20 Best Fake Worms For Fishing (2023 Updated)

I have been buying Zoom products from Dicks Sporting Goods for a couple years. I find a much better selection at DSG than at the other big sporting goods stores that actually specialize in bass fishing.

I always by in bulk, never 1 or 2 packages, I buy 10 or more because of the value added due to free shipping. I fish 30-40 tournaments a year, I qualified 42 out of the top 500 to fish the national championship of a major semi-pro series, the majority of my fish were caught on Zoom Baits purchased from Dicks Sporting Goods.

How about a sponsorship? My lodging alone is going to cost over $1600 for the championship week, that’s a drop in the bucket to my annual cost to compete in a sport that I enjoy.

These floating worms are more fun to fish than should be allowed. The Largemouth, come from yards away to attach. Fish wacky style, and let sink until out of sight, then jerk an bring back to the top.

The will hit it on the sink. A spring time classic.

I have used Zoom’s Magnum Finesse worms for a long time but two years ago I started using them wacky rigged in very clear water in the summer and early fall. They work especially well at the edge of vegetation or above submerged vegetation.

The key is to fish them SLOW! Fish them weightless wacky rigged and allow them to slowly fall completely to the bottom (most hits come on the initial fall). Then raise rod tip high and let t hem fall to bottom again.

Most hits feel like a tick or thump but sometimes you feel nothing and the line just starts moving as the fish moves off with the bait. Green pumpkin, watermelon, and pumpkin color categories are my favorites.

I use a size 1/0 finesse hook and 15 lb fluorocarbon line.

I’ve tried a number of different drop shot baits and I have to say these are the ticket! Whenever I throw drop shots I find myself getting bullied by bluegill and my worms wind up looking worse for wear.

These guys can take the punishment. Did I mention that they’re also bass-catching machines? Rig these up on a weedless drop shot with a 1/4 oz teardrop weight and you’re good to go. 20 worms in a $4 pack is also the best deal on the market.

Buy.

This is an excellent bait to drop shot when lake has heavy pressure like we have here at Lake Fork due to numerous tournaments. I like to throw it out 50′-60′, let it come to a complete rest (“No” Pendulum), then lift the rod slowly 8″-12″ twice and let it rest again.

The amount of time I let it rest depends on water clarity and temp. Dirty water and low temps around 15 seconds, clear water and warmer temps around 5 seconds. This technique requires gut wrenching patience, but usually pays off.

Caught an 8 lb over (24″ +) on this lure in red bug the other day. Learned this technique from the infamous Mark Pack (RIP Brother).

Zoom’s UV speed worm works well in many presentation styles from dead stick, to intermittent weightless retrieve, Texas rigged or shaky head on the bottom. The UV tail provides subtle yet noticeable movement and vibration like a fleeing forage.

The thick worm body provides a slow fall like a Senko or similar plastic. Thick body also provides good durability.

She used the zoom ultra vibe speed worm in black sapphire. Just casted it out and a steady retrieve, bingo bingo, bongo, fish on. The water had about 2’ clarity and water temp was 52 F. This is a great way to worm fish vs.

letting it fall to bottom. Keeps the young person interested. Our next time out we are going to throw the Gambler burner worm so we can compare it to the zoom worm.

This is an outstanding product and an outstanding color. Zoom is a really great company and they take great pride in their products. I prefer Mag II worms but I like this color. Academy has them at the right price.

This is an incredible worm. I did the tail in chartreuse spike it. If the bite is slow put a 4 mm glass rattle in it. I get LOTS of bites on this worm. Most water color is either clear, stained, black or greenish brown.

Try to match your worm to the color of the water. The U tail is very lively and generates quick strikes. I’ve caught bass up to 6 lbs on this worm. Cons. they are very fragile. Usually I only get about 2 fish per worm.

Cant beat this worm. Bass hit this with the a little good taps. Can go wrong with Chartreuse. Clear, murky, or dark waters, them fish no where to find it. Tungsten with a glass bead sometimes does the trick.

This is my favorite stick bait brand because I typically fish really shallow in a heavily pressured lake. The fish are very wary, and the extremely slow sink of this thing is perfect. It lets the fish really take their time going in for the kill.

It could also be that this one looks so different in the water than other stick baits the fish may have seen because it falls so slowly and is just so seductive. I tend to fish it against the bank in laydowns on a weightless Texas rig.

It also does great as a wacky bait. Pinch it in half and you have a very good ned tail. The attractant seems to work–all my Yum baits get eaten and held onto for a long time. This is key for me as I fish mostly light mono with a lot of slack–just bumping the bait lightly for action, so feeling strikes isn’t very reliable.

I often don’t know they’re there until I go to bump the bait again and feel the weight. Truly, I can’t say enough for the Yum Dinger, as you can tell.

The Yum Dinger is perfect for Wacky Rigging when searching for both largemouth and smallmouth bass. I have great success when using a dinger with a wacky rig when Texas, Carolina and Ned rigs are not producing.

The most productive colors for me are Green Pumpkin, Watermelon/Red Flake and Motor Oil. I prefer to rig the 3″, 4″, and 5″ Yum Dinger weightless on Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap Hooks 1/0, 2/0, and 3/0 respectively.

This combination sinks slowly and will entice bites when other presentations fail. A very slight twitch as the dinger is falling often get an immediate strike.

Started using Yum Dingers a few years back because of the cost and soon found out just how well the work! I first used them in Mexico on Lake Novillo, Texas Rigged on a 1/4 oz bullet weight in Watermellon/Red flake and just killed.

Well I recently moved to Florida and have been using them whacky style in the shallower water and the Green Pumpkin/Chart tail is killing them. Go ahead and try a bag, might just surprise you just how well they work.

If for some reason you have never used a Zoom Trick Worm. you are missing a ton of fish. Great action and all the great color options. You need a few trick worms. trust me. Texas rig, shaky head or even wacky style.

this worm gets bit year round. Follow me on YouTube at Rocky Top Splash for great tips on how to find, follow and catch more bass. Fish Simple, and simply catch fish.

I’ve been fishing for 60 years, and never have I had the success I’ve had this summer (’22) using the Zoom finesse worm. Put simply it x catches largemouth. Caught a 6 lb’r midsummer on the black colored finesse worm.

Also, caught an 18″ and a 14″ that same day. I use this mostly in the ponds I fish in Southeast Ohio. Never leave home without them.

For years if I wanted to use a worm I would just hook up a live night crawler. However once I started hooking more bluegill and sunnys I wanted to move away from them. I kept noticing my buddy was using these worms and was hooking good size bass frequently.

After a few years of watching him do it I finally bought myself a few packs last summer and it was well worth it. Caught my biggest bass of the summer last year on a black 10. 5 inch ol’ monster worm while walking along the shoreline of a lake at night.

I dropped it a little bit in front of him, bounced it one time and that was it. Hooked into some other nice ones as well last summer and this spring once the lakes thawed out and I use this both on shore and on the boat.

But when it comes to night fishing, outside of the hoola popper this is my favorite lure to use. Bass just cant seem to resist the way that tail moves when its falling to the bottom or when its bounced in front of them.

Single best worm for Texas rigging for largemouth. Results in keeper bass 80% of the time—although you will occasionally get one of those bass that is shorter than the worm they are trying to eat. I catch LM and spots on this worm year round—and so do many others that are not willing to share that with you.

Zoom trick worms get all the publicity but this is their Money Worm, make no mistake!.

I spent 15 dollars on these worms on 3 different colors and got a total of 60 worms. 27 cents a worm is just a price you truly can’t beat. They also are very durable and last much longer than the average soft plastic worms.

I was debating these worms or rebuying Googan Mondo worms and I don’t regret buying these worms do to their higher durability and better price per worm.

I love these in all black. I think these are the perfect size between a stick worm or 6″ curly tail and a larger item like the ol’ monster or ol’ monster magnum. They are more versatile than stick baits because they have decent action on the retrieve and can be used on the fall like a stick or on a moving retrieve almost like a swimbait.

Definitely something to have at all times!.

I have been catching bigger numbers with Zoom’s 5” Shaky Head but a lot of younger, smaller fish. I found the 7” Shaky Head and let me tell you the size of Bass I started catching was phenomenal!!! After the spawn can be tough in the heat of summer, slow it down and finesse those bigger Bass!!! Bravo Zoom Bravo !!!.

I ordered two 100 count bags of tequila sunrise worms. I thought. But I received some blue worms instead. I was contacted by a guy named Josh who said I could send them back and once received, they would send me a refund and then I could reorder.

I tried to reorder before I sent them back but noticed when I finalized the order, it switched to the blue worms. Even the picture showed tequila sunrise color on the confirmation order. I kept the blue worms because I don’t trust them to refund my money.

Too bad; I’ll have to find something similar from a different company.

I have used the Black 6 inch worm for many years. It has become my Bait of choice when fishing is tough. Most of the time fishing is tough anyway. Many other fisherman know about this bait and it gets bites.

I have set up a rod and reel and line to best fish this specific worm and keep it ready at all times. This bait is excellent for the younger fishers to use and learn bass fishing rigged Texas Rig. No Hang-ups.

It gets bites.

I have had good luck with power worms. Bass on nests will pick up the bait and move it off the nest and they don’t always tug on it. so you only feel a slight weight on it. Bass hold it long enough so that you can figure it out and set the hook.

In stained water. you can’t see them. so all you have is a few seconds to set the hook.

These little baits are super effective. I have caught a few Dartmouth on them, but mostly I fish them for red drum, flounder and even spotted sea trout. The fish love them, especially paired with an Eye Strike Texas Eye Finesse jig.

Their only problem is durability. Z-Man baits are expensive, but make up for it in durability. Unfortunately these little baits don’t last. I frequently have fish tear the claws off. The point where the claws meet the body is very thin and delicate.

If Z-Man could address this one flaw, the baits would be perfect!.

Fish are on bed here in ponds in South Carolina. I couldn’t get them to bite ANYTHING, which is typical if you have fished early spring here. I threw a lot of different baits begging for a strike. I tied on a ZMan 2 1/2 inch watermelon TRD Crawz that I had received that day.

I pulled it into the bed and the action of the baits made it look like a real crawfish. She attacked it and I caught her. I released her of course but that TRD Crawz bait is an awesome tool for any tackle box.

It made me a believer. Thanks Zman for a great product!.

These baits look great in the water, and seem to last forever. It is extremely common for people to catch over a hundred fish on one soft plastic if you don’t break off. I’ve been using these for years in fresh and saltwater, and I’ve never had a fish chew one beyond reuse.

I typically get a few weeks of use out of one bait before I break-off or lose it. The colors offered fit a wide variety of applications. Do not mix Z-Man plastics with other soft plastics or they will melt into a sticky mess.

My go to stick Bait Worms are Yum Dingers or Big Bite Bait. I have been fishing these plastic Worms for about 14 years. I fish them every way I can think of. The Colors, Sizes, Price, & Availability are a huge help plus the quality is good enough.

These 2 brands have earned their keep in my boats. I’ve been sucked into buying the pricey brands and they have proven to be just that Pricey but no better.

Hot weather conditions are ideal for these worms. I fish these weightless, similar to using a falling jerk bait. Line watching and a good sensitive rod play a key role in how I fish these worm. And patience is equally important, especially when fishing deep water structure like ledges and brush pile or deep weed beds out to 20 feet.

Learning to twitch, dart, jerk and swim these worms pays off when everything else fails. They work great when making weedless presentations in current where getting a bait under brush and over hanging banks is required.

I also fish these worms as a top water bait over weed canopies where l can drop the bait in holes around weeds and pads. They follow up great after frogs or other top water baits are missed. They are great for drops hot and shakey head presentations and can be fish with and weight or type of line.