Anything free is worth saving up for

[Sutty]

I went out picking night crawlers last night. I Have not done that since I was a kid, it was a blast. Gotta love free bait to!

[dairyman]

Yeah--I know when I do it later in the summer I have to dress like I do when I go ice fishing-----------the mosquitoes will carry you away otherwise

[Cheetah]

Good pickin this morning for me, right on the street in front of my house. Got about 4 or 5 dozen, mostly for my dad since he has a trip coming up.

[youngie22]

poor pickin here, worms made it out, but no crawlers. next time we hope!

[New2TheFly]

I picked quite a few this morning as well. To you guys who collect a ton and use them throughout the year: what are some pointers on keeping crawlers alive and kicking?

Thanks,

Brian

[fishdale]

Good picking here. I must have gotton 10-15 DZ I stopped picking as I think I may have max'd out my worm storage. They seemed to be comming out as fast as I could pick them out. Did all my picking between 3 and 3:30AM who says that having insomnia does not have its benifits.

I keep mine in a heavy duty styraform cooler with comercial bedding. I put a top layer of wet newspaper on top of the and keep them in a cool area. Some times I put a frozen block of ice on them on top of the papers. I use water bottles and freeze them so it does not get t00 wet when it dries. Make sure you only pick up the good ones. If you find one with the back smashed it will eventially die and rot causes the other to die faster.

After a couple of months they seem to get smaller but still look healthy.

The thing you have to worry about is getting them to hot or wet/dry.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

My back won't let me pick them anymore, but it was fun when I could.

Was thinking about making some sort of invention to pick them without bending over.

[zepman]

I probably picked about 8-10 doz. crawlers last night too. Was looking for the smaller angle worms/crawlers for the gills but either they're too quick or I'm just getting old. Ended with a good mix.

Could have picked probably a hundred pounds of crawlers last night if I needed to...they were thick everywhere.

[igotworms]

What exactly constitutes good pickin' ground?

[Cheetah]

What exactly constitutes good pickin' ground?

Usually baseball fields are good, especially older city fields that don't get sprayed as heavily with chemicals. Gravel roads are also good. Grassy areas like soccer fields are tough because the moment you touch them they retract and can get down their hole really quickly if you aren't lucky enough to catch them out in the open. Some neighborhood streets are good if you can find ones that don't get much early traffic.

Spring time is best, after a good soaking rain get out there at first light for good picking. Use a headlamp that isn't too bright if it is still dark out.

For keeping them, the commercial bedding is best. I believe there is also some food products you can buy and sprinkle on the bedding to keep them long term. Keep the bedding in a flat container of some sort that fits in your refrigerator. Ideally not the one in your kitchen, they usually find a way to get out... Wet newspaper on top. Check them periodically to pull out the dead or sickly ones asap.

[The Grebe]

I used to take the boys out catchin crawlers and we had a couple of good spots next to the freeway, never had any problems. The boys grew up and the crawler pickin stopped.

A couple of years ago, I went back to one of the spots, a a wedge shaped area about the size of a standard front yard, next to the freeway wall. It was after a good rain, I was in need of some crawlers and I was walking around, hunched over with my flashlight and this guy walks up. "What are you doing?" Says I, "I'm picking night crawlers." Says he, "What are you doing that for?" I felt like saying something smart, but I did'nt..."For fishing." "Well you should have come and asked me first, this is my property!" "Your property? How do you figure this is your property, it belongs to the state?" "Well, I cut it so it is my property and if you don't leave, I'm calling the police!" "Get to callin chief, I need a few more worms."

Well, the guy walks into a house 3 lots down on the other side of the cyclone fence...shortly there after the cops arrive. The guy comes out of his house and hustles along the fence with his undies in a bunch.

He commences to explains to the cops what dastardly criminal act I was perpetrating, the cops asked me if I was indeed picking nightcrawlers and I told them yes, at which time the guy told em it was his property and he wanted me to leave. "Ahh sir, this is not your property, this is state property?" The guy goes into some idiotic rant and the cops told em I wasn't doing anything wrong.

This turd made all that commotion over a few nightcrawlers and his false sense of entitlement, geeze. I told everyone I had enough bait, so if they would excuse me, I was leaving, I had to get up early to go fishing!

Geeze, times sure have changed! A guy could get shot trying to get some bait!

[fishdale]

Grebe great story I love the quote "Get to callin chief, I need a few more worms." - I wonder if he is still mowing "his lot" now that he knows he does not have full control over it.

[Sutty]

Another trick is to keep them in a container that you can flip over once in a while. the ones that stay on top are usually candidates to get rid of or at least use first.

I sprinkle the worm food on every once in a while as well.

[SkunkedAgain]

I used the plastic Glad containers that my wife uses for leftovers. I take a small drill bit and poke air holes in the plastic cover. It's worked great for the past couple of years. I keep them in my beer fridge, covered in soil from the yard, a some leaves, and a few sticks. They last for months.

[matthothand]

I thought this thread might've been about about health care. Since I'm here... If you're keeping lots of worms for a long time most any container will do. Temperature and moisture control are the main things. I've used foam boxes, plastic boxes, and plastic bags in the fridge. Every now and then I'll turn them over and give them some fresh air before sealing the container again. Feeding them works best in a box. When you take some out for a swim don't put the unused worms back with the bulk batch. I don't pick them but I've had more than a few flats in and and out of the fridge and haven't had any problems, ever.