Thread: Nightcrawlers out thick due to rain.

yeah I found 15 getting ready for work yesterday morning we will be working water damage jobs all week did 4 yesterday more today.

me too Dan a couple days ago I caught 3 cats between18 and 21 inches a 11 inch crappie and a 10 inch redear. 2 of the cats and the crappie came on back to back to back casts.

Lunkers love night crawlers (for those of you that remember the book). Use to condition crawlers until they were hard as a rock. Hooked them in the middle on a #6 aberdeen and the smallest split shot you could get by with. Deadly on smallmouth in the creeks and rivers. Worked well on gills also. Technology overrules simplicity.

Originally Posted by foolfishin

Lunkers love night crawlers (for those of you that remember the book). Use to condition crawlers until they were hard as a rock. Hooked them in the middle on a #6 aberdeen and the smallest split shot you could get by with. Deadly on smallmouth in the creeks and rivers. Worked well on gills also. Technology overrules simplicity.

There's a book? What do you mean condition em? (I'm picturing a worm lifting weights here.) Tell me more please.

Originally Posted by foolfishin

Lunkers love night crawlers (for those of you that remember the book). Use to condition crawlers until they were hard as a rock. Hooked them in the middle on a #6 aberdeen and the smallest split shot you could get by with. Deadly on smallmouth in the creeks and rivers. Worked well on gills also. Technology overrules simplicity.

I own an original copy of "Lunkers Love Nightcrawlers" - if you're gonna hand harvest 'em, you would do well to read the pamphlet and "condition" your crawlers.

Originally Posted by Valparaiso_Girl

There's a book? What do you mean condition em? (I'm picturing a worm lifting weights here.) Tell me more please.

yes there's a book, and it's no longer available as far as I know, but you might try the library and see if they have one

Fishaholic you're dating yourself man. I read the book, which belonged to a friend, in the early 70's. I bought the book for my son a few years ago. I believe I found it at Lindy.

For you Valpo Girl now is the time to harvest crawlers before the grass gets too high. You can harvest enough early in the season to last all year if you have the storage capabilities. Make up your bedding ahead of time, make it good and damp but not wet. Place your crawlers on top of the bedding and cover with damp news paper in flat sheets, no colored ink. Check the crawlers in the morning, any crawlers still on top that look week get rid of them. A dead crawler creates heat and gas which will kill the rest of the crawlers in the container. Keep the news paper on top good and damp, the crawlers will absorb the water and get nice and fat, a conditioned crawler.

Years ago I planted some regular night crawlers that I caught in Town. Everyone told me they wouldn't live in the ground I got here with all the yellow clay. Well they were wrong now I got crawlers all over my property what they don't like is chemical so when caring for my lawn I only spray for weeds and fertilize in the fall. Now I raise European nightcrawlers, they are a little smaller but provide a readily available supply when I am ready to do some fishing. Now when I pick up some crawlers in the lawn I just put them in the bin with the others and they seem to do well there so far this is the first year I have tried doing that.