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"The split shot takes the bait down, like a jig. But unlike a jig, you have separation between the bait and the sinker, so the bait has a slight side-to-side action. You have to rig the worm perfectly on the hook. I use a straight-shank #1 Aberdeen worm hook, and I rig the worm Texas-style, which gives it more of a keel effect. You have to bring the hook point right out on the seam. I like the tail pointing down because I feel I get more action and it tends to roll over less. I use 6-pound line to make the longest possible casts to spook fewer fish in clear water. I like clear line, because smallies don't crash into these things. The bite has a real spongey feel, and I can see bites better with clear line.

"I typically use a 7-foot medium-power rod to make longer casts, and I use a 1/16-ounce Water Gremlin Bull Shot, because it comes through weeds better than a traditional round split shot. I place the shot anywhere from 8 inches to about 18 inches from the bait, depending on how far I want to cast. The closer to the bait you place the shot, the farther it casts." Hoffman is fishing in natural lakes around wood, docks, and weeds, which calls for Texas rigging. "Even in areas that are wide open, like bare gravel banks and swimming beaches where smallmouths just cruise through, this is a great subtle bait for covering water.

"The keys are (1) bringing the hook point out on the seam and (2) the keel effect of the hook sticking out of the bottom of the worm, which combine to balance the rig so it comes through the water without rolling over. You should be able to fish a split-shot rig fairly quickly without any twisting or spinning."

Senko-style worms in the 4- to 5-inch size range that now flood the market are, as should be expected, highly effective for smallmouths. "I rig Yamamoto Senkos on a Texas rig, unweighted, with a 1/0 Mustad Mega Lite hook," Hoffman says. "Just let it fall and drag-hop it along bottom. Just a slow lift. Actually, I'm trying to drag it, but it lifts off bottom and I let it fall back.

"The fall is the key to a Senko. It's a dropbait for smallmouths. The tail vibrates on the drop, so I use this bait when smallies are pinned to the bottom. In water deeper than 8 feet, I put it on a 3/32- to 1/8-ounce Gopher Tackle Mushroom Head. Same thing. Try to drag it and let it drop. The Senko is as close to a magic bait as you can find.

"It's almost like fishing livebait, because it's both effective and fragile. But you can rig it backwards after a fish tears up the head, and it's just as effective. After a second fish rips the other end, I wacky rig Senkos to get one more fish out of the bait. A wacky-rigged worm or Senko is absolutely deadly around docks, with that gull-wing action flopping past, the fish can't resist it. If I've already hooked a big bass under a dock on something else, I'll throw a wacky-rigged Senko in there, deadstick it and, more often than not, hook them again."

Wacky rigging--slipping a baitholder-style hook right through the middle of a worm and letting the ends dangle to each side--is completely under utilized for smallmouths. It excels around docks, wood, and shallow boulders when retrieved with a slow twitch-twitch-pause cadence. A wacky worm dropped vertically and deadsticked around cover that holds smallmouths is another prime option. The best worms for wacky rigging are straight, no-action units with thick rounded tails, like the V & M Finesse Worm or the Assalt Salt Stik.

Falcon Custom Tackle makes a tactic-specific hook called the "K" Wacky that has weight added to the shank just below the eye. This simple addition to the hook makes wacky rigging much more efficient, keeping the presentation from rolling over, turning sideways, or snagging. The weight forces the hook to point up at all times. Falcon also makes a wireguard version.

The art of dragging a worm is simple. I prefer dragging a white, black, crawdad, or smoke blue-flake actiontail worm on a 1/8- to 3/8-ounce ballhead jig like the Owner Ultrahead or Yamamoto Round Head. Carolina rigging works, too--especially with a floating finesse worm, like the Venom Air-Light.

Just about any worm style can be dragged effectively, but I usually start with a rippletail style, like the YUM Ribbontail, which is a 6-inch worm. A 6-inch worm cut back to 5 inches is perfect for draggin' and one of the go-to styles for strolling, because its added bulk keeps it from falling fast on a light head. By late summer, lots of smallmouths in natural lakes and southern reservoirs are down 20 feet or more on humps, submerged islands, gravel flats, and other features.

Lots of anglers drag tubes for these deeper bass, but worms work better in many cases because bass aren't conditioned to them. Just drift in the wind with the line out at anything from a 60- to a 45-degree angle and keep the jig right on or just above bottom. Use a drift sock to slow the boat in a stiff wind, or use the trolling motor to aid the drift in a slight breeze, but keep the boat moving between 1.5 and 3 mph. Match the weight of the jig to the depth and speed, from 1/8 to 3/8 ounce, on 6- to 8-pound line.

DROP-SHOTTIN'
In the Great Lakes, southern reservoirs, and northern natural lakes, some or all smallmouths drop deeper by midsummer, down to deep humps, shipwrecks, rockpiles on flats, and gravel bars in the 18- to 25-foot range. This move to deeper water accelerates through fall, as more and more bass leave shallow habitat. During August up in the north country, a number of smallmouth tournaments were won on drop-shot rigs last year.

Drop-shot rigging is relatively simple. A hook is attached 6 inches to 6 feet up the line, depending on where you're marking fish on sonar or how far off bottom you're getting bit. This is accomplished by tying a palomar knot, leaving a tag end long enough to place a worm the desired distance above bottom. The only tricky thing about this is getting the hook to point up on a tight line, which simply requires a little practice with the knot. (Start by threading the line up through the eye of the hook with the point facing up and it should work right, depending on the hook style being used.)

If the knot becomes too problematic, Gamakatsu and Bait Rigs Tackle now have pretied rigs available. The Bait Rigs version comes in a kit with Reeper-style plastic worms, sinkers, and instructions. The weight provided in the kit is a Bakudan sinker from Lunker City Tackle, which clips right on the end of the line.

The unique placement of the bait up the line provides activity in a plastic bait that can't be achieved any other way. A finesse bait like the YUM Shakin' Worm is a potent tool on a drop-shot rig. Leaving the weight on bottom and twitching slack into the line and simply drawing it taut again makes a worm look more alive than the real thing. Even better, it can hang motionless between attracting motions, hovering off bottom. No other technique can accomplish this in quite the same way.

One of the critical factors of drop-shotting is line angle. When drifting a flat or using the trolling motor to circle a hump, don't let the line trail out at more than a 45-degree angle. A 90-degree angle is, of course, straight up and down. Anything from 90 degrees to 45 degrees is most efficient. A 6 1/2- to 7-foot spinning rod is optimum

Drop-shot rigs probe every nook and cranny of those deep holding areas smallmouths use from late summer through fall. When smallies turn off completely after a cold front, a drop-shot-rigged worm planted right in their faces and left there to work for several long minutes can at times be the only way to catch any number. Some of

my favorite drop-shot tools are worm variants with a minnow profile, like the Reeper Tail from Bait Rigs Tackle (Bait Rigs now offers a Drop-Shot Kit replete with prerigged hooks, leaders, weights, and Reepers). On a drop-shot rig, the Reeper rolls, twists, and undulates like a baitfish in severe pain or distress. Many other styles of plastic work well on drop-shot rigs, however, so we'll save the complete story on this potent option for another article in the near future.

However you rig it, the right worm is invaluable for smallmouths. At the very least, put a few 4-inch sickletails and 1/16-ounce heads in the box before heading out this spring. The results of that experiment will almost certainly have you hunting for more styles, shapes, and colors of these venerable baits before long. Who knows? Maybe the worm will become your answer to ol' TOM, too.

COMPANY CONTACTS
Bait Rigs, www.baitrigs.com; Berkley, 877-777-3850; Falcon Lures, 800-488-9679; Flow-Rite (Fish Formula), 800-874-6965; Gamakatsu, 253-922-8373; Gopher Tackle, www.gophertackle.com; Peterson Tackle (Legacy-Loc), www.petersontackle.com; Lindy-Little Joe, www.lindylittlejoe.com; Lunker City, 203-237-3474; Matzuo, 720-941-9400; Mustad, 800-453-4540; Persuader American, www.persuaderamerican.com; Storm, www.stormlures.com; Sufix USA, 800-554-1423; Sunrize Tackle (Assalt), www.sunrizetackle.com; Venom, www.venomlures.com; V&M Bait, 800-762-8397; Water Gremlin, 800-328-1440; Yamamoto, www.yamamoto.baits.com; YUM, 800-531-1201; ZetaBait, 251-943-1902; Zipper Worm Co., www.bassfan.com; Zoom, 706-548-1008.