The Worm Reborn
David Hutton
Palmetto Fly n Fish
Jan 15, 2022
Most of you probably know the story of Dr. Frankenstein and his horrific humanoid creation. The familiar story comes from the 1818 gothic horror novel by Mary Shelley, "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus."
It is about a slightly crazy, and obsessed scientist named Victor Frankenstein, who discovers the secret of reviving dead tissue and giving it life.
He uses this knowledge to stitch together a hideous, yet sapient, “monster” from human body parts. This re-animated monster ultimately becomes the source of both his misery, and his ultimate demise.
Frankenstein's, "Monster"
Doctor Victor Frankenstein, the original "mad scientist"
The Worm Gets The Nod
So with that tale ringing through our heads, lets turn our attention to fishing topics.
Most of you will think of Palmetto Fly n Fish as being about fly fishing - and it is.
But we also like to think of ourselves as well-rounded in the angling sports, and not stuck in only one routine.
Along these lines, I spent the last season dabbling in soft plastic baits, and in particular, that most ubiquitous of lures, the soft plastic worm.
The "soft plastic worm" is possibly the most popular bass lure of all time. It is cheap, available everywhere, comes in an infinite variety of colors, and is simply a lot of fun to use.
But we also like to think of ourselves as well-rounded in the angling sports, and not stuck in only one routine.
Along these lines, I spent the last season dabbling in soft plastic baits, and in particular, that most ubiquitous of lures, the soft plastic worm.
The "soft plastic worm" is possibly the most popular bass lure of all time. It is cheap, available everywhere, comes in an infinite variety of colors, and is simply a lot of fun to use.
But being as they are soft, these baits can get pretty torn up in use.
- Sometimes fish destroy them... we hope.
- At other times, they merely succumb to hours of casting, being dragged through every watery obstacle possible, and to plain old careless handling.
Either way, they end up "dead" - hopefully placed into proper waste disposal containers, but often enough, carelessly tossed to the ground when they get beaten up too badly.
It's quite common to see their "carcasses" lying around boat ramps, picnic areas, bankside spots, etc.
Think of them as forgotten worm corpses, shattered and dead...
Enter The Mad Scientist
When I see these dead worms laying around, I collect them.
I bring them home.
I examine them closely.
I study them... because, I am going to bring them back to life!
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Okay,....ooops. I got a little carried away, there.
Were was I?
Oh, yes,... once back at the "lab," I check them over carefully to assess their damage.
Most of the time, the injuries are centered around the nose, and the worm's body.
These worms are usually hooked through the nose, with the hook brought back to the body and pushed back through the worm - the familiar Texas rigged worm:
Were was I?
Oh, yes,... once back at the "lab," I check them over carefully to assess their damage.
Most of the time, the injuries are centered around the nose, and the worm's body.
These worms are usually hooked through the nose, with the hook brought back to the body and pushed back through the worm - the familiar Texas rigged worm:
Sometimes the center is all mangled, because they have been Wacky rigged, like this:
Either way, the worms end up damaged at these points.
Sometimes, they are just mutilated as seen below:
Sometimes, they are just mutilated as seen below:
These worms were found lying on a boat ramp.
The one on the left probably started life as a Zoom pumpkinseed, "Trick Worm."
I'm calling it "the funky brown worm."
It has been badly beaten up around the nose-and-body.
Next to it are some random pieces of a Zoom Junebug worm, lined up… These were torn into "body parts" for some unknown reason.
This is what the nose of the funky brown worm looked like. This is pretty extreme, but is indicative of what happens to a worm that gets chewed up in that area.
Resurrection
After closely examining the worms, the first step is to cut away the really shredded bits. Next comes the end trimming - all the ends are trimmed square using a razor or other sharp blade.
Now you have cleaned up pieces you can work with, and the "mad scientist" stuff begins.
These plastic worms are made from a material called, "Plastisol."
It is a suspension of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or other polymer particles in a liquid plasticizer,
It flows as a liquid gel when heated to around 350 degrees F, at which time it can be poured or injected into a heated mold.
On cooling back down, below 140 degrees F, a flexible, permanently plasticized solid product results.
After closely examining the worms, the first step is to cut away the really shredded bits. Next comes the end trimming - all the ends are trimmed square using a razor or other sharp blade.
Now you have cleaned up pieces you can work with, and the "mad scientist" stuff begins.
These plastic worms are made from a material called, "Plastisol."
It is a suspension of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or other polymer particles in a liquid plasticizer,
It flows as a liquid gel when heated to around 350 degrees F, at which time it can be poured or injected into a heated mold.
On cooling back down, below 140 degrees F, a flexible, permanently plasticized solid product results.
So guess what happens when you reheat it? Yep - it goes back to a molten gel state.
And that's what you want - because we are going to weld those worm sections back together.
To get them there, however, they must be re-heated to 350 degrees.
A perfect source of the needed heat is a candle flame. It's small, its easily controlled, and the candle burns at around 800 degrees!
So, it is just a matter of bringing the worm pieces close enough to the flame to melt their ends back into a hot, gooey gel.
To accomplish this, bring the ends of the pieces to be joined to around 1/4” from the flame.
At that point. the ends of the plastic worm pieces melt and ooze back to that molten gel state. At that moment, you move away from the flame and quickly push the two ends together to form a welded bond.
Hold it in position for 5 or 10 seconds to cool, and you are in business.
CAREFUL! Too close and the worm pieces catch fire and burn,... so watch it!
It takes a little practice to get just the right amount of heat, without setting the whole thing ablaze . Sometimes you DO get too close, and it bursts into a small inferno, anyway.
That's actually not as bad as it sounds, once you get used to it.
When quickly blown out, the fiery worm-ends will be nicely converted to that magical gel state we are after.
Then you just push them together and hold them while they cool.
Try to avoid flaming them up, but if it happens, hey..., don't panic.
It’s best to do the joining part of this on a firm flat surface, so you can line them up. And, when they are pushed together for bonding, a bit of the hot Plastisol will be squeezed out of the joint.
To get them there, however, they must be re-heated to 350 degrees.
A perfect source of the needed heat is a candle flame. It's small, its easily controlled, and the candle burns at around 800 degrees!
So, it is just a matter of bringing the worm pieces close enough to the flame to melt their ends back into a hot, gooey gel.
To accomplish this, bring the ends of the pieces to be joined to around 1/4” from the flame.
At that point. the ends of the plastic worm pieces melt and ooze back to that molten gel state. At that moment, you move away from the flame and quickly push the two ends together to form a welded bond.
Hold it in position for 5 or 10 seconds to cool, and you are in business.
CAREFUL! Too close and the worm pieces catch fire and burn,... so watch it!
It takes a little practice to get just the right amount of heat, without setting the whole thing ablaze . Sometimes you DO get too close, and it bursts into a small inferno, anyway.
That's actually not as bad as it sounds, once you get used to it.
When quickly blown out, the fiery worm-ends will be nicely converted to that magical gel state we are after.
Then you just push them together and hold them while they cool.
Try to avoid flaming them up, but if it happens, hey..., don't panic.
It’s best to do the joining part of this on a firm flat surface, so you can line them up. And, when they are pushed together for bonding, a bit of the hot Plastisol will be squeezed out of the joint.
Once fully cooled, it's a simple matter to trim this excess off with clippers, and small scissors.
In this way, you can create new "life" from dead worms, and worm pieces.
Dr. Frankenstein would surely be pleased.
In this way, you can create new "life" from dead worms, and worm pieces.
Dr. Frankenstein would surely be pleased.
After trimming and cleaning up, the other Junebug worm sections were joined together to form one long worm. It's now a 6" senko-style stick worm.
They are both a little ragged from being driven over on the boat ramp for God knows how long. But they will both fish just fine.
At the end of Doctor Frankenstein's story, as he lies dying, he admonishes us to seek "happiness in tranquility, and avoid ambition, because playing God and meddling in the affairs of heaven can only lead to ruin."
I hope that doesn't apply to plastic fishing worms.
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Writers should always strive for a job well done... even half-baked ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it.
Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com
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