Who's Pickin' Crawlers This Weekend??

[LMITOUT]

ha! That's one thing about having a dog....careful where you grab out on the lawn.

I don't have the population in my yard to get 100 that quick! A couple here and there, but probably miss as many as make it in the bucket too. The lawn hasn't quite grown enough for it's first cut and that doesn't help see and snag them either, although after this rain it might be time to gass'r up this week.

[MN Shutterbug]

Be sure it's only the soft perimeter of the light that hits them. If the bright center hits them, you're going to miss them most of the time.

I remember about 25 years ago, when I used to sell crawlers out of my garage, I went out one night and picked exactly 1000. It took about 3 1/2 hours. The next night I picked up 500. I was young enough then. My back would never handle it anymore.

[LMITOUT]

I don't have a red lens for my flashlight but it's a MagLite where you can adjust the beam so I spread it out quite a bit so it's not so direct or focused on them. If I see one I quickly move the light away but leave a little light on them.... just enough to make a grab. Gotta walk softly and don't make too much noise because they feel the vibration and will scatter too.

[harvey lee]

I went out in the front of my yard in the street and picked up 6 dozen as fast as I could bend over and pick them up. After a bit of a rest here, I'm going out to pick up another 70-100.

They are out all over right now.

[LMITOUT]

I never see them in the streets around my house, but I remember quite a few years ago me and a buddy went out around his house and cleaned up.

I had an old timer tell me he doesn't like the street crawlers because they have salt and oil on them! I don't know if that'd bother me as long as they stay alive.

[harvey lee]

I have a acre empty lot across from me and when it rains, its like they come out by the thousands and cover the street. Usually after a 1" rain, I could pick up a hundred in just my driveway.

Easy pickens for me. Never so happy with such easy pickins.

I have never had an issue with catching fish with them from the road. Maybe not much oil or salt there.

[LMITOUT]

lol. Yeah, I don't know about the street theory. He was adamant about that and absolutely would not use them. All he did was lindy rig....hook, line, and sinker all summer long with his "fresh" crawlers. He did OK too!

[harvey lee]

I wonder if it helps to pick them up as soon as they hit the street rather than to wait until morning after they have laid ther all night long.

They seem very fisty when I pick them up. Almost like they are on steriods.

[Mr.Seaguar]

I have heard that you cant pick them off black top because of the oil. I havnt found that to be true. I pick them off cement when I can, way faster then the lawn. I picked 500 in about 5 minutes once when I found the motherload in the gutter.

I got about 150 last night. Its a good start.

[catflisher]

A couple crawler pickin' tips from a guy who's picked a peck of perfect crawlers...A fanny pack with some sawdust to dip your fingers in..Makes picking them off the pavement mo' betta easy...Those little dust pans with a handle on them and a small broom to push them in there for folks who no longer desire to bend over a thousand times a night...Works good, just be gentle!..And of course, soaking your lawn works great in a lot of areas...If there is a decent population,they will come up or drown..You'll know in 15 minutes if they are there, and I've gotten tons of them in the cities when I used to live there..If your lawn has all kinds of bumps, ( just walk around barefoot, you'll feel them ) then there be crawlers..Works good untill they go real deep in summer...Then there's grunting for them...

[Mcfin]

I used street crawlers for years when I lived in the city. I would get up early after an all night rain and pick enough crawlers for the whole summer.You have to get them before the robins do.I kept them in a styrofoam cooler in the basement with worm bedding with a covering of newspaper that I kept damp.

[wayne123]

Do you find the "street crawlers" smaller than ones in the lawn? It seems that way to me but I have not done much picking.

[harvey lee]

I pick mine off the street when they have just come over the curb from the lawn.

I have seen no difference in the size. I would pick them in the grass but the street is much faster.

[tommyk]

We didn't get the 3/4" rain predicted my way way, but it must have been enough. I went out around 1:00am for what must have been an hour and a half. Found a few here and there until I came across "the spot". It was a hill side with short grass and some bare spots. I ended up with a bit over 12 dozen. Any thoughts on whether or not 2 lbs. of frabil magic grow worm bedding is enough to support this many? After this weekend the numbers in there will hopefully be decreasing dramatically .

[AaronM]

20 dozen for me last night. Those ones on the street are much easier to nab,

[Nick Kuhn]

My bass is happy!

[Muddog]

I went out last night. I moved 5 feet off the stoop and had 24 crawlers.

[PierBridge]

It's time again!

[LMITOUT]

We need a good rain! 80% chance on Friday. Then a chance of rain and SNOW that night.

[mr_jman]

I've always read to use a red light or get that thin tape or screen that you can tape over a flashlight. The red color is suppose to affect them less. I have red lights right on a little LED head lamp that works well!

I've also read this little tip in a book. For any night you want, you can pound a wooden/metal stake in the ground several inches to a foot. Than soak the ground and let it sit for a little while before dark. As soon as it gets dark you pound on the stick and the vibration will bring them to the surface. ITS WORTH A SHOT I GUESS!

[Tator2k]

They were doing that trick on dirty jobs on discovery.

[LMITOUT]

Worm grunting!

[Sherpa]

If you youtube worm grunting you will see a lot of videos of this. I have never tried this but I really want to.

[jigginjim]

When I went to Alabama, they fiddle their worms, Take a 2x2 cut slots in 1 side about a 1/4 inch wide. place 1 end of the 2x2 on the ground. Now rub another stick across the slots causing a viberation to the ground. After a few minutes the worms will start to come up to the top of the ground.

[PierBridge]

So how did the Frabil worm bedding system work for you guys last season?