Worms are free. Well, if only you can catch them...

[FishSchooler]

Today on crawler catching, I improved! Well, technically yesterday but oh well! Instead of going 1 for 8, I went about 7 for about 8 bazillion. They are out and hungry (skinny)! Saw tons of them. I perfected my worm tracking/hunting skills that night. I could hear, and visualize where they were laying. Listen for the very quiet wet squeaks and squirms. That either means worms, or a very wet ground, which also means worms. I listened, and followed that sound, and saw 3 worms laying very close to each other. If there is an elevated patch of grass, there probably is a worm sticking out the side of it. I also caught (mostly saw/tried to catch) worms in the dirt, not grass. Thats where I caught my foot longers. :shock: They are hard to pull out even with them in a firm hold, they are slippery!

Good crawlering.

 

[mikeredding]

When you get those hard to pull worms you need to be delicate to keep them from breaking. I hold them firm and fairly tight and them pluck them like banjo string. Usually after a few times they come right out.

 

[steelheadstalker31]

Umm, are you using a flashlight fishschooler?

 

[Anyfishisfine]

Do you have a place in the yard you can dig? I've always had better luck with a shovel than a flashlight. One or 2 shovel fulls then break it up with your hands should provide a mess of them.

I read you are starting a worm farm. I used to have one in Illinos, and they work very well. However I hear you can't use the nightcrawlers you find in your yard. The reason is they need to dig deep, up to 10 feet, and can't do that in a farm.

So I'm looking at red wigglers or African night crawlers to start up a new one. The Africans are really big, but don't tolerate the cold well. Red wigglers are really good, but don't get as big. I'll probably make a post here soon asking for advice on which to grow. I might do both since they can co-exist in the same farm. BTW I found a guy in McMinnville that sells starters (1,000 or so worms for $20).

If I ever get a farm established I'd be happy to provide starter colony's for free (you end up culling a BUNCH once it gets cooking), but that's at least 6 months out.

 

[mikeredding]

Do you have a place in the yard you can dig? I've always had better luck with a shovel than a flashlight. One or 2 shovel fulls then break it up with your hands should provide a mess of them.

I read you are starting a worm farm. I used to have one in Illinos, and they work very well. However I hear you can't use the nightcrawlers you find in your yard. The reason is they need to dig deep, up to 10 feet, and can't do that in a farm.

So I'm looking at red wigglers or African night crawlers to start up a new one. The Africans are really big, but don't tolerate the cold well. Red wigglers are really good, but don't get as big. I'll probably make a post here soon asking for advice on which to grow. I might do both since they can co-exist in the same farm. BTW I found a guy in McMinnville that sells starters (1,000 or so worms for $20).

If I ever get a farm established I'd be happy to provide starter colony's for free (you end up culling a BUNCH once it gets cooking), but that's at least 6 months out.

I used to have a worm farm and I got mine from my yard and they seemed to do fine. I had an old double sided deep sink with about a foot of dirt then ground newspaper on top of that.

 

[Anyfishisfine]

I used to have a worm farm and I got mine from my yard and they seemed to do fine. I had an old double sided deep sink with about a foot of dirt then ground newspaper on top of that.

Hey, as long as they breed, that's all that matters. Good to know. Also I have to think the native worms would be better anyway in a match the hatch sort of way.. I guess.

 

[FishSchooler]

Umm, are you using a flashlight fishschooler?

Yep I was... why?

The crawlers are doing fine in a 1.5 ft deep container. Lots of them are fat and some over a foot long. I have 2 farms, one shallow red worm farm and the crawlers. The red worms are a perfect size full grown. 2-3 inches in length and think enough to slip on the hook without trouble. Big foot long crawlers are too big I think... I dont want to cut one in half or try to put the whole thing on! I'll start selling worms everywhere I go in about a month... 1.25 for half a dozen, 2 for a dozen.

If you use a shovel, wont you be finding the regular earth worms and not night crawlers? Crawlers are too sensitive for reg shovels... I might try that... Dont want to mess up the lawn tho

 

[mikeredding]

Yep I was... why?

The crawlers are doing fine in a 1.5 ft deep container. Lots of them are fat and some over a foot long. I have 2 farms, one shallow red worm farm and the crawlers. The red worms are a perfect size full grown. 2-3 inches in length and think enough to slip on the hook without trouble. Big foot long crawlers are too big I think... I dont want to cut one in half or try to put the whole thing on! I'll start selling worms everywhere I go in about a month... 1.25 for half a dozen, 2 for a dozen.

If you use a shovel, wont you be finding the regular earth worms and not night crawlers? Crawlers are too sensitive for reg shovels... I might try that... Dont want to mess up the lawn tho

I sold mine for 75 cents a dozen. Cheapest in town and sold more than anyone else! Everyone else was $1.25. That was in the late 80's.

I haven't bought worms in years. Is $2 a dozen fair? It seems like a lot to me. I guess just make sure you are cheaper than the competition and they will sell.

 

[GraphiteZen]

I sold mine for 75 cents a dozen. Cheapest in town and sold more than anyone else! Everyone else was $1.25. That was in the late 80's.

I haven't bought worms in years. Is $2 a dozen fair? It seems like a lot to me. I guess just make sure you are cheaper than the competition and they will sell.

If he sells them where he is fishing he might just do fine...
Back in the 60's my grandparents owned a fishing resort that was an hour drive from any town. My uncle took up fly fishing and fly tying at a very young age and tied all the flies to be sold in the store. He made a little extra money on the side by catching larger fish on flies he didn't sell at the counter. Of course the guests would witness this and ask to see the fly he was using. He would show it to them and inform them that unfortunately he doesn't have any for sale in the store, but would be more than willing to sell them the ones he has on hand for several dollars a pop. Of course they would be taken aback at first, but he usually got it haha.... :lol::lol:

Oh and Fishschooler I am in no way condoning this just a funny story...

 

[FishSchooler]

I sold mine for 75 cents a dozen. Cheapest in town and sold more than anyone else! Everyone else was $1.25. That was in the late 80's.

I haven't bought worms in years. Is $2 a dozen fair? It seems like a lot to me. I guess just make sure you are cheaper than the competition and they will sell.

At joes, its like 5 bucks a dozen I think. At dicks, its 4 bucks for 2 dozen rather unhealthy ones (packed in a tiny 6 oz styrofoam cup with no aeration holes... :shock. But Im sure no one would want to drive 2 extra hours just because they forgot their worms...

 

[bassman503]

At joes, its like 5 bucks a dozen I think. At dicks, its 4 bucks for 2 dozen rather unhealthy ones (packed in a tiny 6 oz styrofoam cup with no aeration holes... :shock. But Im sure no one would want to drive 2 extra hours just because they forgot their worms...

At Fred Meyer's they put the worms in the freezer (LAME). On my last fishing trip to the St. Louis ponds last year, i bought some worms from Fred Meyer's and they were frozen.
Best place I think is Walmart

 

[Hawk]

the grass is greener over the septic tank...

thar are often worms tooo...

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:...............................

 

[tnffishman]

i always get big fat ones in my yard and surrounding neighbors' yards in the summer at night

 

[mikeredding]

I used to go to the high school football field. The kept it watered very well during summer.

 

[Dichrofisher]

My gramps used to bury the fish guts and heads we cleaned( buckets full of bluegills and bass) that we caught at wildish ponds by Pisgah wrapped in newspaper. Then we would dig this up with a shovel or just turn the earth and we had a ton of wrigglers to fish with. I think they liked the newspaper..

 

[FishSchooler]

Wrigglers dont normally survive in normal yards... :think: They dont eat dirt, so they need lots of organic mulch and stuff.