[621109]

I HAVE TRIED DIGGING (DURING THE DAY) FOR NIGHTCRAWLERS AND I ONLY FIND ABOUT 2 OR 3 IN MY WHOLE BACKYARD. IS THERE ANYWAY TO MAKE THEM COME UP TO THE TOP OF THE SOIL/DIRT?? IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO ATTRACT THEM TO MY AREA??? IS THERE A PARTICULAR TIME TO CATCH THEM???
DO THEY LIKE CERTAIN CONDITIONS?? (MAYB THE SOIL ISNT MOIST ENOUGH)PLEASE GIVE SOME ADVICE, IM NEW TO FRESHWATER FISHING AND WOULD LIKE TO CATCH MY OWN BAIT.

 

[SurfaceStrike]

Compost pile

Make a compost pile, Cheap way is chicken wire, expensive way is Home Depot. Throw in grass clippings, food scrappings etc. Viola, instant earth worms without digging.

 

[623824]

try running your lawn sprinkler enough to get the lawn wet at night(the night before you want to go fishing).then go out with a flshlight while the ground is still wet and you will see them in the grass.The water brings them up to the surface.good luck
Dug

 

[Striper77]

Watering is the trick. We used to go to a local golf course early in the AM after rain or watering and pick them off the greens.

 

[612071]

here's an oldie..

Take a bucket of soapy water and dump it in an area with worms around, the tiny bubble popping make it sound like its raining and they come right up in a few minutes, BUT rinse them off when you catch them to remove the soap or it'll kill them.

OR, throw down a peice of carpet in your yard, It'll take a few weeks for there to be a bunch living under it, but if you keep putting it back after you dig them up, there will always be some there.

All else fails, bait shop, $3 a dozen..

 

[grouse789]

catching night crawlers

ok this is the deal....
usually what i like to do, is first soak my lawn for around half an hour..at night is the best too! then when its good an soggy, i crep out there with my 5 weight fly rod and a couple of mulch flies.. i swear it works!! if your yard is slope shaped then by all means go downslope and cast up slope retrieveing really really slow..the worms like to set up and face the current of the washout from the soaking... no you may not feel the hit, but! a small flourecent indicator should do the trick. now if thats not working.. i usually get my wife to come outside and get on her knees, banging a pot with a spoon close to the groud..that racket actually gets the worms to rise up as if summoned by God!....now usually i can get about two dozen nice worms before the police arrive wanting to know whos disturbing hte peace and running around naked in the backyard with a fly rod...oh did i mention you need to be naked too? LOL Good luck!

 

[611811]

EARTHWORMS

Keep your clothes on!!!

Just wet the yard down really well the day before. That night search for the worms using a flashlight with red cellophane over the lens. Regular light will scare them into the ground as soon as they see it. With the red light they have to rely on their other senses so you get a shot at grabbing them before they disappear.

You can also electrocute them out of the ground but I've never tried it. They actually sell a device for this technique but it seems dangerous to me. If you decide to go this route and combine it with the naked technique then make sure your wearing shoes at the very least.(LOL)

Good luck.

Ralph

 

[621109]

thanks for all the repiles. my backyard is basically dirt with grass in some spots. (the dog goes in the bacyard and ruined the grass) the worms also live in the dirt. do they prefer the grassy area? i will try to sprinkle water in the dirt and see what i can come up with. i like the idea of the carpet piece. also, i put a brick in the yard and they like that too.

 

[611811]

EARTHWORMS REPOST

EARTHWORMS

Keep your clothes on!!!

Just wet the yard down really well the day before. That night search for the worms using a flashlight with red cellophane over the lens. Regular light will scare them into the ground as soon as they see it. With the red light they have to rely on their other senses so you get a shot at grabbing them before they disappear.

You can also electrocute them out of the ground but I've never tried it. They actually sell a device for this technique but it seems dangerous to me. If you decide to go this route and combine it with the naked technique then make sure your wearing shoes at the very least.(LOL)

Good luck.

Ralph

 

[615965]

Leave your backyard....
have not tried lookin for worms in years but here is a surfire method, surely u have some wooded area in your neighborhood maybe near a dead end street, or a highway, anyway the inportant thing to find is lEAVES,LEAVES,LEAVES anywhere that leaves collect over dirt now dont wear your tap shoes to do this wear old sneakers and push the leaves aside with your foot, where the moist leaves make contact with the dirt u should find plenty, and if that dont work i'll sell ya some for $2 a dozen cause i can find about a hundred in 20 minutes time....so the moral of the story is leaves

 

[Brown Trout]

Lot's of good advice

MOst of the replies are right on. I'll have to see grouse's method in action. Let me know when your planning a worm trip. I'll bring my flyrod and a trench coat.

Definitely wet the yard. Use the red cellofane on the light too. If you see little mounds of dirt like small piles of deer skat you'll know there's crawlers around. Try the golf greens too...I've used to use the same method.

Another trick. When you initially grab the worm, don't pull onit immediately or it'll break. You'll feel him trying to pull back. Give it a tiny amount of slack and wait until it relaxes its muscles to get more purchase in the hole. As soon as you feel it relax, then pull it out. He'll come out of that hole like sucking up a spaghetti strand.

Try the carpet trick too. I have an old tarp in my yard that they congregate under. Sandflee has a point about the leaves. Generally right under the leaf litter there's a lot of worms. They're more like wrigglers than crawlers. Very stout and they break themselves in half if you grab them. They also will wiggle so fast they appear to be jumping. Stick to woodlots with hardwood leaf litter as opposed to pine needles and such. Good Luck.

 

[richs]

Leaves

Yup- Used to have woods behind my house. Tons and huge too. Dark loose soil under leaves best. If there are lots of pines around, soil may be too acidic. Look for maple groves. They may be heading deeper nopw due to cold, but if we get another warm Sw rain, you can get a months supply.

 

[PaddleOn]

Dig into a warm pile of manure for good worms.

Oh..........you mean "fishin worms"
Sorry..............don't know much bout that type.

 

[sam843]

Find an area tat holds night crawlers
You can see the holes where they live
Get some dry Mustard mix with water make a watery solution and pour it over the ground
The mustard irritates them and they come right out

 

[sam843]

Find an area that holds night crawlers
You can see the holes where they live
Get some dry Mustard mix with water make a watery solution and pour it over the ground
The mustard irritates them and they come right out

 

[wader]

Kinda like ****tail weenies huh?