Pickin' Nightcrawlers

How many of you all go out with a flashlight on a rainy night & pick-up your own mess of 'crawlers for bait? I remember doing it with dad when I was young, dad, myself & one brother would go out & gather a mess for that weekends camping/fishing trip

I've still gathered them since then, lol....if I thought about it in advance. I used to keep a large worm-box in the bottom of the bait 'fridge & always had a supply on hand. I'd tear-up & wet some newspaper to put ontop of the bedding to help keep it moist. I'd heard wrapping red cellophane over the lens of the flashlight helped to not "alert" the 'crawlers of your presence. I've done it both ways. I could pick-up 8-10 dozen worms in about an hour.

Those who have kids (or not) who haven't tried it, give it a whirl....kind of fun to sneak-up on 'em. Kids have a blast & it saves a few bucks for the fuel tanks.

My dad used to do it, I haven't done it in a while myself, I should though, as you said, saves a few dollars & every bit helps now. Thanks for bringing back some good memories.

Still pickin my own at 46!!! Gotta do it with 12 crawlers from the store costing right around $3.

A better way to cover your flashlight is with white garbage bags as you're only trying to spread out the heat from the bulb.

A great book on Nightcrawlers from the Old Fishin Facts Magazine is called
"Lunkers Love Nightcrawlers", great book with lots of tips that still work.

Fatman

My kids & myself catches all of our crawlers.@ $2.39/dz we save alot of $$.

We usually wait 3-4 hours after dark & the crawlers are out of the holes (trying to find some booty) & makes them easier to catch & not bruise or rip apart.

If it hasnt rained I will pour some soapy water where I plan on catching them,then wait few hours after dark.

Try letting them come out better before you go outside & see if that doesnt eliminate having to sneek up on them :D

I have noticed our best times is right before day break,them suckers will be stretched out like snakes.

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Originally Posted by Fatman

A better way to cover your flashlight is with white garbage bags as you're only trying to spread out the heat from the bulb.

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lol....I'm 51 & need all the light I can get :D Good tip though!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fatman

A great book on Nightcrawlers from the Old Fishin Facts Magazine is called
"Lunkers Love Nightcrawlers", great book with lots of tips that still work.

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Yes, great book! The "old" Fishing Facts was about the best fishing mag ever.

NO I don't put them in my pocket but a zip-lock bag.;);););):D:D
I live in Florida, every day when I go out for a walk in the morning, I am on the look out for worms crawling along the roadway and gutters. After a good evening rain, I can come up with a good dozen worms from walking 1.75 miles in the development where I live.
Most people walk around carrying plastic bags, BUT for another reason,:rolleyes: to pick up after their dogs. I carry mine for the worms:). In the bag I have added some spagham moss(spc) and some water for moisture. Some of the worms look like they need hydration. With the water and moss they look to be in good shape when I get home. I place the worms in a 5 gallon plastic bucket, I have in the garage, which contains Florida dirt and moss. I keep a check on the worms and they burrow down and so far they are doing GREAT. The heat has not seemed to bother them.
Where I lived in North Carolina I would go out in the yard, place a spading fork in the ground and vigorously rub a section of rebar across the outside tines. The vibrations would cause the worms to come shooting out of the soil.

We catch some at the cabin in Virginia....on a good rainy night....they are big suckers...when I was a young man living in Ashe County...myself and a neighbor used to catch nightcrawlers there...and drown them the next day in the New River. Those were some good times.

Now my granddaugher has a worm bed...we gathered some redworms this evening for a fishing trip tomorrow. We had some watermelon rind in there...and turned the rind over..they were like spaghetti underneath it.

I dont think we have any Night Crawlers down here. I've seen very few worms in the last two years.
We havent had much rain either.

How about hooking the AC up to two rods a few feet into the ground?
I tried that and got nothing. Maybe I dont have any worms though.
Anybody?

My Dad and I used to go out to a farm to get worms. Dig under the cow manure....crawlers every where and BIG!!!

Havent picked any nightcrawlers for a long time, used to pick and sell to a bait shop here, looong time ago, got a penny a piece for them. But do have a mulch pile out in the back yard just for red worms, easy pickins.

i do it a few times a year... get a good afternoon rain and bout 9 pm go out and can get 10-12 dozen and then put em in my worm box in my basement fridge... 3 or 4 times a year and lasts me all season

My fishing buddy(whiskerwhipper) always gets the worms!

I have a few worm boxes for red wigglers also. They seem to last longer than crawlers, bream love them, and they rapidly reproduce. Bait shops around here charge $2.75 for a box of about 25 redworms! Highway robbery!