Easy worm hunting

[salmotrutta]

Tonight, I was about to go drive to the nearest vacant patch of land to gather nightcrawlers. This usually entails a sore back, dirty hands, and quick reflexes.

Walking down the driveway, I stumbled upon a worm. Much to my surprise, there were so many worms on my street, that I was never more than 10m from my driveway. I think I gathered 5 dozen worms in about 20 minutes. No sore back. No need for quick reflexes. The worms were all hugging the curb and being swept by the current, so I didn't get my hands and flashlight all muddy because they were all picked off the concrete.

I am never gathering worms in any other way unless I need to! I have over 10 dozen now in a fridge, packed in dirt and leaves in styrofoam containers. I expect them to last quite long, perhaps even until the Spring if I change their dirt every once in a while?

PS. There's a reason why worms are such an effective bait. After a rain, if you ever catch a trout or other species, you may notice that they cough up a whole wad of worms. Fish gorge themselves on worms when it rains. I have spotted the odd nightcrawler flowing through creeks on days with no rain, but after a rain the creeks get flooded with worms.

 

[FrankTheRabbit]

Interesting post about the trout feeding on the worms. I've only used worms for panfish and store bought minnows for fall large mouth.

Yes, I too stumbled upon a lot of worms on the driveway. There was one that was stretched out 1 foot long, no exaggeration. hah

 

[reefrunner]

If you ahve a composter in the backyard those things are worm magnets, rain or shine.

 

[LICENSETOPIN]

i just have a sheet of plywood sitting on a patch of dift in my backyard, anytime i need worms i just lift it up. careful as ive also had snakes crawl under it.
only works with warm weather, when the ground gets too cold they go down deep.

 

[tangledline]

worms are my favourite bait....i am like an 8 year old with worms...just love them.
i catch hundreds of fish on worms each year.
some i find...some i buy
they can last well in the fridge
as far as gathering bait opportunistically...i like bees and beatles and moths etc that i stumble across shore fishing
but i still own $2500 in artificial lures....
fishing is a disease that is incurrable....i am glad i caught it.