Worms

The long, slim family — straight, ribbon, curl and paddle tails — the default bottom bait for largemouth and the shape every rig was built around.

Soft plastics are the biggest family in bass fishing: 36 shapes, each designed for a rig, a depth and a mood.

• Shape = design purpose: fish, worm, craw, creature, tube, frog
• Finesse tier vs power tier: the same shape at 3.5 in and 7 in is two different techniques
• Tail type decides the action; body decides the fall
• Rig it the way it was designed to be rigged

A worm is a slim body with a tail that decides its personality: a straight tail does nothing until you shake it (finesse), a ribbon tail swims on every fall and drag (power), a paddle tail thumps when reeled (swim worm), and a fat stick bait with no tail at all shimmies on its own salt weight. Worms are threaded on offset worm hooks, wacky-hooked through the middle, or nose-hooked on a drop shot — the same shape rides every rig in the book.