Understanding Worms as Bass Forage

Worms, starting with the 22,000 species of segmented worms, include earthworms and leeches. Earthworms, over 6000 species, are also called dew-worm, rainworm, nightcrawler and angleworm. Earthworms do not live in water but look and behave similar to worm that do live in water. Aquatic worms is a common term for underwater worm some of which resemble earthworms. Most species are quite small with the Sludge Worm and California Blackworm.

Why is Understanding Worms Important?

It is important to understand Worms to:

Select a Lure: Knowing the color of the crayfish as it varies.

Understand Worms as Bass Forage

Earthworm Habitat: Generally found in moist, rich soil as they eat organic matter but do not live in water. As such, earthworms would make it into lakes after heavy rainfall as worms have to come to the surface or drown making them vulnerable to any runoff scenarios. Some suggest bass will wait near run offs locations after rain.
Aquatic Earthworms: Live in the upper layer of soft bottom eating algae, bacteria, and organic material. They absorb oxygen throughout their full body. Some species are bright red due to hemoglobin. There are 170 species in North America.
Colors: Red, tan, brown or black.

Additional Considerations

Four common species in North America (not including leeches or the common earthworm): , Naididae, Lumbriculidae, and Enchytraeidae

Sludge Worm (Tubifex tubifex) [Figure 1, 2], also called Sewage Worm, Detritus Worms, Sewage Worms, Bloodworms [Figure1] and Naididae, are multiple species and thus multiple colors. Average size being 1/2 inch to 2 inches.

Blackworm (Lumbriculus variegatus) [Figure 3]: Also known as California Blackworm, smaller with sizes up to 4 inches.

Berkley Study: An experiment conducted by the Berkley Fish Research Center, bass that had literally never seen a worm, or anything that looked like a worm (or any other prey for that matter) in their entire lives were put into special tanks where researchers dangled bits of plastic that looked like the food they had been given all their lives. The response was lackluster. The fish just weren’t that interested in plastic versions of their normal food. The researchers then dangled plastic that looked like a worm. To the researchers’ surprise, the bass reacted very strongly to lures shaped like worms. Even when the worm-shaped plastic was completely still. In this study, bass were 10 times more likely to try to eat plastic lures shaped like worms over the plastic lures shaped like their normal food.