There are two deadly ways to fish a chewing gum worm; under an indicator or as a single fly on a floating or sinking line.

In flat calm conditions, we find the best way to fish one of these worms is on a 10-15ft leader, simply cast out, let the fly sink to the desired depth and slowly figure of eight back, as if you were fishing a team of buzzers. When fished slowly, the limpness in the material gives this fly a lifelike appearance, as if it were crawling or wriggling through the water. If the fish are in a chasing mood, it’s also worth fishing these flies quickly on a sinking line.

If there is a slight wind with a ripple on the surface, the chewing gum worms can be deadly fished under a bung especially in the winter months (Check out these top 5 tips for fishing the bung). Once you’ve found the feeding depth of the fish, set your worm at the desired depth below an indicator. Cast out, and let the fly sink. The ‘legs’ of the worm will tend to stand and wave as it’s falling through the water, and once fully sunk, the slight ripple on the water will lift the bung every so slightly, forcing the legs to gently lift and fall due to the buoyancy of the material. In a flat calm, the legs may just become limp with no movement at all unless inflicted by a short pull on the line or twitch of the rod tip.

Another advantage of the Chewing Gum worm is that it has not been produced through an extruded process making it legal for certain competitions, where the likes of the squirmy worm may well be banned.