Why buy worms?

[Allen Morgan]

I just saw this on youtube.  I'll have to keep an eye out for black walnuts now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZutYfFwm8M&feature=related

[Leo Nguyen]

Always best to pull all the cow pies together, stack them below the piles of hay and cut grass, and in a bout 1 year, you'll have enough worms to last you for years to come, that is, fishing every day.

[Frank Ribble]

LOW TECH REDNECK WORM CATCHING: PILE UP SOME LEAVES ON YOUR SIDEWALK. AFTER IT RAINS, DIG UNDER THE LEAVES. CATCHING A LOT OF WORMS NO NIGHTCRAWLERS. GOOD SIZE FOR FEEDING YOU FAVORITE POPULATION OF UNDERSIZED BLUEGILLS. ANYONE PREFER TO USE WORMS, INSTEAD OF A PIECE OF NIGHTCRAWLER?

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

I prefer worms... well I should say its what I usually use. I've never really gotten into the whole nightcrawler thing. My thinking is that they are creatures of cooler climates, and are not native to the South.  So earthworms are the more likely thing a fish would be familiar with.

At least that's the way I think about it.

[Leo Nguyen]

You hammered it pretty well David. However, fish that forage for any available protein loads, ie worms, are not picky on the worm sizes. The bigger means easy fatten meals. One thing about the crawlers though, because of the stench of live lipids/blood that come from an injured crawler, the fish go wild. The crawler's has much much more than the smaller red wigglies and local earthworms. This is why crawlers are favored 3 to 1 over local varieties. BUT, if you have Alabama jumpers, holy molly, you are in business. Try to raise those boys in compost piles and bins can be a massive pain in the posterior.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

So, more juicy gut bits and oozy goo with crawlers? Well... that makes sense.

[Allen Morgan]

Ok, what's an Alabama Jumper?

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

+1

[Leo Nguyen]

Alabama jumpers are specialized earthworms common to the eastern regions that effectively borrow and aerate soils. Poor mating and reproductive but awesome when it comes to trigger the fish feeding reflexes. The worms literally wiggle so hard that they appear to jump.

[Tony Livingston]

I don't know what Leo is referring too, but if it's the same thing we used to call "Georgia Jumpers" it's a type of worm that goes ballistic when handled. I remember them jumping all over a picnic table, some would get a couple inches airborne.

Lightly hook one, drop it into a wary male BG's nest, and hold on. Even the most cautious of fish would pick it up to move it out of the nest. They were deadly. I haven't seen them in years.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Ok, well... where would they go?

You know what I mean... its not like they got abducted en masse by aliens or something.

Or is it?...

(cue the cheesy sci-fi music)

[Tony Livingston]

I dunno' ,I just don't see them for sale anymore. Hard to put on a hook, and as I remember, VERY slimy. They would however trigger a fish to strike like nothing else....probably even a dead fish!

[Leo Nguyen]

Jumpers are poor reproducers. They got over harvested in the past in so many states for their unique quality. So, finding them in the wild now is hard..not rare..but hard.