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#445979 04/30/16 07:00 PM
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Hey all never seen any good or bad to this. My son loves finding worms and we will use them to catch the hbg once they get big enough. We have various size classes cause I stocked at different times. Been feeding optimal mixed with leftover aqua max and mixed with Aquamax200 and starter. Man the 5 to 7 inches are really gettin fat and happy. Then put in more fry this spring with the 100 bigger ones. Anyway they are eating pretty good and more smaller fish are starting to show up. My son just turned 3 the 26 and I can't say no when he wants to go catch some but I know I'm just educating them. We feed every night and starting most mornings. He loves to dig worms and put them in a cup and was wondering if feeding them worms is good or bad. Protein content and all. I can't help but think it is too bad cause not feeding that many fish but just curious. Just tried it hour ago and they were really tearin me up.

Tucker14 #445981 04/30/16 07:32 PM
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Fish love all sorts of worms, there shouldn't be any issues feeding your fish worms. The worms are probably a better protein source than the fish food you are feeding.



Tucker14 #445984 04/30/16 08:09 PM
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+1

I toss worms into the pond whenever I run across them when I'm working in the garden or planting trees. The BG nail them immediately. Side benefit is, if you do it often, you can sneak a hook into one and fishing action for that 3 year old will be awesome! smile

My BG also love Japanese Beetles! I keep an old cottage cheese container on my little tractor and collect them when I see them and other creepy crawler critters. Give the container a good shake and then toss.

IMO don't be leery of tossing natural food to your fish. It's the pellets that aren't natural!

Last edited by Bill D.; 04/30/16 08:24 PM. Reason: After thought

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Tucker14 #445986 04/30/16 08:23 PM
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Ok I thought it would be good for them. I can see where it might help with hook shy fish as I don't catch them where I currently feed them. I introduced night crawlers into my yard but no action yet put a few more coffe cans of them in yet in hopes of getting them started.

Tucker14 #445996 05/01/16 05:45 AM
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As long as you haven't used lawn chemicals in a few years they should be fine. Treated lawns are death to them.


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Hollywood #445997 05/01/16 05:53 AM
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Specifically which turf chemicals are "death on them" and have been shown to hurt animals that feed on worms from "treated" lawns? I see birds eating worms on golf courses all the time. 2,4-D is probably the most common herbicide used on turf and I think it is approved for direct application to ponds.

Last edited by RAH; 05/01/16 05:57 AM.
Bill D. #446003 05/01/16 07:25 AM
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Originally Posted By: Bill D.
..My BG also love Japanese Beetles! I keep an old cottage cheese container on my little tractor and collect them when I see them and other creepy crawler critters. Give the container a good shake and then toss...

Bill, my CNBG are on a June bug kick right now. I would have thought they were too big to eat, but the bigger CNBG sure do like them.


AL

Tucker14 #446006 05/01/16 07:49 AM
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Yes June bugs are the best with a little #11 or 12 hook and rainbow trout in our creeks and rivers. They see that bug scrambling on the surface and bang.

Its I so funny you started this thread Tucker. My son asked me yesterday while sitting on the bank fishing if he could collect and throw dew worms in the pond. I was going to ask the same question today.

With out hijacking your post. Has anyone get a great worm storage? Like some type of a plan to store the dew worms for later use? Every time I have tried they just die and dissolve into muck in our storage container. Can't seam to keep them alive for any length of time.

Cheers Don.


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Tucker14 #446026 05/01/16 09:12 AM
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No worries not sure I know what dew worms are. My buddy got the big night crawlers in his yard. U can go out after dark and catch tons of em. That's what I would like to get started.

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Anybody know protien content. Does it differ with types of worms.

Tucker14 #446064 05/01/16 05:59 PM
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Originally Posted By: Tucker14
No worries not sure I know what dew worms are. My buddy got the big night crawlers in his yard. U can go out after dark and catch tons of em. That's what I would like to get started.


Dew worms and nightcrawlers are the same thing. I'm confused why you think you need to introduce them to your yard. I have never lived anywhere in the Midwest that they aren't already there. If your yard is new fill, be patient, they will appear if the soil is good habitat for them. If it's not good habitat, any you "stock" there will not thrive anyway.

Last edited by Bill D.; 05/01/16 06:00 PM. Reason: Typo

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Bill D. #446077 05/01/16 08:07 PM
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Night crawlers don't like our yellow clay soil. Never seen one here and the ones I introduced in the fill in my wifes flower gardens disappeared. Ordinary garden worms do okay though. I used to raise pygmy goats and around the feeders where they spilled feed, you could dig and every shovel full had thousands of worms about the size of red wigglers but they were yellow and red. Lousy for bait because they were so fragile you couldn't put them on a hook without them falling apart.

Tucker14 #446080 05/01/16 08:23 PM
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The night crawlers I'm used to look like 12 inch snakes. Big and fat and strong. They do wonders for a yard. There are worms everywhere around here but not the big ones. After a rain u can hear them sucking back in the ground. They are so big a person scared of snakes skippes a couple beats when he sees one.

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Originally Posted By: RAH
Specifically which turf chemicals are "death on them" and have been shown to hurt animals that feed on worms from "treated" lawns? I see birds eating worms on golf courses all the time. 2,4-D is probably the most common herbicide used on turf and I think it is approved for direct application to ponds.


You are correct about the modern chemicals. I repeated what I had heard my father say. He was correct, old treatment wiped out everything and for a long time. Modern stuff, except sevin, doesn't wipe everything out.


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Tucker14 #446121 05/02/16 07:53 AM
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Another tidbit: Almost all earthworms in North America are introduced invasive species (like honey bees).

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Originally Posted By: RAH
Another tidbit: Almost all earthworms in North America are introduced invasive species (like honey bees).


Wow I did not know this. I learned that the red ear slider turtle is not native and invasive too... now protected in Ontario.


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I live in southern Illinois on land that has been in the family since the 1950s. Around 1955 my father and uncle bought a quantity of "Canadian nightcrawlers". They released a lot of them on the ground around where my house now stands. Now there are thousands of 10 to 12 inch long nightcrawlers. It is not at all uncommon to see large ones on the sidewalk leading to the house, especially after a rain. A few years ago I planted a potted soil tree which likely had very few if any crawlers in it. A year or so later I had to transplant it, and when I dug it up the root ball was teeming with them, dozens in a pot size ball. I think the soil in the pot was better than the lawn soil and the worms were attracted it to.

I have picked up a big earthworm and sectioned it and caught several bluegill on the pieces. They certainly thrive here.


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Tucker14 #446146 05/02/16 11:44 AM
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Our BG are fiends for sunflower seed meats. Trouble is, sitting there shelling them is tedious.


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Tucker14 #446246 05/03/16 11:45 AM
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You could do what I'm trying. I've started a compost bin close to the pond. Once established, it will hold worms well. Just keep adding more material periodically and you should have an unlimited supply over time. I'm using a 3'x3'x2' potato box that I built a couple years ago. I'll be adding European Night Crawlers from a place that sells composting worms. Just a thought.

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Are Canadian or European crawlers more hardy than native ones?

Has anyone tried to propagate (breed and produce) the genetically altered worms that are chartreuse (glow)?

I wondered if that gene transfered to the adults would continue to transfer to their offspring.

Killjoy, is your bin sealed or how do you allow water to flow out and the worms to stay in?

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I have not heard of genetically altered glowing earthworms. Do you have a link?

Last edited by RAH; 05/03/16 12:47 PM.
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I will be using the European crawlers based on the fact that they are good for composting. Meaning they are more likely to remain in or close to the bin. Not sure of their hardiness, I'll have to see about that.

The bin is not sealed, there is no bottom. The compost sits directly on the ground. Adding mostly leaf liter will keep it loose, allowing for drainage and prevent it from staying too wet. The worms will migrate down into the soil in colder temps but, in my experience, return once it warms up. The compost sort of insulates the ground directly below, so here in Texas, they won't go far. Never really gets that cold for that long.

My thought, as it relates to the original post, is that having the bin may help establish a permanent worm population in the native soils as well. As they move through and condition the soil, they will eventually move further from the bin as their numbers increase and soil condition improves. No idea how long that would take. Could be too long to be practical for that purpose but having a bait source close to the pond is the reason I'm doing it.

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RAH, My bad, I saw bait wholesalers selling chartreuse or glow nightcrawlers with cool visibility studies in dark water where they really stand out. I assumed the glow capability of luminescent insects (fireflies) was incorporated into the worm, but I was wrong. I guess it is a chemical that is added to the worm, or their bedding and either it is ingested by the worms or just sticks to their slime layer and adds the coloring.

Probably someone knows more about this than me. Apparently you can buy the colorant and make your own. Lots of pictures on google if you are interested.

chartreuse crawlers

Tucker14 #446281 05/03/16 05:05 PM
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After reading your post, I found that some earthworms glow due to the "slime" they exude. Pretty cool.

http://www.asknature.org/strategy/062aee4c4a8b7b2b636f92074536d5bf

Tucker14 #446572 05/06/16 10:37 AM
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Can someone educate me on the difference between the worms on this page?

European vs other nightcrawlers

and..

Wax, vs meal, vs butter, vs spike worms ?????

Thanks!

Speedyworm webpage



EDIT:---------------------
Actually, the links under each item tells a lot about what the worms are and how to store/care for them. My question was more how you would choose one or the other to use as a fishing bait since the webpage says all the baits are the best for all the same fish smile

Last edited by canyoncreek; 05/06/16 11:00 AM.

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