The Worm you find in your Garden (or Allotment, or whatever) is probably the most useful of all the basic baits available to the freshwater Angler. Many fish will take a worm - Trout, Perch, Gudgeon, Carp, Tench, Eels, Roach, Rudd, Ruffe, Salmon, you name it.
They're a natural food source to fish, especially after heavy rain so I've read....... apparently they get washed out of the side of the River Bank or Lake side during the heavy rain, and end up doing an impersonation of Wile e. Coyote going into the water, where the fish eat them up.
They are also relatively simple to obtain, you have a choice of waiting for them to come out onto the top of your lawn after it's been raining....... or you can have a dig around the soil covered parts (being careful not to damage any plants of course)..... though I sort of went off the idea of doing that at the end of last year, thanks to next door's cat leaving little messages in my favourite digging spot >:-| You can also rake them out of a compost heap..... or dig them out of a pile of manure....... or if you don't fancy that, most tackle shops sell them in tubs. Another option is to build yourself a wormery....... just type "Wormery" into Google, and you'll find all the information you need.
Once you've obtained your worms, the best way to store them for your session is to stick them in a baitbox with either some damp shredded newspaper or Spaghnum moss (excuse the spelling..... not sure if that's right.... but it's close enough I guess)..... just remember to check for dead ones occasionally, and dispose of them..... otherwise the entire boxful will snuff it out of sympathy.
To fish with them, you can either Freeline, leger or floatfish (I prefer legering)...... and mount them on any hook from size 6 or 8 down to around size 16 or 18 depending on the situation.
There's also one or two tricks you can do to try make them more attractive..... my favourite is to snip off 1 or both ends of the worm so that their blood oozes out of them and creates a scent trail to attract the fish. You can also (VERY CAREFULLY!) inject them with air using a hyperdermic syringe so that they float just off the bottom of the water (kids..... DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!).
My first ever fish...... and the vast majority of fish I've caught ever since have been caught using worm. They've been used for years, before even the days of the "Mr Crabtree" stories by Bernard Venables...... and they still work now, so are definately a bait you shouldn't leave home without...... even if you were planning on using something else for bait, you should take a few worms with you as back-up.
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(+) Cheap to do when done correctly, good results. (-) FEAR FACTOR - You will look silly if you do it without results. Difficult to carry a large amount.
Advantages: A economical bait that WILL catch you fish whatever the season and weather. Disadvantages: Lugworms are hard to come buy, try digging where you find 'casts' at low-water. And mind the PINCERS!
WallyD321 08.05.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Worms
Advantages: Cheap (From fishmongers) Useful ingredient in bait 'cocktails' Disadvantages: Expensive (From Fishmongers and supermarkets) no real use as a stand-alone bait.
WallyD321 10.05.2001 ·
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Review of Squid
Advantages: cheaper and more effective than commercial groundbaits. Disadvantages: The only disadvantage I find, is that you have to make it your self.
casterman 10.03.2001 ·
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Review of Groundbaits
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