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Squirmi Worm Issues

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Yesterday I was fishing in the National Park. I was using a red squirmi worm with a hare's ear nymph as a dropper. I was getting lots of strikes on the worm, but could not hook them. I am thinking that they are just grabbing the end of the worm and not taking it deep enough to get hooked. I was thinking that if I could tie the worm to the hook as close to the end as possible I should have a 50 % chance that the fish would grab the end with the hook. Anyone have any ideas or alternate ways to tie the worm onto the hook?

Joe

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It could be timing as my reflexes have slowed as I have gotten older. But who wants to admit that? About an 18 inch length of 5X tippet is died directly to the bend of the hook of the worm with an improved clinch knot and then the nymph is tied to that. I think that next time I will omit the dropper altogether and that will eliminate one factor out of the equation. Since they are hitting the worm and not the nymph anyway, I see no problem with that. I still want to tie some with the hook directly on one end of the worm to see if my theory is correct. Just can't decide the best way to do it. That worm material is so delicate the tier can cut it right off if he ties the tying thread too tight.

Joe

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I don't tie to the hook anymore. I have switched to a sliding dropper knot. It lets me adjust distance between the flies for different situations, but I feel better that everything is separated cleanly. Not saying this is your problem, but I always figured the line would often get in the way of a take.

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I've used them with limited success. Now I just thread them on the hook like a red wiggler with a touch of super glue to hold them in place at the insertion points.. I have four hooks rigged like that haven't tried them yet this year

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I would say, shorten the worm and attach in the middle or attach the free hanging part of the worm to your leader with a loose knot. When you feel a strike either the hook will be in the fishes mouth or the leader will, you set the hook and have a hook up either inside the mouth or the outside of the mouth.

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First question: What kind of fish are you getting hits from? The following two questions are about sunfish and bass. I don't know if they pertain to trout.

 

Second question: Are you SEEING the fish that are hitting?

I ask because of my own experiences, where I CAN'T see the fish. I get strong hits, over and over again, with no hook sets. When I finally DO hook one, it's a 2 inch fish. They hit hard because they're trying to beat the competition and carry away the prize (food).

 

Third question: Are you feeling "weight" on the line but still not getting a hook set?

This is another situation where "small" fish feel like big fish. I set the hook, only to realize the fish has "come with the hook" rather than sitting still while the hook penetrates. This also happens more frequently with fish that are undersized.

 

Either of the above situations is more likely in the Spring, when hungry, underweight fish are eagerly grabbing food, and running with it. They don't know to run AWAY from you until the hook set. Before that, they're running from other fish trying to take their prize away, and that can be straight towards you.

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What if you tied a short end at the bend and another short end near the eye, with a big bump of worm in the middle. Just a guess as I don't use squirmi worms as I always end up tying too tight and cut the worm.

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I think I will give Philly's suggestion a try. I was kind of thinking along those very lines. Mark has a pretty good suggestion also. I might just try both of these.

Joe

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I don't remember the poster or the thread, but there was another one about squirmy worm issues.

I put this together to show how I tied them on. As far as short strikes, I can't add anything to my earlier post.


worm material.jpg

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The fish in most of the GSMNP streams are wild rainbows that average around 8 inches. I saw several of the fish I did not hook. These streams are mostly pocket water with stretches of ripples and rapids. The water is pretty clear and ankle to knee deep on most of the stretches I fish, however there are always a few deep holes or pools here and there. I like to fish the edges of these pools and that is where I have had the most success. I did not see every fish that hit, but the ones I did see were above average size for these streams. A couple of them were in the 10 inch range. That might be small by some standards, but here in the Park, that is a pretty nice fish. So, I am not getting hits from "small" fish exclusively, though some of the hits could be from small fish that just hit and run.

Joe

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