Thread: Crawlers

I was watching a fishing show yesterday and the guides there (in Canada) put their crawlers in ice water inside an insulated cooler. They said the main reason was no mess with bedding, dirt, etc. and also to keep them cool. Has anyone out there tried this???????? Just wandered how they would hold up. I hate the mess I get when using crawlers.

Back in the early 80's a friend and me went to Canada on a week long fishing trip, and we took several several crawlers with us but we used newspapers. We used a styrofoam(sp) cooler put a few sheets of the newpaper down on the bottom then a layer of crawlers then another several sheets of the newspaper and so on until we had what we thought would be enough crawlers for the trip, each layer of paper would be wet enough to maintain enough moisture to keep the crawlers alive and lively, this process worked very well for us on that trip.

Used to do the same thing limbhook. Actually remember getting the idea from a Fishing Facts magazine on how to fatten up your crawlers. Back on the ice deal with the crawlers, one of the popular way of fishing crawlers for eyes here is to tip a jig with half a crawler. The serious walleye chasers cut all their crawlers in half before the trip and then place them on ice. This makes the crawler toughen up from the cold and stay on the hook better/longer.

I actually heard of the water with worms thing from a guide on lake Erie and it was to keep his boat clean but I thought it to be a good Idea. The whole packing your worms in paper Idea was (I thought) because Canada does not let you bring in any organic material just has America, you can not bring back plants or fruits or veggies, I know this because we had a fellow in a group several years ago, got asked at the border, what your worms were packed in and he didn't know and said "Dirt", well 35 minutes later after they dug out the worms to find them in paper he knew better..... Thats what I remember when I crossed the border 7 plus years ago...

great tip hadn't heard about this will give it a try

I used to hunt and sell crawlers when I was a kid. My dad showed me how to use wet shredded newspapers for begging. I tear it into long strips then soak it in water. Then I'd grab handfulls of it and wring the excess water out. Then I'd put it in containers in an old fridge that we had. After about a week crawling through that heavy wet newspapers those worms were tough. They were more lively and stayed that way longer than any that I've ever bought.

Get the book by Fishin Facts called "Lunkers love Nightcrawlers" Lot's of great growing tips and storage tips.

Fatman

I have always put my crawlers in a zip lock baggie with some lake water to keep the mess down.I have kept them in the fridge up 2 weeks in the water.The longer they are in the water the bigger they get.

Nightcrawlers (earthworms) breath through their skin. They will drown in water if they can not get air. This is why they crawl up on concrete after heavy rains. They can survive in water in a styrofoam cooler because they can hug the side and pull air from the pockets of air in the styrofoam. Just keep the water cool and do not use plastic or metal as they can not get air through those.

an old pro i talk to told me that dipping them in ice cold water also puffs them up and they stretch all the way out.