worm hunting

[longhaircamo]

just got done worm hunting with my grandpa and within 2 hrs of hunting we got over 185 worms at least. it was a messy job but it was worth it because we don't have to buy worms for a little while

[BlackIce]

Great topic.  Ive been picking my own all year.  I go out at night any time it has rained that day and get 2-4 dozen in about a half hour.  I haven't had to buy any all year.  I bought a styrofoam bait cooler for a buck and have been storing them in there.  I swap out an ice pack every day to keep them cool and feed them every couple days.  Beats paying $2.50-$3 a dozen.  If I run low I may get some from the amish since I hear they sell them for 75 cents a dozen.

edit: my next project is a minnow tank.  I picked up a fish tank and aerator at Goodwill for 5 bucks.  Should be able to keep minnows and shiners alive a long time.

[FIP]

What kind of spots are best for picking nightcrawlers? I can find them on bare ground in the garden but as the garden fills up there is less and less open dirt to hunt. I don't seem to be able to spot them in the back yard grass - or am I just not looking close enough?

[Madpuppy]

I hunt crawlers after or during a rain, usually in the evening after the sun sets or in the morning before it rises. My method is to walk the streets along our city park and just pick them up out of the gutters. It's easy pickins', the reason I walk the parks is they don't use herbicides or pesticides and they're seeems to more worm activity in those areas where chemicals are not used. As far as storing them I use a styro worm farm, the biggest one they make. It's about 24" x 16" x 6", put worm bedding in it and keep it in the refrigerator in our shop. Throw a little worm food in once a week, keep it moist with rain or spring water and they last indefinitely. I haven't bought worms for a long time and with our gas station selling them for $3.79 it's well worth a little bending over, it is getting harder to get to the down to the ground the older I get. Maybe I could develop some sort of worm vacuum and just suck them up into a bucket

[fiddlehead322]

Has anybody seen the clip from weird news about grunting for worms? I had to look. These guys pound a wooden stake into the ground then rub a flat piece of steel across the top of it creating vibrations that send the worms to the suface. Supposedly they are tricked into thinking that a mole is after them so they crawl to the surface to escape. Showed a video too. I wonder if it would work around here?

[Madpuppy]

Never heard of that one Fiddlehead, might have to give it a try. We used to have an old gal in town that sold crawlers and she would stick 2 copper rods with a wire to each rod in the ground and then plug it in to an outlet. Brought the worms right to the top.

[longhaircamo]

What kind of spots are best for picking nightcrawlers? I can find them on bare ground in the garden but as the garden fills up there is less and less open dirt to hunt. I don't seem to be able to spot them in the back yard grass - or am I just not looking close enough?

look when it just got done raining at night and use a flashlight and look all around. look on the sidewalks, gardens,and dirt areas

[fiddlehead322]

Never heard of that one Fiddlehead, might have to give it a try. We used to have an old gal in town that sold crawlers and she would stick 2 copper rods with a wire to each rod in the ground and then plug it in to an outlet. Brought the worms right to the top.

    You can google worm grunting and read the article for details.

[Madpuppy]

Thanks Buddy!!!

[longhaircamo]

that google thing was very interesting i really like that

[longhaircamo]

thanks it was pretty fun

[longhaircamo]

thats why we did what we did cause me and camocrazy82 are going to be fishing all weekend straight so that worm hunting saved us so much money

[bluegillmaster2011]

im going fishing tomorrow and its raining right now.. so i think im going to give this worm hunting thing a try! how long after dark should i wait? like just after sunset or what?

[Kenny Limmit]

im going fishing tomorrow and its raining right now.. so i think im going to give this worm hunting thing a try! how long after dark should i wait? like just after sunset or what?

I live pretty close to you, since your from Indiana and I'm from Ohio, and I usually go out around 9:30 or just after it gets dark.

[BBK]

I have only hunted them once this year. I went in early march and picked up 32 doz out of my back yard. I keep them in a 55 gal drum that's cut in half and filled with worm bedding. It's nice not having to buy worms.