When I was a kid, and my father took my brother and me fishing, I always felt it was kind of “cheating” when we had to buy our bait. Dad would even groan at the bait store when he had to pay the high prices for night crawlers, earthworms, and minnows. But, my father was a busy man and he couldn’t always plan ahead to take us kids fishing. Often, our trips were “on the fly” (pun intended), and we went fishing when he had the day off work, had nothing else planned, and the weather was cooperative. However, when we could plan ahead to go fishing on a certain day, Dad instructed us to get the bait we needed the day before. You too can save money and teach your kids some “new tricks” about fishing if you learn how to collect your own live fish bait!
The first time we ever tried to gather bait, Dad laughed when he saw my brother and I digging in the dirt for earthworms. He showed us an easy way to make the worms come to us, instead of vice versa. (Sometimes fathers are so truly wise!) Another problem with digging for earthworms is that they would often get chopped or pulled in half while we were trying to unearth them from their dirt tunnels.
Note: Many fisherman prefer chubby, long night crawlers to bait their sharp hooks with. My father did too. I think the idea was, “big, juicy bait equals a big, hungry fish.” But, we also used earthworms for bait too with successful results.
To collect your own live earthworms, save a sinkful of dirty dish water. Place it in a bucket or other container, and find a spot outside where the soil is dark and rich. Pour the dish water over an area of dirt that measures approximately two or three feet square. The next step is to cover the same area with some old boards or another suitable material. Wait a couple days, then lift the boards or other material up. You should have attracted several earthworms (and probably some interesting insects) by using this method.
Store the live fish bait you collect in a container that seals with a lid. If you have a compost pile, some of that organic material can be used to make excellent worm bedding. Make a fifty/fifty mixture with some dirt. But, earthworms can live in plain old dirt just fine too.
Then, to keep your earthworms alive until you use them for live fish bait, keep the dirt or compost moistened at all times. Place the container in a nice cool place out of the direct sunlight. (Much to my mother’s dismay, we kept our earthworms in the bottom of the refrigerator.) And, add some pieces of banana peel, apple peels, and other organic material so the earthworms have plenty to feast on.
If you have a squeamish wife or (significant other) who won’t allow you to store your earthworms in the refrigerator, you can also keep your live fish bait in a cooler with an ice pack. Be careful not to freeze them, though! Your earthworms need to be kept “cool”, not frozen!
You can keep night crawlers alive in the same fashion as earthworms. Collecting live night crawlers is a trickier deal than finding earthworms, though it can be done. They are best found during the dark evening hours (hence their name). Night crawlers like to move at night, especially when the weather is cool and wet. Therefore, they’re easier to find right after a good soaking rain. Instead of watching for rain clouds, you can create a simulated environment by using a garden hose and soaking an area of dirt. If the area you choose to wet down is grassy, make sure the grass is short so you can spot the bait easier.
To collect your own live fish bait, you’ll need a flashlight to spot the night crawlers with. Forget using a bright halogen flashlight because the night crawlers will flee from it. A small flashlight with a good old-fashioned dull bulb works the best. And, don’t stomp across the ground when you go on your hunt. The vibrations of your foot steps will also make the night crawlers scarce. They are much shyer than earthworms.
Once you spot a night crawler, you’ll need to work fast. If it’s moving across the top of the ground, you can just carefully pick it up and place it in your container. Move too slow, and into the ground it will go! If you see a night crawler that’s sticking up out of the ground, carefully grab the end that’s sticking up. Be careful not to pull it in half! Just keep hold of it and remove it from its tunnel. Store it in a suitable container.
To collect your own live fish bait when it comes to minnows, a large net with small holes in it works well. We always took father’s minnow bucket and walked over to a favorite stream a short ways from our house. My brother and I would fill the bucket half full with water from the stream. Then, we would spend hours using small nets to capture the speedy little fish. Of course, it wouldn’t have taken that long to collect our own live fish bait if we hadn’t gotten sidetracked by playing in the water.
Once you find enough minnows to use for your next fishing excursion, you’ll need to keep them alive. Minnows need oxygenated water to live. You can keep oxygen in the water by using a few simple methods. One method is to place a clean, porous brick into the minnow bucket. As the brick fills up with water, the air will be released into the bucket. Once the brick is waterlogged, replace it with another clean, dry brick.
Or, pour a little carbonated water into the minnow bucket from time to time. It will keep the water oxygenated and keep your fish bait live.
You can also place a clean rubber hose into the water and blow into it to create air bubbles.
Before you head outside to collect your own live fish bait, be advised that the Division of Natural Resources office that monitors your area has laws and regulations you must adhere to. So, check with your local DNR office and find out the laws regarding collecting and using live bait.
