The Purple Worm

When I was in high school and early into college my dad’s job was sending him to work in Georgia. With West Point Lake nearby he was able to get some fishing in while he was down there. On one of his trips back home he brought some of the lures he was using with success at West Point. One of the boxes had jig heads and some different colored worms in it. I had never seen these before so it was different to me. I had always done well throwing a Texas Rig with a 8″ ribbon tail worm. Initially I didn’t do very well throwing the Shaky Head. I think the worms my dad brought home from Georgia were a little too big for our Ohio bass and I probably fished it way to fast.

Over spring break during my freshman year of college I went on the trip to Georgia with my dad. It was pretty awesome. Every morning we would leave the hotel and I would drop him off at work and I would take the boat to West Point and fish all day. That week was when I really learned how to catch fish on the Shaky Head. I found it to be a great way to put fish in the boat. Once I was able to actually start fishing in Ohio I changed my worm from the big one to a Zoom Finesse worm. I found I caught them best on the Plum color.

The following year I fished the North Carolina division of the BFL, I really wanted to fish the lakes the pros always fished so I signed up as a co-angler for the Norman and Wylie tournaments. I did okay at Norman, I think I placed in the 40’s or so. At Wylie however that little Purple (Plum) worm did some damage. The timing was perfect, bass were up in all stages of the spawn. It took me a while to get it dialed in though. Fishing on the back of a boat is a challenge depending on how the boat is being positioned. I fished shallow all morning with no luck. Out of frustration I threw my lure away from the bank and hooked a good one on that cast. I spent the rest of the day catching the bass that either hadn’t moved to the bank yet or were already moving out to deeper water. I ended up finishing in 4th place.

From then on I’m not sure I have gone a day without that purple worm rigged up. I also throw the same worm on my drop shot unless I’m using one of my homemade worms. The shaky head and the purple worm combination helped me win many club tournaments and season points championships over the years. I don’t think I even have a bag of those worms in another color. This is my ultimate confidence bait. I have other preferred ways I lake to catch fish but when it is tough and in Ohio that is pretty much every day it comes in handy.

I’m looking at some new finesse fishing techniques, I’m not sure how well I will be a using them but I do know that when I need it my shaky head and purple worm will be there to save the day. – Michael