When using a rubber worm should I reel it in or let it sit?

I am not a big proponent of using the plastic worm. I have used them and caught Largemouth bass with them but for my style of fishing I prefer other artificials. The only time I really prefer using a rubber worm is in very weedy water when a topwater type artificial is not working. Rubber worms big advantage is they can be rigged weedless, unlike my favorite bottom bouncing lure, a jig and pig. The proper way to fish a worm is to be very patient and fish it along the bottom. Rather than reeling it in I use a series of flips of the rod. I like to lift the worm a couple feet off the bottom of the water and then allow it to sink slowly back to the bottom. This is the time I catch most of my fish. You need to be sensing for a strike at this time while the bait is sinking. Often during a retrieve I will allow the bait to remain stationary for as long as 2 minutes. This is especially important when fishing for extremely wary Largemouth Bass. I recall my first experience using this technique on a small river backwater near my house. It was shallow water of about 4-6 feet. I was not having a great deal of success until I tried allowing the worm to sit near the bottom for a minute or two after casting it. I would then retrieve it using a series of rod flips and had much success. My theory was that the initial splash of the lure entering the water made the fish wary. Allowing the lure to rest on the bottom for awhile put the fish back in their comfort zone.

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