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Like the twitching yellow barrels in “Jaws,” the bobber bobs, signaling an unseen underwater presence.

Suspended a foot off the bottom in five feet of water, the worm just hangs there, unmoved by wind or current.

The water is cold, in the mid 30s, not that much warmer than ice. The fish are sluggish, in energy-conservation mode, disinclined to chase a moving bait.

The fish — mostly bluegills with an occasional sucker and even less occasional bass — eye the bait until one of them tastes it.

The suspense builds as the plastic orb jiggles and pauses.

Now it’s up to you. Don’t wait for it to go under. It’s not going under. Strike too soon and you yank the bait away from the fish. Wait too long

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