Nightcrawlers are up !!
 

Guess it's the unofficial start of spring ! Not a lot but some when I just checked the lawn with a flashlight, free bait !!

Re: Nightcrawlers are up !!
 

Wow that is a real sign of spring. My sister lives down by the great swamp and she has heard spring peepers this week and seen turtles on logs

Re: Nightcrawlers are up !!
 

Any advice on how to keep them fresh until ready to use??

Re: Nightcrawlers are up !!
 

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Good question. While the earthworms you see outside all appear similar, there's actually many different species with varying environmental needs.

I find the toughest worms are the smaller ones you find digging through leaf piles. I call these "red worms" even tough I don't know if that's what they really are. Just put these in a container with moist leaves and store them in a cool place (but not too cold) and they'll live for a long time. I find my basement to be a good climate. Some people put them in their refrigerator.

The big worms I dig up out of the soil tend to be the most delicate. I call these "nightcrawlers", but I don't know if that is what they always are. I try to use these worms the same day I catch them. Even when I store them in a cool place, the day after I catch them, they look and act like over-cooked spaghetti. Two days after I catch them they are usually dead and dissolving into smelly piles of goop.

After a heavy rain storm, you can often find me wandering the parking lot of my building with a headlamp picking worms up off the pavement. I don't care that the neighbors are scared of me. I have the world's best panfish bait.

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Re: Nightcrawlers are up !!
 

Thanks!! I remember someone posting about keeping them in fridge in grass clippings as well. Will start collecting soon.