How to Hook a Fishing Worm

No bait does a better job of attracting fish than the worm. Night crawlers, large worms that you can capture on a wet night in the spring, summer and early fall on your own lawn, are the ultimate fish bait. Among the fish that will grab a night crawler are trout, bass, bluegill, bullhead, channel catfish, carp, suckers and crappie. Presenting it on a hook properly enhances the chances of a fish trying to make a meal out of a worm.

Things You'll Need

• Night crawlers or earthworms
• Rod and reel
• No. 6 hooks
• Damp towel

Instructions

1. 

   Grab hold of your hook before taking a night crawler out of its container. Grasp the hook by its shaft with the point exposed. No. 6 hooks are a good size to not only catch most types of freshwater fish, but also to thread a worm onto and have it look natural.

2. 

   Take a night crawler and identify its thickest end. The thick end will have a section that resembles a collar. Hold the worm by this end with about the first inch of the worm exposed.

3. 

   Stick the hook in the worm and allow the point to come out the other side. Run your hand down the body of the worm and bring the worm up so you can pierce it about an inch down from where the hook first went in. Keep repeating this action until you have pushed the hook through the worm several times.

4. 

   Push the worm up the shaft of the hook next to the eye so there is enough room to thread the hook through the worm several times. When using much smaller earthworms you can get the whole worm onto the hook, but a No. 6 hook is not big enough to hold an entire night crawler. Break the night crawler off where you last pierced it and put that section of the worm back in your container to use later.

5. Break the worm into much smaller segments when fishing for species such as bluegill, crappie and perch. These fish will easily pull an entire worm off the hook, but a smaller piece will force them to nibble much closer to the point, allowing you to hook them. Thread the smaller piece on by sliding it onto the hook, keeping the hook in the center of the worm's body.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep a damp towel with you while fishing so you can wipe your hands after hooking the worms.

References

• Take Me Fishing