Best Types of Fishing Worms for Fishing| All You Have to Know

Choosing the right kind of bait can be royally confusing since there are so many kinds at your disposal. If you’re confused about the types of fishing worms and which ones give your fishing experience the best results, you’re at the right place! We will break it down for you.

The types of fishing worms determine what type of haul you’re bringing home. So, it’s important to find a suitable worm for your fishing depending on the environment.

Different worms for different fish

If you’re in a hurry, the table below lays out the summary for you. You will find it easy to understand which worm is suitable for you.

WORM IMAGE WORM NAME BEST FOR
Nightcrawlers fishing worm
BEST FOR
  • Walleye
  • Trout,
  • Crappies
  • Bass
Specialty: Ice Fishing
Mealworm fishing worm
best for
  • Trout
  • Crappie
  • Bluegill
  • Perch
  • Panfish
Red Wigglers fishing worm
best for
  • Catfish
  • Trout
  • Crappie
  • Panfish
Leeches
best for
  • Walleye
  • Bass
Specialty : Ice Fishing
waxworm-fishing-worm
BEST FOR
  • Perch
  • Panfish
  • Crappie
Specialty: Saltwater fishing
Blood Fishing Worm
best for
  • Roach
  • Bream
  • Perch
  • Spot
  • Croaker
  • Striped
  • Bass
  • Catfish
specialty: Cold water fishing
Better worm
best for
  • Trout
  • Panfish
Plastic fishing worms
best for
  • Paddle tail
  • Tail worm
  • Worm
  • Small fish

Types of worms

Let’s delve deeper into understanding each type of fishing worm. Here are the best types of fishing worms for your fishing hooks to grab your favorite catch:

Nightcrawlers:

Nightcrawlers fishing worm

The most popular choice of fishing worms are Nightcrawlers and it is the best for hunting walleye, all variants of trout, panfish, crappies, and largemouth bass. Fishes find this particular worm very appealing because of its attractive look. Its relatively bigger body makes it a choice bait.

Don’t get fooled that small fishes won’t get attracted as nightcrawlers are one of the favorite foods of small fishes too and they fit perfectly in their mouth. Another great advantage of this worm is that you can divide it into pieces and use them separately.

If you are looking for the best nightcrawler if you may check  Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm European Nightcrawlers

Meal worms:

Mealworm fishing worm

Mealworms are amongst the less attractive fishing worms in terms of their outlook. However, it works great if you want to hunt fish like trout, crappie, bluegill, perch, bass, and panfish.

Technically, mealworms are not really worms but larvae of a beetle. You will be amazed how much fishes love them especially because of their size. Since mealworms are very tiny and soft, so the bait also goes for tiny fishes. You can find them in the bait shops and you may have to buy bulk if you are willing.

It’s a little hard to attach them with the hook as they can get torn. However, they do attract a lot of fishes and you can get a good portion using mealworms.

If you are looking for the best mealworms if you may check Uncle Jim’s live Mealworms

Red Wigglers:

Red Wigglers fishing worm

Red wigglers are a popular bait for catching small fish. Especially, if the fishermen are kids or teenagers, it is the perfect bait for them to use and hunt fish.

Red wigglers are very small and are easy to use. No chances of biting but you have to be careful while putting them on the hook as you can pinch your finger. They are the best bait for catching catfish, trout, crappie, bass, and panfish if you are into small fishes. The name suggests how the bait looks, they are red and small.

Thanks to the colors and their wiggling, it’s very easy for the fishes to spot them. It is also a versatile bait as it can be used for larger fishes too. Sometimes, there are a lot of medium and large-sized red wigglers at bait shops. If you are lucky, you can get medium-sized fish with red wigglers. Thanks to their hardiness, they can withstand harsh conditions just like mealworms.

They are easy to find if you are thinking of saving a few cents. You can dig into the soil and find a lot of good examples that you can use as fish bait.

For Red Wigglers you may visit HomeGrownWorms Red Wiggler

Leeches:

Leeches type of fishing worms

People get surprised to see leeches in the list of fishing bait. However, leeches can be used as fishing bait as well.

They are slimy, cylindrical, wriggly, and act as a good bait for walleye and bass. Most of the fishes love leeches and eat them as part of their normal life cycle. You can also find different sizes of leeches according to your needs.

There are small, medium and large ones and you can get bigger fish using the large sizes. It is easy to bait for bass, catfish, and walleye because it is their common food. Leeches could be quite scary for little kids or teenagers as they suck blood using their sucker, hence caution needs to be maintained.

If you are not experienced handling leeches, it is better not to use them. Leeches are parasitic or predatory worms. They live on sucking blood and eating smaller specimens. If you are not careful enough, you can get caught with leeches and the last thing you want is to tear them while they suck. The teeth may remain stuck on your skin.

Wax worm:

waxworm-fishing-worm

This worm is the same as a mealworm because it is also not entirely a worm. It is a larva that will become an insect after some time. But due to their natural look, it is a common food for fish. You can think of it as a fish delicacy because of its nature.

You can use wax worms and easily catch perch, panfish, and crappie. They are not very big but they are good to catch and the bait works perfectly. Waxworms are the only worms available for ice fishing due to the weather and season. Thanks to its look, fishes find them very appealing and they love waxworms. These are fatty little morsels that attract fish like nothing else.

It’s very easily available and the fishing stores invariably always have mealworms and waxworms.

Are you looking for the best online source of Waxworm?  Here you go: Galleria mellonella Live Waxworms

Blood worm:

Blood Fishing Worm

This type of worm is found in saltwater, meaning sea areas.  They tend to hide underwater and sand. It is a particular type of worm that lives and breeds in marine conditions.

Most of the time they gain a fair size according to research. They can grow up to 35 centimeters long and are a great bait for big fishes. They’re great for attracting different types of fishes, such as roach, bream, perch, spot, croaker, striped bass, and catfish. Thanks to their size and appearance, they stand out above every other fishing worm available on this list.

There is a reason why it is called bloodworm and that is because of its vivid blood-red color. They have sharp teeth and they can bite your hand. It does not contain enough venom to harm a human body but the bite will sting and hurt a lot. It isn’t advised for newbies to opt for these baits.

Due to its tendency to bite while attaching it to the hook, you will need gloves to do the job. Most of the time people get bites from this worm, the place where it bites will become numb.

Butter worm:

Better worm

Here is another type of worm that looks like a worm but is not actually a worm. It is a larva and it is just like a waxworm. Though it does not have that much fat as waxworm, it contains a fruity odor that attracts fish. It is not very popular but people do use it and catch fairly good fish.

Though it does not look appealing to the fish, fishes tend to find its taste quite appealing.

Most of the time, fishes fail to understand what type of worm it is and naturally try to eat. Fishermen suggest people use this type of worm because it is relatively easy to use and does not pose any risk.

Not many farms sell butter worms. This is the best amongst them: Best bait Jumbo Live Butter Worms

Plastic worms:

Plastic fishing worms

Real-life fishing worms are sometimes gross, especially those who don’t want to touch something like mealworm/waxworm. There are plastic worms for the faint-hearted.

It comes in different sizes and shapes and you can buy them at various prices. Mostly due to being plastic, you can use it multiple times. But it is not always ideal to get fish with plastic worms as there are cases where fish does not even care about it since real worms have a scent that attracts fish which the plastic ones lack.

You can choose from paddle tail to tail worms as they are fully made of plastic. There are many more examples that are attractive for the fish. Generally, a Plastic worm is classified into two major groups in a unique style: 

Straight tail and curly tail. 

Straight Tail: 

According to many, this tail is simply the best style. It ensures providing high effective performance and plays the role of finesse worms.

Curly Tail: 

You’ll find different types of curly tails worms on the market. This kind of plastic worm creates more vibration in the water to attract fish. This tail is mostly used to catch fish in dark water. In recent times, the tail worm has gained its popularity to attract the fishes and you can go to any tackle store to collect them.

Robot Worm: 

Robot Worm the best fishing worms

It is an electronic self-swimming action fishing lure that is known as a Robot worm. The structure is more interesting and makes it a handy fishing worm, especially for trout. Robot worm is rechargeable and it can move in its own style. You can find them in the fishing stores easily.

Facts and ideas of using worms

There are different types of hooks depending on the size of fish you want to catch. If your goal is to catch largemouth bass, then you should use a paddle tail worm.

Generally, it’s an easier option to catch fish with live fishing worms as opposed to plastic ones. The bait should be as natural as possible so that the fishes lure themselves to the bait.

However, you can hurt your finger using a real worm. Therefore, exercise caution. Especially if you think of using a bloodworm. This one bites and stings hard yet it lures more fish than any other ones.

Sometimes, worms get free from the hook and vanish into water. If that happens don’t fret, try to attain patience, and simply attach a new worm on the hook.

Typically these things happen when a fish strikes or moves by its side. Sometimes you can see fish swimming across the bait, yet it will not bite it.

Frequently asked questions

Question: What kind of worms are used for fishing?

Answer: There are different types of fishing worms but the most common ones are mealworms, waxworms, butter worms, blood worms, red wigglers, and plastic worms. Well, if you think in short, there are two primary worms that people use: natural worms and plastic worms.

Question: What is the difference between nightcrawlers and red worms?

Answer: The main difference between nightcrawlers and red worms is the size. Typically, nightcrawlers are bigger than these worms and they are more likely to work as live bait than red worms. Moreover, nightcrawlers are easy to attach on a hook rather than a red worm.

Question: What is the best worm to fish with?

Answer: The best worm to fish is nightcrawlers alongside bloodworms. Leeches are also favorite among some anglers but nothing takes bait like nightcrawlers and bloodworms. However, it is necessary to be careful when you are using bloodworms.

Question: Are worms the best fishing bait?

Answer: Of course, all the anglers will say that worms are the best fishing bait ever. You can easily get fish if you are using a real worm instead of a plastic worm on the hook as live bait.

Question: From where can I get worms?

Answer: You can get them from your nearest fishing store, they are available online these days as well. If you want to collect by yourself here is an easy trick:

Also, you can grow them on your own. Worms are very easy to raise and breed. You just need a small space. This video may help you save some money from buying worms next time:

Conclusion

There are a lot of worms available around us. But the best types of fishing worms depend on what you are trying to catch.

Hope our breakdown has given you some insight into choosing an apt bait for your next fishing adventure.

What are you waiting for? It’s time to fish!

Happy Fishing!!

1 thought on “Best Types of Fishing Worms for Fishing| All You Have to Know”

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.