Imakatsu Bass Worm

IMAKATSU’s BASSWORM145 is a soft bait developed around the silhouette and movement of a bass, based on the concept of recreating the motion of a small fish fleeing from predators and attempting to escape into cover such as rocks and wood. Its semi-flat body features slits on only one side. The combination of the slightly firm material and one-sided slits produces an action in which the bait trembles finely and struggles as it thrusts its head into cover.

For basic rigging, set an offset hook sideways on a Biftech Rig or football-head rig using a sinker weighing approximately 10 g (3/8 oz) to 17.5 g (5/8 oz). By using the heavy, low-center-of-gravity sinker as a pivot on the bottom and shaking the bait finely in one spot, you can imitate a baitfish attempting to flee into cover. IMAKATSU also introduces bottom shaking with a Texas rig using a 6/0 offset hook and a 3.5–28 g sinker without pegging the sinker; a surface “yoko-yoko” or neko rig, combining a 4/0 weedless hook and a 2.2–5 g sinker to suspend the bait in cover or swim it through the mid-water column; and a weightless I-shaped retrieve or hard jerking action with a 6/0 offset hook. Designed to be worked with fine taps of the rod tip, the bait readily produces an evasive small-fish action that takes advantage of its one-sided slits.