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#1 grubman

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 11:07 AM

Is it just where I'm buying from or has the price of worms shot up last year or the previous year? Some places don't even have 2 dozen anymore, they have 18 for the price of 2 doz. Corporate product downsizing in worms, are you kidding me? Going rate I've seen is $5/doz $7 for 18 worms, really getting up there.

So it rained a good 3 inches last night and I decided to get my own. Within 35 min I had 2 dozen. I was never able to get them by hand whole, but using hemostats (surgical clamps that look like scissors act like vice grips) I can gently grab them and not rip them apart. Then I put them in my Wonder Worm Box with the Wonder Worm Bedding, they'll stay alive for weeks if I keep the box in the shade and moist. I tried using a blue LED flash light but that scared them back into their hole so I switched to white LED. The red filter flash lights are too hard to see the worms.

From Canadian Geographic:
"a skilful picker to gather upwards of 6,000 victims — at $15 to $30 per thousand, depending on demand — in one session. The record, it is said, is 22,500 worms in one night, by one man, with only two hands."

From Yahoo:
"People often wonder how picking your own worms can help the environment. Worms most commonly come in a Styrofoam bowl with a plastic lid. Styrofoam is Non-Biodegradable and can take hundreds of years to decompose. If you can keep from using Styrofoam products, you can help to keep our landfills less full. Using biodegradable products will help keep the world a cleaner place."

From Wormdigest.org:
"Worm picking 101

Amateur worm pickers might go out with just a bucket in the aftermath of a rain to see what they can find, and do pretty well. But real pickers, like Morabito, have tactics and equipment they use for the task:

* A good miner's cap or miner's headlight is essential, to free up the hands for picking while casting a little light down to locate the worms.

* A pair of good gloves (it can get slimy).

* A bucket with a handle.

Once you have these, the next dilemma is finding a good spot. Many local golf courses will allow pickers to go out on them; parks are also good. Anywhere where there is a large area of mown grass works well, Morabito said.

“After dark they start coming out and you see them with the headlight,” he said. “Sometimes when you go down to you pick them up you can get them right away, but the majority of the time they have their tails in the ground so they can scoot back in if they are disturbed in any way.”

When they see the light, Morabito says, they have a tendency to sink back underground. “You have to be fast,” he said."

From trails.com:
"Shine your light away from the night crawler once you spot it. Right before you try to grasp it, put the light back on it. Use your thumb and first two fingers to grab the worm as close to its hole as possible. Often you cannot determine where the hole is, so your best option is to grab the night crawler by its thickest end. Squeeze hard enough so the worm cannot escape and pull up on it. If the nightcrawler is all the way free of its hole, you will have no problem catching it. If it still is partly in its hole, you must apply steady pressure until it relents and comes out all the way. Refrain from pulling hard, as this will break the nightcrawler in half. Put the nightcrawler in your container, and continue.


Read more at Trails.com: How to Pick Nightcrawlers | Trails.com http://www.trails.co...l#ixzz24qyv7Yw3

There you have it, for all you fruglers, now if we could just get the fish to bite......... ;)
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#2 FishingNoob

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 11:28 AM

Thanks for posting this grubman! Since I was not fishing last year I do not know if the price of worms has gone up. However I'm interested in buying 1000 worms for 30$ and raising them as bait worms. I'm also trying to figure out if I can raise leaches in a fish tank but that requires me figuring out to feed them and how often they reproduce so I know how to raise them sustainably. I've only tried picking worms once and got skunked. :(
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#3 Dugger

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 11:31 AM

Fruglers Rule! :blink:

Grubs, I picked worms in high school for a commercial enterprise and that was during a time when the "Worm Wars" waged in Ontario, it was so competitive a business that they were burning down eachother's businesses, fights on golf courses... it was nutty!

The price of worms we pickers were paid would fluctuate for one reason: Rain or lack thereof. I remember getting 20 bucks a thousand some weeks when it was wet from rain to $44 per thousand if we were in a drought, usually that also affected the price per dozen for the angler here in Niagara. Most of our worms got the "Canadian Nightcrawler" sticker slapped on em and we delivered the the US.

It was a fascinating mysterious business at the time wrapped in an enigma.... heady days! :D
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#4 FishingNoob

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 11:42 AM

Fruglers Rule! :blink:

Grubs, I picked worms in high school for a commercial enterprise and that was during a time when the "Worm Wars" waged in Ontario, it was so competitive a business that they were burning down eachother's businesses, fights on golf courses... it was nutty!

The price of worms we pickers would pay would fluctuate for one reason: Rain or lack thereof. I remember getting 20 bucks a thousand some weeks when it was wet from rain to $44 per thousand if we were in a drought, usually that also affected the price per dozen for the angler here in Niagara. Most of our worms got the "Canadian Nightcrawler" sticker slapped on em and we delivered the the US.

It was a fascinating mysterious business at the time wrapped in an enigma.... heady days! :D


LOLz I can't quite picture burning buildings over worms.
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#5 grubman

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 11:56 AM

Thanks for posting this grubman! Since I was not fishing last year I do not know if the price of worms has gone up. However I'm interested in buying 1000 worms for 30$ and raising them as bait worms. I'm also trying to figure out if I can raise leaches in a fish tank but that requires me figuring out to feed them and how often they reproduce so I know how to raise them sustainably. I've only tried picking worms once and got skunked. :(


All these articles depended on rain. Make your own rain, set the sprinkler on your lawn/backyard for a few hours and then wait till night. But use hemostats, I find that's the best way to catch them without harm.

I once had leeches from an outing and I kept them in my empty aquarium. I threw in pieces of meat and they ate that, even with the meat they began to eat each other :shock: . Raising your own is an awesome idea. It's easy to make a leech trap but I'm not sure where I can set it, no pond near me just the bluffs.....lol.
Here is a good link: http://voices.yahoo....286.html?cat=14

Methods 1-3 seem easiest and cheapest for me to try. Instead of fish oil I'll try cod liver. What do they mean Porous Wood? All wood is porous, dorks........lol. I'm guessing a softwood that would absorb oil and or blood, maybe even balsa and then screw it down to a metal bar or heavy bolts.

What about crayfish? I have not seen them for bait, ever. They must be expensive too. Can they be raised in a home aquarium? I've never used them for bait so don't know how effective they are.

With any bait traps, read the Regs. Your traps are suppose to have your name and address on it and be of legal size too.

Let me know which one you go with. Good luck.
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#6 staffman

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 12:16 PM

Crayfish can only be used if they come from the lake that you are fishing and that pretty much means that you have to catch your own,either using a trap or by turning rocks and catching them by hand. It is illegal to transport crayfish.
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#7 grubman

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 12:27 PM

LOLz I can't quite picture burning buildings over worms.


You catch-a my worms I kill you......lol. :lol: Million $ undergound economy/business.
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#8 Klamp

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 12:33 PM

I grow worms for the garden, it's a breeze. Leave them in the basement or garage over the winter and you've got hundreds to thousands come spring. I laugh when I see guys dumping their empty worm boxes (garbage), because I go pick them up and use 'em for my worms.
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#9 Klamp

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 12:46 PM

BTW Bass Pro is $2.49/dozen right now.
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#10 NADO

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 12:46 PM

Prices are up this year due to the record drought we have had. I have been quoted some astonishingly high prices for flats of worms. Ill have to check out this golf course strategy, I have tried a few times in my backyard and there is always nothing there, I think my ground is too hard.
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#11 FishingNoob

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 02:04 PM

All these articles depended on rain. Make your own rain, set the sprinkler on your lawn/backyard for a few hours and then wait till night. But use hemostats, I find that's the best way to catch them without harm.

I once had leeches from an outing and I kept them in my empty aquarium. I threw in pieces of meat and they ate that, even with the meat they began to eat each other :shock: . Raising your own is an awesome idea. It's easy to make a leech trap but I'm not sure where I can set it, no pond near me just the bluffs.....lol.
Here is a good link: http://voices.yahoo....286.html?cat=14

Methods 1-3 seem easiest and cheapest for me to try. Instead of fish oil I'll try cod liver. What do they mean Porous Wood? All wood is porous, dorks........lol. I'm guessing a softwood that would absorb oil and or blood, maybe even balsa and then screw it down to a metal bar or heavy bolts.

What about crayfish? I have not seen them for bait, ever. They must be expensive too. Can they be raised in a home aquarium? I've never used them for bait so don't know how effective they are.

With any bait traps, read the Regs. Your traps are suppose to have your name and address on it and be of legal size too.

Let me know which one you go with. Good luck.


I think it is illegal to transport crayfish, but I know that PJ's pet store sells the exotic "Malaysian Blue Fresh Water Lobster" only for 100$, lolz cannot be a frugler here.

I was going to buy my leeches from a bait store, the reason I am doing this is for bio security. I want to have all my leeches living together that way I know they are immune to any leech diseases one might have, a factor I cannot control when I get a few leeches from the "pond", the "lake" and the "river" and put them all in one aquarium.

I'll keep you posted on my little adventure. :)
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#12 FishingNoob

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 02:05 PM

I grow worms for the garden, it's a breeze. Leave them in the basement or garage over the winter and you've got hundreds to thousands come spring. I laugh when I see guys dumping their empty worm boxes (garbage), because I go pick them up and use 'em for my worms.


Do you have to feed them anything???
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#13 AKnook

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 02:28 PM

Lloyd: This isn't my real job, you know.
Mary: No?
Lloyd: Nope, my friend Harry and I are saving up our money to open our own pet store.
Mary: That's nice.
Lloyd: I got worms.
Mary: I beg your pardon?
Lloyd: That's what we're going to call it. I Got Worms. We're going to specialize in selling worm farms, you know, like ant farms.

Dumb and dumber.

:)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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#14 hova

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 02:44 PM

22500 in one night! wow
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#15 Klamp

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 02:49 PM

Do you have to feed them anything???


Yup. I stick to coffee grinds and shredded paper. I use a french press coffee maker, i end up with tons of coffee grinds and they love it. I shred only vegetable ink newsprint. The odd time I'll toss in some shredded apples.
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#16 NADO

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 03:03 PM

I think it is illegal to transport crayfish, but I know that PJ's pet store sells the exotic "Malaysian Blue Fresh Water Lobster" only for 100$, lolz cannot be a frugler here.

I was going to buy my leeches from a bait store, the reason I am doing this is for bio security. I want to have all my leeches living together that way I know they are immune to any leech diseases one might have, a factor I cannot control when I get a few leeches from the "pond", the "lake" and the "river" and put them all in one aquarium.

I'll keep you posted on my little adventure. :)


Hate to break it to ya Noob but the lobster would be illegal to use as bait as well. Its like releasing your pet goldfish into the water, a big nono. The lobster wouldnt be able to survive with our winters here but its still illegal.

As for the breeding leeches and using them as bait im not 100% sure but I think that illegal too. I know its illegal to breed them and then sell them, just not sure on if its illegal to breed them and use them yourself.
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#17 TRINIBOY

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 03:11 PM

Thanks for posting this grubman! Since I was not fishing last year I do not know if the price of worms has gone up. However I'm interested in buying 1000 worms for 30$ and raising them as bait worms. I'm also trying to figure out if I can raise leaches in a fish tank but that requires me figuring out to feed them and how often they reproduce so I know how to raise them sustainably. I've only tried picking worms once and got skunked. :(


Heres a link on farming leaches... hope it helps....
http://www.slideshar...h-farming-guide
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#18 Dugger

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 06:39 PM

LOLz I can't quite picture burning buildings over worms.



lol Noobs, they used to fire bomb each others trucks! Heady days were the Worm Wars lol
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#19 FishingNoob

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 07:14 PM

Hate to break it to ya Noob but the lobster would be illegal to use as bait as well. Its like releasing your pet goldfish into the water, a big nono. The lobster wouldnt be able to survive with our winters here but its still illegal.

As for the breeding leeches and using them as bait im not 100% sure but I think that illegal too. I know its illegal to breed them and then sell them, just not sure on if its illegal to breed them and use them yourself.



Ya it was a joke about the lobster...

thanks for the heads up about the leeches, I'll have to look into that. I've seen people releasing turtles and frogs into pounds is that illegal too? All of the fish in my aquariums go down the toilet.
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#20 FishingNoob

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Posted 28 August 2012 - 07:17 PM

Heres a link on farming leaches... hope it helps....
http://www.slideshar...h-farming-guide



It helped a lot, now I just gotta make its legal...
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