Nightcrawlers are a form of
earthwormEarthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
. Prized primarily for use as
fishing baitFishing bait is any substance used to attract and catch fish, e.g. on the end of a fishing hook.-History:Traditionally, nightcrawlers, insects, and smaller fish have been used for this purpose...
, nightcrawlers are generally known as either
Canadian or
European (more often than not, "Belgian").
Canadian nightcrawlers are the larger of the two, measuring up to 14 inches (35.6 cm) when fully extended. Fishermen enjoy the Canadian
wormThe term worm is used to describe many different distantly-related animals which have a long cylindrical body and no legs.Most animals called "worms" are invertebrates, but the term is also used for the amphibian caecilians and the slow worm Anguis, a legless burrowing lizard...
more because of its size. It can be easily secured to a
fish hookA fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for centuries by fisherman to catch fresh and saltwater fish. In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools...
, and stays lively while submerged in water for up to 5 minutes.
Nightcrawlers are a form of
earthwormEarthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
. Prized primarily for use as
fishing baitFishing bait is any substance used to attract and catch fish, e.g. on the end of a fishing hook.-History:Traditionally, nightcrawlers, insects, and smaller fish have been used for this purpose...
, nightcrawlers are generally known as either
Canadian or
European (more often than not, "Belgian").
Canadian nightcrawlers are the larger of the two, measuring up to 14 inches (35.6 cm) when fully extended. Fishermen enjoy the Canadian
wormThe term worm is used to describe many different distantly-related animals which have a long cylindrical body and no legs.Most animals called "worms" are invertebrates, but the term is also used for the amphibian caecilians and the slow worm Anguis, a legless burrowing lizard...
more because of its size. It can be easily secured to a
fish hookA fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for centuries by fisherman to catch fresh and saltwater fish. In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools...
, and stays lively while submerged in water for up to 5 minutes. The Canadian nightcrawler is used for catching
largemouth bassThe largemouth bass is a species of fish in the sunfish family. It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth and northern largemouth...
,
smallmouth bassThe smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
,
carpCarp is a common name for various species of an oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. Some consider all cyprinid fishes carp, and the family Cyprinidae itself is often known as the carp family...
,
troutTrout are a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Salmon belong to some of the same genera as trout but, unlike most trout, most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
,
catfishCatfish are a diverse group of hairey fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores , and even to a tiny...
,
sunfishLepomis is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The most recognizable of this genus is the Bluegill....
,
walleyeWalleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
, and other freshwater fish. One dilemma with the Canadian nightcrawler is that it will not survive in temperatures above about 65 °F (18.3 °C). Therefore, bait shops must keep them refrigerated and attention must be given to ensure that the worms are not left to rest in the hot sun while
fishingFishing is the activity of catching fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
.
Harvesting
Canadian nightcrawlers are harvested in certain locations in North America. Most come from Canada's Ontario region, while many millions more are harvested along the
Appalachian MountainsThe Appalachian Mountains , often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. Definitions vary on the precise boundaries of the Appalachians...
- from western
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
up to
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
The worms are actually collected by headlamp-wearing hunters (or pickers) who crawl throughout fresh cut fields, yards, golf courses, and even cow pastures. The worms come out from the ground only at night (or when the ground is deeply saturated) following a decent rain fall. Temperatures at the time must be between about 50 and 80 °F (10 and 26.7 °C). The ideal time for hunting the worms is when it is lightly drizzling rain, the temperature is about 65 °F, and thunder (or other noise) is not present.
The pickers crawl around the location, sometimes by the dozens, and grab the slimy worms. A mixture of
bleachA bleach is a chemical that removes colors or whitens, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household "chlorine bleach", a solution of approximately 3–6% sodium hypochlorite , and "oxygen bleach", which contains hydrogen peroxide or a peroxide-releasing compound such as sodium...
and water is commonly used to make them come to the surface faster. A head lamp, bucket, and usually an attached smaller can containing fine
sawdustSawdust is composed of fine particles of wood. This material is produced from cutting with a saw, hence its name. It has a variety of practical uses, including serving as a mulch, or as an alternative to clay cat litter, or as a fuel, or for the manufacture of particleboard. Until the advent of...
is all that's required. A picker dips his hands in the sawdust to allow for better gripping of the worms. Since Canadian nightcrawlers (and many other worms) are sensitive to light, the bulb in the headlamp is usually painted yellow to make it softer. Other Pickers will use red lamps, for much the same reason as amateur astronomers, as it is a very non-invasive light, and once the person is adapted to it, provides adequate lighting without interfering with the behavior of the worms. Otherwise, the worms, which typically extend from the ground leaving a firm "tail grip" in the hole, would suck themselves back into their holes faster than a person could grab them. Some pickers can collect 1,000 worms in half an hour, with a total evening's haul of 20,000. At today's (2009) prices of $25 to $40 per thousand caught, pickers can single-handedly earn $800 in one evening.
Distribution
From the field, the worms are immediately sorted from any trash/grass and measured in a can. Most buyers use a large bean can, which contains raised rings (as most of these types of cans do). Once the worms are filled to the top ring on the can, there are typically 500 in the can. Higher measures are allowed for larger worms. The buyer, who usually rests a truck near the field, pays immediately in cash, and dumps each can of 500 worms into a specially designed wooden or Styrofoam box. After the truck is full, or daylight has arrived, the buyer returns to his or her warehouse and transfers the boxes of worms to a
refrigeratedRefrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space, or from a substance, and moving it to a place where it is unobjectionable. The primary purpose of refrigeration is lowering the temperature of the enclosed space or substance and then maintaining that lower temperature.The term...
room. Within a few days, the worms are hand counted into usable cups or boxes, typically 1 or 2 dozen at a time. They are then packaged 60, 80, etc. to a case and returned to storage. Larger operations ship thousands of cases of pre-packaged Canadian nightcrawlers throughout North America each day. Smaller suppliers distribute them locally and regionally to bait shops.