Trophy Technology's Castaic CBT Finesse Worm

Trophy Technology introduced their Castaic CBT Finesse Worm to the angling world in January. And when it caught the eye of a veteran Midwest finesse angler, he immediately contacted us and told us we needed to publish a gear guide about it.

At this angler’s behest, we contacted Jim Madden of Trenton, Texas, who is the vice president of sales for Trophy Technology. And Madden graciously talked to us, exchanged emails with us, and mailed us some samples of the Castaic CBT Finesse Worm.

From our emails and conversations with Madden and thorough examinations of the Castaic CBT Finesse Worm, here is what we discovered about it.

Our measurements revealed that it is three inches long.

The tip of its anterior section, which is the tip of its head, is round and somewhat flat. It has a circumference of about thirteen-sixteenths of an inch and a diameter of a half of an inch.

The silhouette of the Castaic CBT Finesse Worm’s unique torso is difficult to describe. Consequently, some anglers might debate about what areas of the Castaic CBT Finesse Worm are its dorsal, ventral, and sides. But in the eyes of most veteran Midwest finesse anglers, when its tail is flat or horizontal rather than vertical, the dorsal and ventral areas of the torso are slightly flat. And except for the subtle differences in the configuration of the ribs, the dorsal and ventral areas are identical. The two sides of the torso are slightly convex, and the formation of the ribs are different on each side. In essence, its torso is somewhat oval shaped.

At the junction of the anterior and posterior section, which is 1 1/2 inches from the tip of the head, the Castaic CBT Finesse Worm’s torso is three-eighths of an inch wide with a circumference of 1 1/8 inches. And the height of each of its convex sides is one-quarter of an inch.

Two and three-eighths inches of the torso are encompassed with 17 significant and unique ribs, which the designers created to provoke the Castaic CBT Finesse Worm to quiver and make alluring undulations.

The dimensions of the torso decrease as it approaches its junction with the tail. At this junction, the posterior’s torso is about three-sixteenths of an inch wide with a circumference of eleven-sixteenths of an inch. Its sides have a height of slightly more than one-eighth of an inch.

The epidermis of the final eleven-sixteenths of an inch of the posterior section is devoid of the ribs, and its epidermis is smooth.

The end of the posterior section is endowed with a flat and spade-shaped tail, which is about an eighth of an inch thick, three-eighths of an inch long, and five sixteenths of an inch wide at its widest spot.

It is available in the following hues: Black/Blue, Green Pumpkin, Junebug, Pearl, and Watermelon Red.

It is not infused with salt and scent. And it is extremely buoyant.

Madden lauds its durability, saying that it possesses the wherewithal to withstand donnybrooks with oodles and oodles of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass.

A package of eight costs $3.99

Endnotes

1. Here is a link to Trophy Technology’s website: https://trophytechnology.com/castaic-cbt-finesse-worms/.
2. On May 24, Madden informed us that Trophy Technology is about to introduce a five-, seven-, and 10-inch Castaic CBT Finesse Worm to the angling world. He told us that it is best for anglers to store the Castaic CBT Finesse Worm in their original packages, and never mix them with other kinds of soft-plastic worms. And it also is important to keep the package firmly sealed.
3. Midwest finesse anglers will affix the three-inch Castaic CBT Finesse Worm to a small mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook.
4. And straightway, they will become enamored with its buoyancy. The combinations of its flat tail, ventral area, and dorsal area, and buoyancy will enhance the Castaic CBT Finesse Worm’s ability to seductively glide when Midwest finesse anglers employ the swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Its buoyancy will also facilitate and enliven the other standard Midwest finesse retrieves by accentuating what we call a no-feel presentation.Here is a link to a Midwest Finesse column that explains how to execute those retrieves: https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/six-midwest-finesse-retrieves/153946.
5. To highlight the no-feel retrieve, it is essential to use lightweight jigs. When Midwest finesse anglers ply black-bass lairs with the Castaic CBT Finesse Worm in one to 12 feet of water, they will opt for jigs as light as 1/32-ounce to 1/20-ounce and not heavier than 1/16-ounce to 1/15-ounce. Nowadays, some are working with jigs as light as 1/64-ounce.
6. To not inhibit the undulations and subtle gyrations of the Castaic CBT Finesse Worm’s torso, the size of the jig’s hook will be as small as a number four and no bigger than a number two.
7. Most anglers do not remove the barbs on their jig hooks. But the anglers in the world of Midwest finesse fishing regularly remove the barb on each hook. They do it as a conservation effort. And it is aimed at preventing the barbed hook from radically harming the scores of black bass that will be inveigled with the Castaic CBT Finesse Worm rigs.

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