Wax Worms

[Snypa]

My all-time favorite panfish bait ; crappies, sunfish, bluegill, perch etc all love them !! Early last spring, when the bite would die out or if the fish got sick of trout worms, I would usually just hook up once of those garlic-flavored Uncle Josh Wax worms, and the fish would go nuts over them.. The only problem I found with them, was that sometimes the fish would just rip the worm off the hook after only taking a few nibbles. And they would also fall off sometimes when casting it out, I got so sick of it at one point, I just stopped using them and went back to trout worms. Well now I have my new secret weapon !!

(which one looks better ? I prefer the one on the far left):

 

[Snypa]

better imitation wax worm

More pics to come, I made a better imitation the other day while at a friends house ! Got inspired after taking a look at an actual picture of a wax worm, decided I could do better. I'll take photo tonight & post it up tommorow. I really can't wait to try it out !

 

[openfire]

Hey Snypa, I think those might work for steelhead as well... now would be a great time to try 'em out on one of the tribs. They look like they could hold a liquid scent... may increase your # of strikes.

 

[Snypa]

Yeah that's what I thought, but I wasn't completely sure because I don't really steelhead too much As for using scent on it, yes, especially if you're going after panfish. I would dab a little garlic scent on them, and they should be tastey as the Uncle Josh wax worms.

Improved version:

 

[openfire]

That last one really looks like a maggot when I squint my eyes. It might be even more "real looking" if you tried using a slightly lighter colour thread.

 

[Snypa]

I think I'll try that out, originally I was going to use a light brown thread, but I was a little worried it wouldn;t look as detailed as the one that was tied w/ dark brown thread. I think I'll have to let the bass decide, but I have a odd feeling that both colors will catch the same amount of fish Maybe I'll do a little fish experiment at one of our ponds when the pannies turn-on, I wonder which will catch more. I'll also take comparison pics with the darker version (I just bought another fly tying vise) so I can put the 2 side-by-side.