My favorite plastic worms include the Berkley 4” Power Worm, Berkley 10” worm, Zoom Centipede, Yamamoto Senko, and Zoom Brush Hog.  These 5 baits can cover every fishing situation all year long. 

The Yamamoto Senko is versatile bait that I have blog about much already.  It can be used all year around.  One of the top seasons to use it is during the spawning season.  Dead stick it around wood, stumps, and docks for huge bass.

The Berkley 4” Power Worm works best during the post spawn as a jig worm in depths of 8 to 12 feet along weedlines.  Cast it out and slowly drag it along the top of the weeds using a 3/32 mushroom head jig.  If the weeds are to thick, try a Texas rigging it with a 2/0 hook and a 1/8 oz worm. 

The Berkley 10” worm works wonders in the fall when flipped to shallow cover.  Use it around boat docks, lily pads, trees, or reeds.  It’s best to Florida rig this bait, or the worm might get hung up on the cover.

The Zoom Brush Hog are spectacular in the heat of summer worked in the heaviest cover you can find.  Fish it around floating bogs, hydrilla, or lily pads, the ticker the better when it comes to a brush hog.  Pick a weight that will allow you to penetrate though the cover you are fishing.

Zoom Centipede shines during pre-spawn.  Work this bait on a 2/0 hook with no weight and let it slowly float to the bottom before reeling in.  The longer you can wait to reel in, the better.

All these baits can be used any time of year, with the same methods listed.  But the best areas and times to use them are as listed.

Jig worming is one of the best ways to fish bass after the spawn.  I prefer to use a 4 inch Berkley Power Worm.  The standard Jig worm method is to tie on a 3/32 oz mushroom jig head, with a hook color that matches the worm color.  I prefer to use black worms and black headed jigs.  Slide a 4” worm up the shank of the hook, so the hook is exposed. 

A great areas to fish a jig worm is weedlines.  Position the boat at the edge or even over the weedlines.  Cast the jig worm out and work it back to the boat.  With a quick pop of the wrist, you should be able to snap any weeds free from the bait. 

Pick a rod that has a lot of sensitivity for jig worming, but still has some backbone to snap the bait free from any weeds.  I prefer to hold the line in my finders and slowly drag the bait for short distances.  This way I can feel for a bite.  Then I reel in more slack and do over.  The key to working a jig worm is to move it extremely slow.  Working it to fast will result in no bites.  Many times, the bass will just pick up your bait and swim off.  By holding onto the line, you can feel the bite.

The 4” Black Berkley power worm seems to be the best all around color.  I recommend keeping all your bait color simple.  Have just one or two main colors that you enjoy working.  Stick with those same colors for your Senko, 10” worms, and creature baits.  It will make you much more confident in that color and when you pick up the next new bait on the market, your confidence, due to the color, will be high to begin.