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Kaleb Christian
Mrs.Maxwell
British lit
October 5, 2011
Plastic Bass Bait
Plastic worms have change the sport of bass fishing tremendously over the past
one hundred years. Many people have tried to design and make these worms, but only a
few actually came out on top and tried to make a business out of it. This industry one of
the fastest growing bait industry and will be as long as bass fishing exists. Since bass
fishing has started, people have tried to design and be the first on the market, create many
different variations and colors of plastic worms, and techniques on how the worms are
used.
According to the United States Patent and Trademark office, the first plastic
worm was developed in 1877. This bait was made from pure rubber, and this first attempt
at the worm was to become a great accomplishment in the fishing history book. The first
idea of the plastic worm occurred in post-war Middle America in the year of 1949, and
machinist and fisherman, Nick Créme, was experimenting with various mixtures of vinyl
in his Akron, Ohio home. Crème made his original molds from live night crawlers and
with the help of his wife, poured molten vinyl into the hot pots, and that‟s when he
unknowingly became the "father of hand-pouring plastics." He also became the first to
add scent to his worms by adding ground up dried night crawlers and cheese to the
mixture. “Crème„s

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Texas-rigged worms allowed anglers to penetrate thick canopies of submerged brush and
dense aquatic vegetation, and catch fish that couldn't be reached with conventional
lures.”(Berlocher). Créme's first product, the Wiggle Worm, hit the market in 1951.
Demand for the Wiggle Worm took off and he couldn‟t keep up with the pace. In the
1960s, the Créme's moved their lure making operation to Tyler, Texas. “Texas rigging"
of plastic worms became popular shortly after. Today, Créme's original Wiggle Worm is
still in production and sold under the name "Scoundrel."
Although others in the 1950s were working with similar materials to create
another plastic worm to fish with, in 1967,Tom Mann, a fisherman from Lake Eufaula,
Alabama, introduced the now famous Jelly Worm. These worms brought a new level of
softness to this type of bait that had not been seen previously by adding translucent colors
and scents blended directly into the plastic.
The next variation of plastic worms came from a small Louisiana town in the
early 1970s. Up to this point, a straight tail plastic worm was all fisherman knew about. A
company called Mister Twister changed all that in 1972 when they introduced the Curly
Tail worm. The built in action of a wavy tail combined with soft plastics proved an
instant hit among fisherman. During this time period, bass fishing itself was emerging
into a national sport with the help of tournaments and organizations such as B.A.S.S.
Bass fishing was growing in popularity at an increasingly high rate, along with the
popularity of variations of plastic worms.
Rebel introduced the Ringworm in the mid 1970s. Gene Larew thought of putting

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salt in the plastics he was molding. Lindy-Little Joe, Berkley, Boone, Lunker Lure,
Culprit, Red's, Bagley, and many others started copying his idea. Two-tone worms,
fire-tail worms, bloodline worms, worms with sparkle and flake and scented worms
started popping up in bait shops. During this time, the plastic worm underwent some
major reconstruction. Bobby Garland introduced a new variation of the basic buck tail
jig, the spider jig. Haddock Lures came out with some different variations of baits such as
the first creature baits. Marv Bendlin, of Worm King, started making reapers, a
leech-style bait. Berkley developed the ever-popular Power Bait series of plastics; tube
jigs, plastic pork, lizards, crawdads, trailers, and every other variation on a plastic bait
started catching up with the plastic worm success.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, custom hand pours were starting to come about
all over the Western U.S. Smitty Worms, one of the first companies to hand pour their
plastic worms, was finding its way into Western fishing shops. Many people tried to start
their own plastic work businesses, but did not survive due to the bigger plastic worm
companies. In 1989, Greg Stumpf invested in the first robotic machine, which was
capable of mass producing hand poured worms. Since this time, RoboWorm can also be
credited for reintroducing the ringworm design with its popular Zipper Worm.
Bass Fisherman were taking advantage of using the plastic worms in different
ways. Instead of the original Créme pre-rigged worm, fisherman were developing their
own methods for fishing worms more accurately. It wasn't long before Carolina rigging,
wacky rigging, split shotting, and other methods became popular among fisherman in

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different regions around the U.S. Today, the latest development of plastic worm fishing is
drop shotting. This Japanese-born technique is different from traditional rigging and it
has become a guarenteed fish catcher. Dropshotting is mainly responsible for several
victories in major tournaments in the last couple of years.
Since Nick Crèmes simple hand poured plastic worms, the plastic worm industry
has grown tremendously. The Fishing Tackle Retailer's 2002 Buyer's Guide, lists 84
manufacturers of plastic worms.
Anyone that does any amount of fishing has had to learn how to use plastic
worms to catch bass. Whether fishing for large or smallmouth bass, worms work the best.
They are most fisherman‟s secret bait and every fisherman‟s fall back if their favorite is
not working. They are simple to use and come in many varieties, but because there are so
many varieties, the choices can be confusing and fisherman will have to experiment some
in the waters before they can find the one that works. However, there are some general
guidelines on how to choose which color and size to use. While fluorescent colors keep
their color in deep waters, other colors turn a shade of grey. Color can be something to
keep in mind after fisherman find the bass. If the fish wont bite your lure, change the
color of it instead of picking a while new one. When fishing in water with little light, use
dark colors and also when it is cloudy; this lets the fish see a dark spot in the water where
it will want to go to. When fishing with a lot of light, use light colors; this allows the fish
to see it during the day in the clear water. Big bass have learned from being caught due to
their curiosity to not go after unnatural looking bait. The use of natural looking bait will

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result in more bass. As a general rule use 6-7 ½ inch worms for big bass and 4 inch at all
other times.
In conclusion, bass fishing has changed tremendously over the last century. Many
fisherman rely on plastic works to catch some of the biggest large mouth bass in the
world. The invention of the plastic worm has changed every fisherman‟s point of view on
fishing because they don‟t have to buy live worms and risk getting them taken away.