Don Iovino, a professional bass fishing legend and sonar and
finesse expert, proudly discusses his Mike's Magic worm color, rigging, techniques, Reapers, and the Little Slugger. A testament to his years of experience and dedication to our beloved sport.
By Derrek Stewart 3/26/19, reintroduced 3/22/25
Iovino has been
making custom worms for decades. Devoted fans love his products, and Iovino is
delivering what he calls his best color ever.
Don Iovino has meticulously crafted his new worm pattern for
more than six months, ensuring its effectiveness before its release. "I'm
not going to come out with a new color unless I know I can catch fish with it," – Don
Iovino.
When it's ready for Iovino, then it's prepared for you!
Field Tested/Big Fish Proven
Named after Don's fishing buddy, Mike's Magic has undergone
rigorous testing and continuous refinement until Iovino was certain it was
perfect. The final version of Mike's Magic, which Iovino used to score an
impressive 8.4-pound largemouth bass at Castaic Lake, California, is a
testament to its quality and effectiveness.
The 6-Inch Straight Tail Worm in Mike's Magic is a salted soft
plastic worm with a unique design. Its translucent underbelly and darker back, featuring
purple and green flecks, make it visually appealing. The two-toned bait's
underside, which is clearly visible when the worm is at the top of the image,
is designed to attract fish.
6-Inch Straight Tail Worm in
Mike's Magic
The belly of Mike's Magic is clear. "This is key; the
worm's bottom is translucent in fairly clear green water; it stands out and
gets the fish's attention."
Rigging the 6-Inch Straight
Tail Worm
Iovino likes to fish this worm on a wacky rigged drop-shot with
a short leader. On his drop-shot set-up, Iovino prefers a shorter drop, around
eight inches in winter and early spring. During cold water conditions, Iovino
calls his quarry' Mud Bass.' These fish are on the bottom in deep water, and
they're not coming up high in the water column to eat. Iovino says that's why
he uses a shorter leader. "The shorter leader also provides more action
and feel in the rod, a lesson learned from Iovino's Doodle Slide technique."
6-inch Straight Tail Worm rigged wacky.
Reapers and the Carolina Rig; More fishing insights from the Don of finese.
A Carolina Rig is the way to go when fishing Reapers. For his
Reaper set-ups, Iovino uses an Owner Cover Shot Worm Hook. The Cover Shot has a
monofilament bait keeper that keeps the soft plastic Reaper from moving on the
hook. Iovino says this is very important when dragging baits along the bottom.
"I rig a Pro-Jo cylindrical brass weight above a pegged 6MM
glass Doodling bead for my Carolina set-up. The pegged bead allows quick, easy
adjustments to the line length between the Reaper and the bead. By not pegging
the bead, the weight slides on the line and gets to the bottom much sooner than
the worm, providing a slower lure descent through the water column."
Pay Attention to the Drop
"Eighty percent of your bites will occur as a bait falls
through the water column before it hits bottom."
The Breaking Point
In Southern California, ultra-light line finesse fishing is a
staple for bass anglers. Iovino doesn't use fluorocarbon fishing line for any
application with 8-pound test or lighter. Fluorocarbon is too delicate, says
Iovino. if there is a kink in these light lines, you will
break the line and lose the fish. The cost of the line and the price of losing
a fish don't justify ultra-light line finesse techniques and small-diameter
fluorocarbon lines.
Iovino discusses Reapers,
the pattern in the pic is Green Weenie, a classic.
The Little Slugger
The Little Slugger in the new Mike's Magic color was so popular
that it sold out on the first day of the Long Beach Fred Hall Show, a clear
testament to its effectiveness and appeal among anglers.
Rig the Little Slugger wacky style, and with the slightest
movement, the Little Slugger produces a pronounced wiggle. Iovino loves to fish
the Little Slugger this way. You don't have to shake hard, but you still get a
lot of action, says Iovino.
Iovino displays the Little Slugger in Mike's Magic pattern.
"Mike's Magic; probably the best worm color I've created.
I'm excited; you need to try it, and when you do, you'll be buying more."
Mike's Magic is available in the 6-inch Straight Tail Worm,
4.5-inch Fat Boy Straight Tail Worm, 3-inch Reaper, and the 3.25-inch Little
Slugger Finesse Worm.
