Roboworm Straight-Tail Worms – My Three Favorite Colors
While I know that some form of dropshot rig will produce fish any time of year, in just about any water clarity, for all three major bass species, it’s still not one of my main techniques. Perhaps that’s because I generally prefer power fishing, or maybe I just haven’t spent enough time with it to really dial it in. Nevertheless, I know that it’s deadly and I’ve caught a fair number of fish on it.
Just as importantly, the dropshot – and the straight tailed Roboworm in particular – played an important part in my writing career. The first article I wrote for a national fishing publication stemmed from a day in the boat with Aaron Martens during the 2004 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Wylie in South Carolina. While he mixed in the dropshot throughout the day, his real tools of note in that runner-up finish were the “horsey head” and the Scrounger. Aaron went on to be a muse for much of my subsequent writing, and I was thrilled to work with him many time and fish with him before his premature death.
At the 2005 Classic in Pittsburgh, I rode with Gary Klein on the first tournament day. He caught nearly 40 bass that day on the stingy Three Rivers. Although only three of them met the 12-inch minimum length, nearly all came on a dropshot, which showed me the power of that rig. Indeed, he had pleaded with Aaron for a lesson earlier that year, and then built upon that crash course to dial it in. That included a specialized rod made by his friend Rich Forhan. After the Classic I called Rich and ordered one for myself.
Two years later, at an Elite Series event on the California Delta that Aaron went on to win, my friend Bill Roberts drew out with him on the second day of competition. That day Aaron had two double digit bass – one on a flipping rod with heavy line, and a slightly larger one on a dropshot with 8-pound test fluorocarbon an, of course, a Roboworm.
As a result of those experiences, I’ve known the power of the Roboworm for nearly two decades. While I often turn to soft plastics like the Berkley Flat Worm or the Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm to dropshot, when in doubt the Robo gets the call. I like the 4-incher for bedding fish, the 6-incher for all-around use, and the 7-inch model when dropshotting in Mexico. One of the features that set these worms apart from the start was their amazing layered color combinations, and while I own quite a few, the following are my standbys:
Hologram Shad
Klein swore by this baitfish imitator in 2005 for all-around use. I have no idea if it’s still among his favorites, but early on I bought ‘em by the case. Dip just the tip of the tail in chartreuse Spike-It, especially in smallmouth or spotted bass country.
Aaron’s Magic
This was A-Mart’s classic color, and while there are variations (e.g., with red and black flake) I stick with the original.
Margarita Mutilator
I like this M.M. slightly more than the M.M. III, especially when power shotting in the grass on the Potomac. It’s also my favorite at El Salto, in both the thin and fat versions.
Miscellaneous Notes on Roboworms
Aaron was colorblind. I didn’t realize that until I worked with him on an article about how he picked soft plastic colors. He claimed that he could tell different shades, but true to his savant-like abilities, he just said that certain patterns “looked right.”
Many clear water anglers, particularly on spotted bass waters like Lake Lanier, rely heavily on Morning Dawn. In addition to the original, Robo offers Aaron’s Morning Dawn, Breaking Dawn, Hologram Dawn, Morning Dawn Chartreuse and Morning Dawn Red Flake.
If you haven’t tried it, the Roboworm Alive Shad in Hologram Dawn is an amazing bed fishing bait for squirrelly bass.
After a period where I honestly forgot about them, I’ve gone back to using the Roboworm Rebarb hooks for several of my finesse presentations, including the dropshot.
I’m also a huge fan of the Gamakatsu Aaron Martens G-Finesse Drop Shot Hook for both dropshotting and wacky rigging.
