good selection of colors. I think the phone number is 651-480-FISH. I realize you won’t be driving through Hastings to get to Pool 4 but I suspect a lot of people from the Twin Cities take that route. They also had nice fatheads when I was in there a couple of weeks ago.

Good Luck

Jim W

Another place to try is to go to Hutch’s Tackle. His website address is http://www.riverwalleyes.com. Once there simply scroll down till you see Hutch’s Tackle on the left in blue letters and click on it. One of the first things you see are the ringworms. You can buy them by the hundreds if you like.

Good Luck

Jim L

Thanks all, especially beaver, for hooking me with Hutch! He set me up in very short notice! I highly recommend his services and gear to anyone!!!

kEEP THE RODS BENDIN’

Jim W

Your right,Hutch be the man for ringworms/jigs. None better. John

I’m replying to a post beaver wrote a while back about ring worms. it was a wonderful article and he explained how to rig ring worms and what hooks to use. beaver in the article you said you make your jig’s. you said to use oversized hook’s in your mold. Do you have a do-it mold or do you have a special mold. And could you tell me what size hook’s you use because they get very expensive to buy in the store. keep up the good work and I hope to see you on the water.

I mainly use the ‘worm nose’ jig mold. It has cavaties for 3/32, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4 and 5/16. I use the 3/32 and 1/8 for ring worms and use the heavier ones for Super-Dos, Mr. Twisters etc.

3/32 takes a #2 hook, 1/8 takes a #1. Last year I experimented with some XL shank hooks so I could Texas Rig the worms on a jig head when fishing snaggy areas and it worked out well, especially around flooded timber. But for basic worming, all you need is the regular size hook that the mold calls for. Like I’ve said before, when a fish hits the jig/worm, 9 times out of 10 you’ll need the needle nose pliers to get you jig out.

Lately I’ve been buying all my molds and hooks from http://www.barlowstackle.com. They’ve got everything for your jig making needs.

Any more questions, feel free to ask. It’s the only way to learn.

Beav

Thank’s beaver for the info. It will help me a lot. I’ve been trying worm’s a little bit and bygod it work’s. like you said no doubt about it, you know when you got a hit. thank’s again!!!

Thank’s beaver for the info . It will help out a lot. I’ve been using ring worms a little bit and bygod it work’s. I figured if I don’t ask I’ll never know. like you had said before when they hit you know it. “thank’s again”

I’ve never fished with ringworms before, I don’t even know what they really look like. How big are they in comparison to a crawler? How do you rig them on a jig? Thanks

Go to the articles section and read the ringworm article and you will be enlightened to the way of the worm.

Beav

I have tried ringworms on 14 below the dam with little success. Just wondering if I am going too light, current is too fast, or water too deep for the 1/8 oz. heads I’m using. fishing mostly 17-25′, eddies and current breaks with lots of turbulence. I do occasionally feel the jig bumb bottom, but don’t have a good feel for what is going on. Switched to 8# test fireline (not sure what diameter it is, but thin) and did not help much. Any ideas what I’m dong wrong? I have had some very productive times with ringworms on wings and down stream several areas, just not near dam.

Thanks for any input,

Rooster

if light isnt getting the job done no harm in trying heavier….. guess Im a bit “heavy” handed or something… I use as much weight as I can get away with, and will only change to lighter if Im getting my axx kicked by someone going light…. which does indeed happen at times…. but at other times it makes no difference or Im doing better than the lighter rig…..

I will admit my usual fishing buddies are usually of similar bent…. so Ive not been around light jig wizards…. I would love to see them in action sometime….. and most likely learn a couple of things…..

but my usual hiearchy is heavier first then lighter…. if heavy is working why switch… its so much easier to maintain bottom contact ….

Right on Rivereyes. If you’re not getting to the bottom, you’re “Lost in Space” so to speak. I’d rather see a guy using a jig that he can feel than to see him flounder around in an attempt to use a jig that he can’t maintain bottom contact with.

As you fish deeper and in heavier current you will need to adjust your presentation accordingly. Just because I write something that says to use light jigs, it doesn’t mean that you MUST. Use what you need to in order to get you to the fish zone.

The basis of the ringworm article is a shallow water approach. Fishing worms in different applications will require you to vary the technique. But it will still work. I’ve used worms on heavy heads and have seen guys using them on 1/2 oz jigs on Dubuque rigs and they still put fish in the boat.

One rule in fishing…..there are no rules.

Beav

Rooster, Try the 1/2oz. heads. Doing good for me. When the Corps. is playing I have to go with 5/8oz. Just a consequence of where we live I guess. Maybe that’s why my boat sits so low in the water, all that lead you know.

Digging out my paint and lead now. Duh, where was my head!? I have a wide variety of larger unpainted jigs. I guess I’ve always gone to the light side extreme unless someone shows me a pile of fish caught on heavier. 1/8 th got me to bottom some, but not nearly enough I believe. I think I’ll stock 1/8 – 3/4 oz. in my ringworm box… ya never know what our wonderful corps will have in store the next time out. Maybe all rollers wide open. I have not seen that since spring. Maybe time for a new look from them! Thanks for the tips to all. Herb, is the water staying clean down your way? Still fairly clean here considering all the up and down action at the dam!

I was fishing with hoggie and dustin last sunday and we went to the dubuque rigs. started with the 1/2 oz but could’t stay down consistently because of the flow. changed up to a 5/8 oz jig tipped it with a purple ringer. Started Banging e’m as soon as it hit bottom. Lesson learned?? Always be ready to switch up to stay in the ZONE!!! SWANY

Couldn’t get out today, but the clarity is still pretty good considering the yo-yo stages and always changing flows.

Gonna try it friday and possibly saturday.

Have a couple things to experiment with, and with these faster currents, now would be a good time I think.