Worm Hunting

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08-20-2010, 12:50 PM
Team M&M

Worm Hunting

Well I havent thought of this in years until today. I saw someone doing it under a big oak tree this morning and thought I'd share.

When I was a kid my Uncle would take us fishing every summer but we had to get bait first. This was his method of getting a hundred worms in a few minutes of work.

We'd get on his tractor and ride it out on his property to a group of trees. Under those trees we'd pour out two 5 gallon buckets of water. Then he'd make me and my brother get up on the tractor so we weren't standing on the ground and he'd hook 2 wires up to a spare battery on the tractor. One to the negative and one to the positive. At the other end of the wires were short wood handles he had formed out of a broom handle or something like that. Each handle had a metal rod coming out of it and the wire connected to the rod. He'd push the rods into the ground(mind you he had big rubber boots on) and space them 4 feet apart or so. Had to make sure to place them where the water was dumped on the ground.

Well you can guess the rest, after a couple of minutes there was a ton of big fat worms on the top and he pulled up the rods and we jumped down off the tractor to gather them up.
I don't really know if we bagged a hundred at a time but it seemed like a lot and we never ran out of bait.

That was years and years ago but this morning right down the road from my house I saw a guy using what looked like a 6 volt battery and some wires under a big oak tree. He had a coffee can sitting on his tailgate and I didn't stop but it made me think of my crazy uncle.

Also please note: I do NOT recommend you do this as I'm sure if you don't insulate yourself it could probably kill you.

My wifes grandfather uses a chainsaw with the chain removed. He sticks the chain holder part of the chainsaw into the ground and cranks it up and revs it at full speed. Doesnt take long for the worms to run out of the ground that way. I just can't see wasting a hundred dollar chainsaw on worm gathering, lol.
08-20-2010, 02:17 PM
azslabber

Cool.lol.I think that raising them in a bin is easier.
08-20-2010, 04:07 PM
shipahoy41

Quote:

Originally Posted by azslabber

Cool.lol.I think that raising them in a bin is easier.

And much safer. Go to bait store and get 4 doz red worms to start. Put them in a bin, covered bucket, or worm farm. 30 days later you should have at least 500 to fish with.

Keep the soil damp with damp newspaper or burlap. Shredded newspaper, garden soil, manure, Crushed dried eggshells, and peat makes a great soil mixture. Feed them corn meal.

Take what you need to go fishing and let the rest continue making new babies for you.
08-20-2010, 07:40 PM
"G"

Good advice Ship.
08-21-2010, 02:07 AM
Techno2000

Quote:

Originally Posted by shipahoy41

And much safer. Go to bait store and get 4 doz red worms to start. Put them in a bin, covered bucket, or worm farm. 30 days later you should have at least 500 to fish with.

Keep the soil damp with damp newspaper or burlap. Shredded newspaper, garden soil, manure, Crushed dried eggshells, and peat makes a great soil mixture. Feed them corn meal.

Take what you need to go fishing and let the rest continue making new babies for you.

No I can't be reading this right, you are tuning 48 worms into 500 full size fishing worm in a month ?
08-21-2010, 07:18 AM
GCD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Team M&M

Well I havent thought of this in years until today. I saw someone doing it under a big oak tree this morning and thought I'd share.

When I was a kid my Uncle would take us fishing every summer but we had to get bait first. This was his method of getting a hundred worms in a few minutes of work.

We'd get on his tractor and ride it out on his property to a group of trees. Under those trees we'd pour out two 5 gallon buckets of water. Then he'd make me and my brother get up on the tractor so we weren't standing on the ground and he'd hook 2 wires up to a spare battery on the tractor. One to the negative and one to the positive. At the other end of the wires were short wood handles he had formed out of a broom handle or something like that. Each handle had a metal rod coming out of it and the wire connected to the rod. He'd push the rods into the ground(mind you he had big rubber boots on) and space them 4 feet apart or so. Had to make sure to place them where the water was dumped on the ground.

Well you can guess the rest, after a couple of minutes there was a ton of big fat worms on the top and he pulled up the rods and we jumped down off the tractor to gather them up.
I don't really know if we bagged a hundred at a time but it seemed like a lot and we never ran out of bait.

That was years and years ago but this morning right down the road from my house I saw a guy using what looked like a 6 volt battery and some wires under a big oak tree. He had a coffee can sitting on his tailgate and I didn't stop but it made me think of my crazy uncle.

Also please note: I do NOT recommend you do this as I'm sure if you don't insulate yourself it could probably kill you.

My wifes grandfather uses a chainsaw with the chain removed. He sticks the chain holder part of the chainsaw into the ground and cranks it up and revs it at full speed. Doesnt take long for the worms to run out of the ground that way. I just can't see wasting a hundred dollar chainsaw on worm gathering, lol.

They used to sell an Electric "Worm Getter" and I tried to find one online only to find out that they had all been recalled.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Techno2000

No I can't be reading this right, you are tuning 48 worms into 500 full size fishing worm in a month ?

I would say it would take more like a season (3 months).

Y'all do realize that using live bait is extremely primitive... right?;)
08-21-2010, 08:04 AM
sulphurspringsfisherman

Quote:

Originally Posted by GCD

They used to sell an Electric "Worm Getter" and I tried to find one online only to find out that they had all been recalled.

I would say it would take more like a season (3 months).

Y'all do realize that using live bait is extremely primitive... right?;)

huh i wonder why they were recalled its only playing with electricity and water
08-21-2010, 08:07 AM
Bob # 1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Techno2000

No I can't be reading this right, you are tuning 48 worms into 500 full size fishing worm in a month ?

Listen to "Old Ship" he does not lie.......his background is a preacher.
:D
08-21-2010, 08:09 AM
sulphurspringsfisherman

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob # 1

Listen to "Old Ship" he does not lie.......his background is a preacher.
:D

true (maybe) but he is a fisherman :)
08-21-2010, 10:08 AM
"G"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob # 1

Listen to "Old Ship" he does not lie.......his background is a preacher.
:D

No no my friend.......not his background......its his calling. :)
08-21-2010, 10:19 AM
JSC

I noticed that no one has mentioned "Grunting" worms ... drive a stake in the ground and rub another one on it and "Vibrate" them out ... Some commercialy in several places here in NW Fl ... Blountstown being one of the centers for "Calhoun County" earthworms and the other big center is in Sopchoppy ... For a while they had a "Grunting" Contest in Bonifay .. have not heard of it lately ... the chainless chain saw does the same thing ... real art to doing it.

JSC
08-21-2010, 10:37 AM
shipahoy41

Quote:

Originally Posted by sulphurspringsfisherman

true (maybe) but he is a fisherman :)

True dat! Never did count 'em. Should have said "Goo gobs" of them in a little bit. Enough to take some to the lake and let the rest keep on doing what they do! Make babies. It works better if you play Marvin Gaye "Sexual Healing" or Smokey Robinson "Ooh Baby Baby"

They really like it when I play "The Electric Slide" for them. They get in a line and do the wild thing.
08-21-2010, 04:41 PM
Fatman

I saw my Uncle take a hell of a shock with the metal bars and battery when I was a kid. needless to say I went out at night and caught them, after seeing his hair afterwords NOT happening to me!!!!!!!!!!

Fatman
08-22-2010, 08:08 AM
wvsportsman

Quote:

Originally Posted by shipahoy41

True dat! Never did count 'em. Should have said "Goo gobs" of them in a little bit. Enough to take some to the lake and let the rest keep on doing what they do! Make babies. It works better if you play Marvin Gaye "Sexual Healing" or Smokey Robinson "Ooh Baby Baby"

They really like it when I play "The Electric Slide" for them. They get in a line and do the wild thing.

:D :D :D
08-22-2010, 08:24 AM
"G"

Electric slide huh? Lmao :D
08-22-2010, 04:53 PM
shipahoy41

Quote:

Originally Posted by G3 Fisherman

Electric slide huh? Lmao :D

They never did learn the "Cupid Shuffle". To the left. To the left. To the left. To the left. To the right. To the right. To the right. To the right. Now break it down.........

I guess having only one tail did them in. Lmao x2
08-23-2010, 10:01 AM
Cane Pole

Take a worm divining rod to Washington. There is a large bed of red and blue ones there.:eek::eek:
08-24-2010, 05:30 PM
shipahoy41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cane Pole

Take a worm divining rod to Washington. There is a large bed of red and blue ones there.:eek::eek:

Yeah and some independant ones too. They all will be on the hook in November.
08-26-2010, 06:36 PM
fish_4_all

It does take about 3 months to go from cocoon to adult in redworms but if you feed them right and keep them warm enough you can reduce the time to about a month to fishing size. I went from about 100 to 500 in 4 months over the winter and went from 500 to having to cull out more than 2000 and still have thousands of them with the warm temps and lots of good food.

If you want big worms get African or European nightcrawlers instead of redworms, they grow slower but are a lot bigger.

As for the battery and metal rods, works great, put the rods in the gorund, hook up the cables, get in your truck and THEN hook them to the battery. Have seen it many times, had the priviledge to laugh myself to the ground when someone didn't follow those basic rules, after we made sure he was alive of course. He had our written instructions right in front of him.

I wonder if grunting would work here? I think it is the Alabama jumper that is driven out by the vibration but that is the only one i have ever seen it used on so who knows. May have to try it and see how long it takes for Sasquatch hunters to come a running looking for the location of those strange grunts. LMAO.
07-29-2011, 08:34 AM
Bobby J

Good info and some funny also.
09-20-2011, 10:56 AM
zrdc28

When I was just a youngster my dad would just use 2 screwdrivers tied to an extension cord. He would wrap each wire from the cord to a screwdriver and insert them into the ground about 8 to 10 feet apart. Then plug it in, in a few minutes there would be worms all over the ground.