I know that a lot of the country has been in a deep freeze for a good part of the winter but out here in So-Cal things are already warming up. For that matter, they never really got cold with the exception of a few frigid nights. That has contributed to a truncated trout season for us with testing of new trout gear suffering as a result.
However, we have had the chance to fish another offering from the folks at Lip Ripperz, that being the Lip Ripperz Trout Wormz. These wormz are 2 1/2 inches long, come in 13 colors and can be rigged any number of ways.
In appearance, they closely resemble a stick worm for bass but are not narrower on the ends, more like the old french fry. This worm was designed to be used when the fish get finicky or in a neutral to negative feeding mode.
Like so many other species of fish, trout can go from aggressive to absolutely lock-jawed in the blink of an eye. When this happens, you should change tactics by offering them a bait with little action that stays in the strike zone for longer periods of time.
How we like to use these Wormz
The Lip Ripperz Trout Wormz fill the bill for this scenario. The key to using this little worm is not to pigeon hole it to just one technique. It can be effective used in several ways. By experimenting a bit, you’ll find what the fish are wanting on a given day.
These wormz float better than most trout worms out there. Because of this feature, the angler can use larger weights, arrayed in various ways, so that casting distance doesn’t become a problem.
The ad for the the Lip Ripperz says that they are a great dropshot bait as well as great on a jighead. We can attest to the fact that these wormz are indeed well suited for these methods.
As far as the dropshot capabilities of the bait, we experimented using a few weights, finally settling on 1/8 and 3/16 as our favorites for this technique.
Remember that when dropshotting, the most critical factor is the length of the leader below the bait. If the fish are holding 8 inches from the bottom, a 3 foot leader isn’t going to get you as many bites as a shorter leader. It may take some experimentation to find the proper length but once you do, you’ll be rewarded with strikes.
We used it on a jighead which we settled on a 1/16 and 1/8 ounce version. Like we said, the Trout Wormz are high floating so the heavier 1/8 ounce jig didn’t over power the bait. The fall rate was moderate and easily controllable. The heavier weight came in handy when we had to make longer casts to reach the fish without spooking them.
More ways to fish the Worm
Another way to use this worm is split-shotting it. This proved to be a good technique using an 1/8 ounce shot with the worm tied about 18 inches behind it. We used a number 6 mosquito hook which is a very fine wire hook that is painfully sharp!
All you do with this method is cast the bait out, allow the sinker to hit bottom and then begin a stop and go retrieve. The pauses are important as they allow the worm to float up. Every time you begin your retrieve, the worm will sink so stopping it produces the opposite effect. This also has the added advantage of presenting your lure in a wider depth range to appeal to more fish.
One more method we used while fishing the Lip Ripperz Trout Wormz was to wacky rig it. That may sound a little bit strange but it sure got bites.
You start by setting up your line exactly as you would for split-shotting. The thing that you do differently is hook the worm through the middle so that during its rise and fall, the worm is turned 90 degrees in the water.
Yes, this is a finesse technique that bass anglers use all the time with larger worms but like we said before, don’t confine yourself to just one way of rigging this worm.
The Lip Ripperz Trout Wormz is/are an effective tool for catching panfish of all kinds and all sizes. They come in reusable packaging for easy storage, are reasonable priced, hold up well to multiple fish and lend themselves to multiple rigging options.
| Lip Ripperz Trout Wormz | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |    |
| A versatile finesse bait for trout | |
See ya’ on the water …