Night Crawler Dirt Question

[ifish]

My favorite way to catch gills and crackers is a split shot rig with a pinch of night crawler. After a day of fishing me and my boat looks like a dirt farmer digging black dirt. Is there any substitute you all use for the dirt instead of what they come in the box from the store? I keep mine in the box and drop them in a small cooler with freezer packs and they last a long time like that! Been catching some nice redear this year. Thanks for any help! Buddy

[CrappiePappy]

Shredded newspaper ... damp (get it wet, then squeeze out as much water as you can & fluff them up)

Damp leaves .... from a compost pile or that area of the yard that collected them in a pile that you never got around to raking up

Worm Bedding or peat moss (slightly damp) would also work, if neither of the other two are available (or to your liking).

[fe1]

I thread on the worms while holding them over a bucket.Not a total solution but helps considerably.

[treehopper]

Two sheets of newspaper. Soak them both in non chlorinated water. Wring one out, crumple it and put it in the bottom of a 16 oz worm tub. Rinse a dozen crawlers in ice water, dump them on the first sheet, and crumple the second sheet and pack it on top of the crawlers. Snap the lid on and refrigerate overnight. Crawlers on steroids.

[Tightlines1908]

Ditto to treehopper. Your dry ice in the cooler with the paper is the way to go.

[Kevin22]

I use worm bedding and a 6 can hard coleman cooler. I mix up enough bedding to fill the cooler 75% full. I freeze 16oz water bottles and just toss one in the cooler to keep them cold on hot days. When I buy worms I dump them in the parking lot and pick out the worms and put them in the cooler. Can't stand the dirt!

[polvo]

Carefully take worms out of the box one by one and put aside (in something preferably).

Dump dirt over the boat into the water and rinse out the box to get it clean.

Put the worms back in the box.

Put ice cubes (probably from your cooler) on top of the worms and put the lid back on.

Works best in the warmer months and keeps them lively.

[Basscaster]

I give my worms swimming lessons..I take a few in my hand and rinse them in the lake to get rid of dirt and then put 2/3 in a empty container...

[JamesAG]

Not sure I'll ever touch a crawler again for gills. I've always sworn by crickets, but there are times they can be hard to find. After using wax worms, crawlers would be a last resort for me.

I hate the dirt, the smell, and trying to get that smell off of my hands.

[sbeers2]

That black nasy dirt they come packed in is old worm bedding, mostly composted peat the worms digested. I put plain peat moss in a gallon bag and add enough water to get it damp. Chill it in a frig ahead of time to repack your worms in. I lot of times I buy a few boxes of crawlers at walmart on the way home and put them in the new cold peat the night before fishing. No black mess !! The clean peat smells good and is easy to clean up with no stains.