Any one hunt for night crawlers??

This is something i have not done since my teen years a long time ago. Over the years at my current home I have accidently dug u[p a few night crawlers while searching for garden worms for fish bait. It never dawned on me that my yard may be a good place to look since its usually hard to find a good spot to hunt them anyway. Well last night we were on the tail end of thunder storms and it was lightly misting outside and fairlt warm. I told my 9 year old Tanner to put on his boots and grab a flash light, we are going night crawler hunting. He looked at me puzzled and said whats that?? :d Hoping that my hunch was right that we would have them in the yard came true. I have a yard just full of them We managed to catch two dozen and a lot more than that got away as we werent quick enough to snatch them and finess them the rest of the way out of the ground. I havent had this much fun in along time, and it brought back memories as a kid hunting them with my father. My son had an absolute blast, and is pumped about doing it again when it warms back up. There are snow flurries now the day after

 

Not since I was a kid growing up in Connecticut. we don't have them were I am in Texas.

 

We don't need worms, we have got plenty of grasshoppers:d

 

In 8th grade shop, I took an extension cord and wired it to two metal stakes which I'd ground the ends to points on ... the idea was to stick them in the ground and then plug the cord in.

Never worked.

 

I have some good stories about being grabbing crawlers. I remember my dad taking my brothers and I to the courthouse & police station square to pickup nightcrawlers after a rain. For some reason, the courthouse was loaded with them. I wouldn't dare try that today though! Sneaking around the trees with a flashlight at night, in the middle town square, might raise some concerns. lol

 

We just call them worms...

But to answer your question; No.

Me and my brother did go toad hunting when we were younger though.

 

All the time I use to!! Man that was fun and challenging!! My brother and I always tried out picking dad but never could do It. I don't use night crawlers anymore, leeches work better for me fishing walleyes so I don't pick any anymore.

 

Yes me and the boys still do crick and have a blast at it.
Watching them is priceless especially when they walk into the house with
all that neat slime on them. Just so you know Crick both boys are a F professional, lol

 

Greg, what you need to do is get a long metal rod about 3/8" in diameter and about 48" to 60" long, attach one wire, preferably solid, to the end, and then make a wooden handle that completely encloses about 24" to 39" of the rod. This is the end that you will be holding when you plug it in, Put a simple plug on the wire leading to the rod, then get an extension cord and plug it in, YOu will know if it is working correctly if you feel a vibration on the rod when you are pushing it into a damp ground. If you don't feel it vibrate, turn the plug around so you get the hot end into the rod.
This is the only way I go for crawlers now. It works even in the middle of the day. The only requirement is that the ground be damp, wear rubber boots, and don't try to get a crawler that is 2" from the rod when in the ground....I got knocked on my butt for that stupid crawler !!!

 

Yea, on occasion I still do.
The first spring after I moved into my current house the neighbor told me how she had to explain to her daughter what I was doing wandering around the yard with a flashlight and grabbing at the ground. We both got a laugh out of it.

 

Yeah used to collect our crawlers like that all the time. We had pet rabbits outside growing up. The crawlers sure liked camping out in the rabbit crap under the cages. We would get alot that way.

 

We do it all the time!

 

Hell yea, thats a blast. My buddy lives in a bottom with soil that stays pretty wet, so thats how we get our fishing bait. After a good rain we can get a couple hundred if there's a few of us.

Something I've been doing the last couple years is laying a piece of plywood down in the pole barn next to the pond. All spring and summer long, all you have to do is lift the plywood, and there's a ton of nightcrawlers enjoying the trapped moisture. Lazy man's way..

Nice pics Bloodcrick

 

....or smart man's way, if you love fishing

 

So I have some crawler britherin :d I used to do the rod in the ground trick to but the place i did it only had garden worms. I have been shocked by a worm to