Consider the lowly earthworm.
There was a time when, in some fishing circles, using worms for bait would get you disdainful looks and maybe even a sneer. The hunting and fishing world can be just as trendy and fickle as anything in fashion or politics.
Thankfully for many of us worm-dunkers, spearing a fat night crawler on a hook seems to be more in vogue these days. This whole worm defamation thing started many years ago with fly fishermen. I think this is not really their fault but stems from all of the stress fly fishermen are exposed to in learning and enduring their sport.
Fly fishermen spend a lot of time worrying about the tiniest details. They are often seen crawling around in creeks and trout streams picking up rocks and debris as they seek various insect life. What they’re doing is trying to determine what insect activity is going on in the stream to see what the fish may be feeding on. Fly fishermen call this “matching the hatch,” and while this helps them catch fish, they tend to be a little obsessive about.
Add to this the endless hours many fly fishermen spend just learning to cast a dry fly. The lure, which is the fly on the end of a fly fishermen’s line, has no weight. So the fisherman must learn to cast the line to get the offering out into the water. Accomplishing this calls for all sorts of gyrations with the fly rod and after a windy day on a brush-choked trout stream, novice fly fishermen are often seen in rural towns looking for the liquor store.
Misery loves company and the end result is sometimes a depressed, haggard individual with strong opinions on how you should fish. It’s OK if you fish, he just wants you to fish like he does and suffer some of the same trials and tribulations. Fly fishermen don’t use worms for bait, and they don’t want you to use them either.
The worms, of course, have no real opinion on all this as they are, well, worms. Earthworms are found in more than 6,000 species worldwide with at least 180 of these in the U.S. and Canada. They’re considered beneficial in gardens and most areas as they loosen and aerate the soil. Earthworms breathe through their skin, have no eyes, and possess both male and female organs. Some people find this an awkward fact about worms, but I bet it leads to some lively talks around the worms’ Thanksgiving table.
Having spent a good portion of my wayward youth in pursuit of worms and other live bait, I have no problem stating I’m an expert in such matters. Drawing from this vast body of knowledge, let’s look at a few of the popular types of worms for bait.
Small, dark red worms are sometimes known as spring worms. Usually found to be more available in the spring of the year, these worms can be deadly for trout (fly fishermen cover your eyes) but are also good for pan fish like bluegills and sunfish. Red worms are often found as you clean up the yard under leaves and other debris in moist areas. I usually toss them in a can when I find them, intending to use them later. About two months later I find the dry mummy-like remains of these worms and wish I had taken them fishing. (Just an FYI, they cannot be reconstituted by adding water.)
Night crawlers are the kings of the worm world when it comes to fishing bait, which may be a distinction they do not particularly enjoy. Night crawlers are known for being nocturnal as they well, crawl at night. You can hunt them after dark, which I often did when I needed fish bait for the next day, much to the chagrin of some of the people in my old neighborhood.
Lady of the house at 2 a.m.: “Fred, there’s someone in our yard running around with a flashlight. Call the police!”
Fred, owner of a yard with night crawlers: “(Groans) It’s just that Case kid again, Ethel. He’ll leave when he gets a can full of night crawlers.”
Night crawlers are good bait for about any freshwater fish you can think of, including bluegills, bass, trout, catfish and walleyes. Experienced fishermen know that the presentation of the night crawler is often important for some finicky eaters like the trout family. (Again, fly fishermen, avert your eyes.) The trick here is to simply run the hook through the crawler only once or twice, so the bait may make a natural appearance drifting in the current. When fishing for say, catfish or carp, the fisherman may thread the worm on hook several times and will sometimes use multiple worms. (In fishing terminology, this is known as a “gob” of worms.)
As usual, space does not permit me to go on with more fun facts about worms and fishing with them. I think the idea here, as in all pursuits in the outdoors, is to just make it fun. There are worse ways to spend a day than digging a can of red worms and going to a good bluegill pond, catfishing with a bucket of night crawlers, or just stream-fishing with worms, you really don’t know what you might catch. If you can take a kid with you, all the better.
I know you think I was too hard on the fly fishermen out there. I don’t mean to be. To tell the truth, I once thought of myself as something of a fly enthusiast and I still would like to pursue that world when I have time. Fly fishermen are good people and mean well. There ain’t nothing wrong with them that a good bucket of worms and a cane pole couldn’t fix.
Larry Case is a retired captain with West Virginia Department of Natural Resources and a lifelong outdoorsman. Larry writes for several newspapers and magazines. His website is www.gunsandcornbread.com and you can reach him at larryocase3@gmail.com.
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