How to Use Offset Fish Hooks & Plastic Worms
Offset worm hooks have a design that allows an angler to secure a plastic worm to them without having to worry about the worm slipping down the shaft of the hook. This will allow someone to create a rig with the worm that she can utilize it in weedy setting on a pond or lake without worry about it snagging. This is an especially popular presentation for largemouth bass and one that you can quickly put together on the water once you understand the process.
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Instructions
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Hold the worm firmly in one hand and the offset hook in the other. Pinch the worm at the head end, the half that is obviously much thicker than the tail end, with your thumb and forefinger.
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Hold the hook along the bend and push the sharp point of the offset hook into the very "top" of the head, as if you wanted to thread the entire worm on lengthwise. Rather than keep threading the worm on, however, make the point come out 1/4 inch from where it went in from the top.
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Pull the entire shaft of the hook through that top section of the worm. Bring it through far enough so that the small section of the shaft between the eye of the hook and the first bend in the shaft is the only portion of the hook embedded in the plastic worm.
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Turn the hook so that the point will face the dangling plastic worm. The worm should now dangle straight down. Where the hook point meets the body of the worm as it hangs in front of it is where you want to push in the point. The point of the hook should almost come out the other side of the worm but not quite. By keeping the hook point facing the worm and stuck inside the body, you have created a Texas rig, which is a weedless presentation. It will not snag on weeds, rocks, branches or other underwater structure as you reel the worm through.
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Replace the plastic worm as it begins to show signs of wear and tear while fishing. Biting fish or pulling the worm through dense growth can eventually cause the worm to fray, loosening the worm where it attaches to the offset hook. Violent hits by fish can also pull the worm down the shaft and make it necessary to put on a new worm.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are fishing in open water you can rig a plastic worm so that the hook point comes out of the body midway down, exposing the hook to the open. This works well with fish that follow the worm as you reel it in and then hit it, such as pickerel.
By adding a small worm weight to the line before tying the Texas rig to it you add enough weight to keep the nose of the lure down in the water.
Choose the longest offset hooks for plastic worms over 7 inches long and the shorter models for those worms in the 4 to 6 inch range.
