By Bob & Ginny Riege

It was kind of a funny feeling that ran through me as I reached down to grab another night crawler. The small farm that I had hunted crawlers on for so many years was about to be sold. It wasn’t like it was going to belong to someone else that would probably give me permission, it was going to have a building built on top of it.

By the time I had won the tug of war with this stubborn critter. I had already spotted several more. As I put the flashlight between my teeth and reached for one with each hand, I wondered just how many crawlers I had actually taken off of this land in the past years. It was thousands, there were just as many the next year. I dropped two more into the bucket and moved slowly on in search of more.

Night crawlers have long been a favorite bait of mine. I go through hundreds in a typical summer. They catch all kinds of fish in a wide variety of situations. I especially like them for walleye fishing in June through early September. The problem with using crawlers in the these months is that they are very difficult to find if you like to catch your own. This means that you need to plan ahead.

I have found that the very best time to catch crawlers is in the spring right after the first good rains when the frost is out of the ground. It seems like they are nervous again like they are at this time of the year. Typically, this occurs in late April and May.

If you are gathering your crawler supply in May and not using them until June, July and August you had better know something about their care or all of your efforts of catching them will be wasted. In order to insure quality bait in the summer you need to start taking cafe of crawlers as soon as you get done catching them.

I always sort my crawlers before I put them in bedding. If you come across any that have been broken or damaged, throw them out. A rotten apple spoiling a barrel applies to worms too. If there are questionable ones I put them in a separate container and use them first.

The next important factor in keeping crawlers is to put them in quality bedding. It doesn’t matter how great a crawler you start out with, if it is not good bedding it will not keep well. I have tried many different types of bedding over the years and have found that Magic Worm Bedding is as good as it comes.

Magic bedding comes in both organic and cellulose base. I like the cellulose because I don’t have to be as concerned about feeding them as I do with organic bedding. Both are easy to use and personal preference comes into play here.  No matter which one you choose you will want to supplement your bedding with Magic Worm Food.

There is nothing more frustrating than opening up a container of crawlers in July to find that they are mostly dead. There are things you can do to ensure that this won’t happen. One is to check your worms often.

Another item of concern is proper ventilation in the container. Milk cartons and ice cream pails do not allow adequate ventilation. I use Magic products, specifically a worm ranch. By keeping your worm ranch in an old refrigerator at about 45 degrees you will have healthy, fat bait all season long.

One little trick I have found that helps you catch crawlers is to put red cellophane over your flashlight.

The peak crawler time of the year is here and I have accumulated all of the bait I will need.  It is sad to think that I have collected my last crawler from this old reliable spot. Next year, before I can begin searching for crawlers, I have to first search for a new place to hunt them.