bait worm

[blueskyabbc]

Hi everyone

I was told I couldn't use red worms as bait as they would be too small to put on a hook. Now I read somewhere on the internet that we could. What do you think about it?

[tt]

hi people use them but for smaller fish. Makes more sense then cutting up a big worm and going fishing with a dead worm

[blueskyabbc]

Hi, How would you fish with red worms? Would you put it on a hook or just throw a handfull of worms in the water to attract fish?

[dj]

Yes, you put them on the hook. I take one end of the worm and shove it all the way up the hook to cover the hook so it don't shine in the water. I haven't had any problems doing this at all. Red worms are fine for fishing.

DJ (North Central Texas)

blueskyabbc said:

Hi, How would you fish with red worms? Would you put it on a hook or just throw a handfull of worms in the water to attract fish?

[Jay Blair]

With proper fattening and hardening , Eiseia fetida make excellent bait worms. My E. f. reds reach about 3 to 5 inches in length and 1/8 to 1/4 in diameter.

I feed a fattener / hardener mix of 50% non medicated chicken layer mash, 10% plain cornmeal, 10% powdered milk, 20 % bran flakes and 1o% agricultural lime.


I sprinkle this on the surface of my fattening bin with a handful of sand for digestive grit about once a week.

The mix of lime and milk calcium contribute to the hardness of the worms outer skin.

[blueskyabbc]

Hi,

I'm very happy to know about it. Once in the fattening bin, how long does it take to get them the size you described?

[bendback50]

Hey dj,

Just a "Howdy to you" seeing's you live in my old stomping grounds.

Born & raised in Decatur; chased the gals in Bridgeport, Chico, Ft,. Worth.
Moved to Bryan, got married, and rooted!!

Nice to see you on the forum

bruce

[Darryl]

Jay, geezo how about trading my skinny little red worms for yours? lol Sounds like you certainly know how to fatten your worms up. I am still in the learning process regarding fattening worms but I still as of yet have to try some type of a fattening recipe. I have always just relied upon various bedding substances to provide nutrition. One of the best bedding substances I have found so far for fatter worms is oak sawdust from a chainsaw. Probably sounds hard to belive but it works for me. However, sawdust decomposes slowly. Yep, the fattest I ever seen my EF's get is when I bedded some of them in oak sawdust and leaves. I will definately try that fattening recipe one of these days. I keep forgetting to try it but will do so soon.

Anyway, as far as EF's for bait worms..... I have done lots of trout fishing in the NorthWest where I used to live. You always here people talk about how you have to use big bait for big fish. While this is true to a certain degree, it by no means means that you cannot catch any fish with small worms. Small worms work just fine and I have even caught some pretty large trout on small worms. As a matter of fact, before I got into worming, I remember when I would purchase bait worms and I would end-up cutting the worms in half because they were too large for whatever hook I was using at the time. I always used to have a problem with the bait worms being too big and I would either have to cut the worms in half or the worms would get wasted somehow. Nowdays, and in most cases, I would prefer to use smaller bait because I would not have to waste any of the worm or cut the worm into sections. Yep, small redworms work great for fishing and there have been many a nice fish caught on them.

[Darryl]

I have a question for Jay or someone else who may know.... I am going to try the worm fattener recipe as I think I already have most of the ingedients here at home. I need to know what each one of the substances in the recipe is supposed to do for the worms. The reason I need to know this is because I may replace one of the ingredients with something else that may be easier to obtain. Is it the large amount of protien in the chicken mash that helps fatten the worms and can chicken mash be replaced with a different substance that is high in protein but yet still provide the same results?? What does the powdered milk do in the fattening recipe?? What does the bran do and could it be replaced with an equivalent substance??

[Jay Blair]

Darryl,
I approached this also. Since the nonfat dry milk is "lean", I surmise that its main value was as a calcium source.

So I tried using egg shell and expired calcium tablets instead of powdered milk.

on this I concluded this. I didn't have enough eggshells to equal a pack of expired powdered milk and using calcium supplements required making a liquid mix.

I have replaced both the layer mash and bran with expired cereal disposed from a local bent and dent can salvaged food store we had here.

The dry mix fattener is simply provides an easier delivery of the nutrient to the bins , easier preparation and neater storage of bulk surpluses.

[Darryl]

Jay, I have tried that fattening formula for a couple of weeks now on my euros and can already see a major difference in their mass I was finally able to find all of the ingredients at various stores. Anyway, just wanted to tell you that the stuff works great.

[Jay Blair]

Glad to be of help.