This may sound simple and it really is, but it still amazes me that almost no one knows how to do this properly.  Baiting a hook with a live worm, we've all done it before.  You just take a hook and insert it in the worm a few times and wrap the worm a little around it to make it so the worm will last and not get stolen or fall off with the first nibble right?  This is how most of us have been doing it and its been done this way for generations.  There is a better way.

Look at it from the fish's perspective.  A barely moving knotted worm has fallen in the water seemingly out of nowhere and there is a red bobber above it.  Hmm, must be that same damn fisherman again.  Most large, prize fish - commonly referred to as lunkers - will not be enticed by this.  Ever wonder why no fish bite and you sit for hours waiting and baking in the sun when you know there is a big fish down there?  Its because your live worm bait looks dead or sick (it's probably dead by the time you pull it up).  A worm wrapped around a hook and penetrated several times to the same hook just looks unnatural.  Sometimes this even kills the worm.  A dead or sick looking worm is not going to land big fish.  It can't possibly move naturally and this is what the big fish or lunkers look for.  Ask any serious fisherman and they will tell you that the big lunkers know you are there and they will avoid all but the most tempting bait.

For instance, take a live minnow and a dead minnow, which is the fish going to go after - obviously the live moving, swimming minnow.  Same with a worm.  If your worm is all wrapped up on a single hook it is not as enticing to the fish as it would be if you let it be seen in its more natural state as with the live minnow.  The trick here is to use a group of 3 or 4 hooks (you can purchase them prethreaded this way as a gang of hooks at Walmart and Bass Pro Shops or your local fishing, bait and tackle shop.  You just take a few of the prethreaded hooks and attach them to your line.  Then insert hooks in the worm along its length be careful not to kill the worm and place them gently.  This will allow the worm to move freely in the water like the minnow and be far more enticing to the big, trophy fish that have been avoiding you.  When properly hooked like this most big prize fish, even lunkers that we only read about, can be caught.

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Next cast your worm to the edge of some hidden weeds, tree trunks, etc... where the fish have been seen or known to hide.  Let it fall to the bottom and every ten seconds or so pull on it a little - this will make it seem more realistic that the worm did really fall in and is trying to get back up or out of the water.  This step is important in over fished lakes and ponds where the remaining large fish have become wary of fisherman and the usual methods.  When hooked and presented properly like this you will find yourself catching the toughest of fish as your worm will become irresistable to even the big lunkers!

Some southerners have in the past taken this idea of several hooks (a gang of hooks) for live bait and worm fishing to bigger and easier methods of fishing.  Instead of using multiple hooks on one piece of bait or a worm and sitting there, they just set them a foot or so apart along a strong piece of string with a concrete block at the bottom and tie the top off to their deck or boat.   This is called a trot line and works extremely well.  One can set up a trot line at dusk and leave it alone until morning and find it loaded with fish - and big ones at that.  Some locals in North Carolina did that at Lake Norman years ago and caught a bunch of prize fish (lunkers) from 30+ pound striped bass to 40+ pound catfish.  It should be noted that most states now have made trot line use in fishing illegal and punishable with some pretty severe fines - so I do not recommend it. 

Just remember to follow your local and state fishing rules and laws and make sure that the use of multiple hooks (a gang of hooks on one worm) is allowed.  Also, it would probably be a good idea to make sure that you have your current fishing license if required in your state - no sense in capturing that big lunker to only have to release it and pay a huge fine.  Good luck and catch those big, prize fish or lunkers that previously only made great fireside stories.