Harvesting Earthworms to Use as Bait

Of course we all know that there are plenty of places to purchase earthworms to use as fishing bait. If you sit down and consider it these boxes of worms are pretty expensive since you can generally harvest the creatures from your back yard, or the side of the lake, or the banks of the river for free. It is just easier to purchase the small Styrofoam container of bait, but it is more fun to hunt for the worms and harvest them.

A lot of times when you are at the lake or on the side of the river you will find leaves piled up deeply around the base of trees. If you rake these leaves back you will frequently see earthworms in the leaves. All you have to do is pick them up. You can also use the tines of a metal rake and rub it against the exposed tree roots that are under the leaves. The vibrations this causes will send the worms to the surface.

Right after a rain is a good time to look for earthworms. The rain soaked ground causes the worms to come out of the ground looking for drier accommodations. These creatures like moist soil but they do not like wet soil. The drier the soil is the deeper in the ground that the worms will be. So when it ia a really dry time of year look for your worms in areas where the ground stays moist like close to a sink drain, or at the sides of lakes, rivers, and creek beds.

You can mix a few drops of dishwashing liquid with a gallon of warm water and pour it on the ground where earthworms are likely to be. The soapy water will irritate them and cause them to come out of the ground a short distance from where you poured the warm soapy water. When using this method you will not want to try and catch too many of the worms as this seems to make them fragile and they perish sooner than worms gotten by other means.

You can always use a shovel and dig the worms out of the ground. Look for moist dirt to dig in and look for the tell tale signs on top of the ground of the worm trails. Then dig a shovel full of earth at a time and break the clods up with your hands to reveal the worms.