Who's Pickin' Crawlers This Weekend??

[jltimm]

Bedding is always good as well as keeping the crawlers in a cool area.I keep mine in the garage fridge and it works well.

[Ed Carlson]

Very true, the amber light has less heat....they feel the heat of a white light and react to it, so a colder light is best. They don't see any light, they feel the heat in the light.

I picked 60 dozen or so in a couple of hours last Thursday evening, and it went far better when my headlamp was set to low....noticeably easier to keep them above ground.

A good hard rain after dark keeps them on the move and out of the hole...far easier picking, and in that case a bright light is as good as any because they have no place to retreat to.

I keep a pail of fresh rain water handy so after I'm dome picking I dump the whole wad in the water to wash the dirt and leaves off, screen them out with my fingers and they are set for the bedding.

They then go into a fresh batch of Frabill Fat-N-Sassy bedding, right out of the box, with no water added, as they will be wet already once removed from the water wash.

The new Frabill bedding is worm ready, premixed to the appropriate dampness, so there is no guess work on how to mix it. In the fridge at 40 degrees they grow well.

24 hours latter I check for weak crawlers on the surface of the bedding and remove them. The food is in the bedding so they plump up like pigs quickly. Long term care, add the Fat-N-Sassy worm food, and they will keep up to par and grow even larger is well maintained at the proper temp and moisture in the habitat.

[LMITOUT]

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

Worked well for me. Bought some more for this year.

[Fishook]

I have 12 doz. I picked up mid-April. First, I use a product called Buss Bedding which appears to be no more than shredded newspaper - but I have had great luck with it. Next, DO NOT use chlorinated/fluoride tap water to mix with the bedding. I simply catch rain water and use that. I try to get the bedding moist but not overly saturated - about where you can squeeze water out of it. I used three styrofoam containers my wife brings home from the medical clinic. I try to keep about five dozen in each one and I keep them in an old refrigerator with my beer. After I dump my crawlers in the bedding, I wait a day or two and check for dead or damaged ones. DO NOT put a broken crawler in with your others. About once every 10 days I feed them. I bought a box of Kelloggs Corn Flakes Crumbs (used for breading, etc.) and I lightly cover the surface. When I take these to Canada the guys can not believe how huge, fat, and healthy these crawlers are. I have been accused of taking such good care of them that I probably have named them all. Anyway, my method is just one of many but I have found it has worked very well for me. Good Luck and Happy Fishing!

[Bluegill1510]

Thats a good idea fishook, with the kelloggs cereal never would of thought about that. I usually pick when I need them put them in black dirt soil with some shredded newspaper and grass clippings and go, they usually make it for 2 or 3 weeks that way if in the garage.

[LMITOUT]

Nice soaker today. Twins game is rained out.

It's on.

[TruthWalleyes]

I'll be picking a bunch and selling them next week to a co-worker. I've got enough crawlers for me to cover the next 3 weeks or so.

[jwmiller33]

im going to try and get out tonight and do some picking... this thread had a lot of good info... i live in st paul next to st thomas university. do you guys think i would have the most success going down towards the river to do my picking?

also, i dont have any worm bedding as of right now, but am going to run to FF and get some either tonight or tomorrow.. anybody have any suggestions on where to keep them in the mean time? i was thinking about just getting a bucket and throwing some dirt from the backyard in there and keeping them there for the meantime

[LoonASea]

I would love to go out and pick crawlers tonite ,,,,but the ground up here is white with an inch of snow and more coming ,,,we must be getting close to fishing opener

LAS

[Chode2235]

JW, keep them in damp newspaper. The dirt is too dense and if it is wet it is too wet.

I am close to St. Thomas too and plan on going out tonight. I might see you out there.

[jwmiller33]

chode-where do you plan on going out? i think i remember you posting in another thread before, the UST club fishing one.. your a tommie alum right? maybe you could show a fellow tommie a thing or two about pickin crawlers round these parts... just tried my back yard and could only find the smaller worms

[hydro]

I've been picking them up in the morning, off of the road. Stupidly easy that way and I have enough to keep me fishing for several weeks.

[harvey lee]

My normal spots are not wet enough yet. I also have to believe with these cooler temps they may not come out.

[NEXPLANAR]

My kid just got a flat in the mail for 58.00 now that the easy way.

[bogwalker]

Pickin crawlers? Man, I'm putting the plow back on the 4-wheeler! Lots of heavy wet snow today.

[LMITOUT]

Just went outside to check the honey holes. Nary a crawler to be found. Too cold?

[zepman]

Just went outside to check the honey holes. Nary a crawler to be found. Too cold?

I did the same thing with the same results...must just be too cold for them tonight.

[YUM]

Any crawler pickers here in St. Paul area? ... The last few years they just dont seem to be in my yard like they use to. I remember when running the hose in one spot for ten minutes would produce a couple dozen. Anyone else in the st. paul area notice a decline lately? maybe im just crazy

[LMITOUT]

I picked up a couple doz crawlers around the time the season opened and most of them are still kicking in the Frabil Fat and Sassy bedding a month later. I tried the Corn Flake idea and keep the temperature in the garage fridge around 40 degrees which they seem to like. I've been having more luck on leeches this year, maybe due to the early spring, so I haven't run through many crawlers yet.

Thanks for the tip on the Corn Flakes, fishook!

[rodmoen]

IF you don't have a red light, i put an old white sock over the end of my flashlight and it seems to absorb enough of the heat that they rarely run and hide... The trouble I have is that my back hurts so bad after walking around bent over for half an hour that I rarely pick more than 10% of my yard which happens to be a really cherry pickin spot..

[LMITOUT]

Crawler update:

A month later since the last report and the crawlers are still doing fine. I think that in past years I didn't have the fridge cool enough and they didn't seem to last as long. This season I set it to about 40 degrees and they are looking as good as the day they were put in there.

[LMITOUT]

Bump