Backyard baitshop!

[mistermom]

My yard is never gonna win commercial endorsements from the Scotts company; but I just picked 5 doz nightcrawlers in 20 minutes. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

mm

[walleyedan]

Mistermom, you are lucky! The sand we have up here north of Brainerd sucks for crawlers! I remember the days of picking crawlers at Uncle Dick's house in E.P.! Those were the good ol days!! I settle for SandW crawlers which are good, but they just aren't the same as picking them yourself!!

Hope they work,

Walleyedan

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Gull Lake Guide Service

[Bobb-o]

yeah, i got a good 3 dozen last night. Nothing better than picking your own crawlers.

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"America is our team, and if you aren't gonna root for your team, then you should get the he!! out of the stadium."

~Southpark

[Aquaman01]

Sweeeet! So, do you have to have that loose, black soil for them to thrive?

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Aquaman
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Peace and Fishes

[mistermom]

It is pretty low in my backyard and the soil is almost peat. Once I get them, and if I plan to use them pretty quick, I keep them in shredded, moist newspaper. This gets them real "buff" instead of mushy. They get lean and mean but don't last longer than a week or two.

mm

[The Chemist]

I had it nice until last February when I lost my job. I would go out and put a trap out in the creek at the edge of the parking lot and in 2 days I would have a basket ful of 3in fat heads. Biggest I've ever seen. I never had to buy bait all year. I may try to hit a different spot or gain permission from another company to trap.

[merc]

My yard is loaded with crawlers but I just go out once and catch about 300 for the year.
In spring when I rake leaves I find a pile that is wet, fill up a five gallon pail and put them all in there. I just make sure to keep the leaves moist and have to add leaves once in a while. They all stay alive and just keep getting bigger as summer goes on. Works great!! Good luck fishing!!!

[mistermom]

That is a good idea Merc. Cuz once the mosquitos get going good nightcrawler hunting loses its appeal.

mm

[Jim W]

IN extreme Se MN I am blessed with some of the richest, blackest Night crawler soil around!!

Good stuff. Can't wait for my son to get a little older, start selling!!!

Jim W

[rubber duck]

I trap minnows in the county ditch close to our place and store them in an old cistern that we dont use anymore works great but they only last 2-3 weeks then they get pail and skinny and turn into cat food.
What other types of live bait does anyone else catch on their own?

[hydro]

Aquaman,

Crawdads eat crappie minnows. It's a blast to watch them wave their claws and snap up the minnows as they swim by.

[mistermom]

Hey Jim W!
If I remember correctly you guys in SE MN don't have 'skeeters or at least very few. So you can probably pick crawlers in your shorts in the middle of July down there. Nice!

mm

[Jim W]

NO SKEETERS?????? Whaaa?

We might not have as many, but like the deer they grow much bigger!!!LOL

[vern]

Minnehaha Creek is just a couple blocks away from me. It's great for catching creek chubs or netting a few fatheads, shiners or crayfish. The crawlers are easy pickins' in the back yard too. I love the backyard baitshop! I don't take advantage of it as much as I should though. Vern

[Aquaman01]

When the tax check comes back I'm gonna order 1000 from a dealer and set the kids up with their own crawler farm. They run it & maintain it, I'm a silent partner who embezzles bait, gets customers and offers suggestions. They get the $$.

Our soil is packed too hard for pickin' em, but I have a creek near the house and permission to put out my minnow trap. So far just hellgramites, a couple of crawdads and a pregnant mudminnow. The crawdads are in the aquarium and it really upsets the rock bass that the 'dads are too big for them to eat. I don't know what the 'dads live on, but it's 3 weeks now and they're still tucked into their corners.

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Aquaman
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Peace and Fishes

[Moses2531]

I'd luv to have a backyard baitshop, I got a pond near my house but I can never get any minnows from it, I know its plenty deep enough for them, because I get nice Crappies and Sunnies out of it... Those fish need to eat something, so I wonder why I can't get any minnows! I was wondering though, if anyone has had any success in getting some nice Crawlers in the northwest suberbs of Minneapolis?

[Bobb-o]

moses, i catch them all the time at my house in st. paul. so i am assuming you would be able to get them over by minneapolis. just water your front lawn or if you dont have a yard, go to a public park at night after a good rain, like i heard yous guys are having today and they should be all over the place. Put them in some sort of container with shredded newspaper and dirt or buy one of the commercial worm beddings. If you fish walleye enough i would suggest trying the Lindy bedding that turns the worms a chartreuse color, amazing stuff!!

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"Score, and they will remember you for 25 years. Miss and
they will remember you forever."

[Guest]

I went out hunting last night after all the rain we got. I slayed them, caught about 60 in 30 min. Not bad considering they were all huge ones. Now as long as they can stay for about 3 weeks at the most ill be fine.
I keep my worms in a homemade wood box that fits in my fridge. It works good as long as the fridge isnt to cold and the worm bedding isnt to dry.

[Fish-n-Freak]

The great sand bowl of Anoka County! No Crawlers in the area, plenty of the little guys. I have tossed dozens in my yard after fishing trips, but I never see one after a rain. My driveway and patio are covered with the little worms but the Crawlers don't seem to like the SAND.

Steve