Jackson, Wis. – “They come up
to eat, breed, and poop,” said Frabill’s Jeff Kolodzinski
in a frank but descriptive sort of way. (Bear in mind that
he’s a modern day diaper changer and the word “poop” gets
thrown around his house loosely.) But in this context, as it
relates to fishing and the gathering of live bait, Kolodzinski
uses the term to sum up the three calling cards that bring
nightcrawlers to the surface: food, mating and defecating.
“And the best picking happens right after a thunderstorm,
particularly after dark, and then again at daybreak after an
overnight rainstorm,” continued Kolodzinski, unofficially
the world’s leading proponent of live bait. “You
don’t need any special red lights to sneak up on them
or lightning fast reflexes, either. They’re right there
in front of you. Just grab them.”
(TIP:
Press lightly on the center of the nightcrawler’s
body with a plastic fork. The crawler will loosely wrap itself
in the tines, saving you from futile attempts to peel its
slippery body off a wet surface, and saving the crawler death
by squishing.)
To the
north, peak gathering season comes shortly after the ground
thaws. And the peak of the peak is after spring’s
first hard rain and clapping thunderstorm. South of the Ice
Belt, crawler time is anytime you can walk the neighborhood
following a rain event. Spring, however, tends to produce the
largest volume of crawlers no matter where you live.
According
to Kolodzinski, you don’t need to operate
next to a garden center where the soil is fortified with Canadian
sphagnum and alpaca manure, either. With a decently soft and
fertile loam, preferably associated with sod or a forest edge,
about all you need are a bucket, decent flashlight, and good
set of peepers.
(TIP: Typically, the best gathering spots occur on the
first flat surface below a gradually sloping hill. Night
crawlers will congregate in those areas.)
“Streets,
sidewalks, paths – it really doesn’t matter. When
nightcrawlers come up, they aren’t very particular about
what the ground feels like,” he said. Oh, and while on
the topic of manmade impermeable surfaces, he felt compelled
to debunk an urban legend. “Somehow, someway, some people
have it in their minds that crawlers picked up off asphalt
or concrete don’t live long, their body skinned and scathed.
That’s a myth. Take good care of them and they can last
for months.”
Care is
crucial. You can spend an entertaining evening plucking bait
with the kids and all’s for naught if they turn
into a rotting ball of compost overnight. A hot night in the
garage is all it takes. Ever whiffed molten crawlers? If not,
save yourself the retching experience.
As passionate
as Kolodzinski is about harvesting and using nightcrawlers,
he’s equally as fanatical (in that good
way) about maintaining the critters. “On a good night,
you can collect hundreds of nightcrawlers. Based on street
value, that translates into a lot of savings for the fisherman.
Think about bait like an investment and you’ll have the
right mindset for being a crawler caretaker.
Long term
caretaking of crawlers concerns four core elements: food,
bedding, temperature, and aeration. To no surprise, Frabill,
the leader in bait care management, offers a full assortment
of products to satisfy those requirements. And for long-term
care, the Habitat V is what the Dirt Doctor ordered. Kolodzinski
described the product: “The Habitat V is the perfect
environment for keeping a volume of crawlers, blood worms,
clam worms, or sand worms. It’s constructed of insulating
foam to manage temperature. Plastic vents keep the bedding
properly aerated, too.” Kolodzinski adds that 50-degrees
F is the optimum temperature for storing crawlers.
The
Habitat V is kitted as well, standard equipment including Super-Gro
Bedding and Fat & Sassy Worm Food. The bedding is 100%
biodegradable and specially blended for long term stays – easily
30 days with full occupancy before needing a change. Kolodzinski,
in fact, claims that night crawlers can live “indefinitely” in
a well managed environment.
Fat & Sassy
Worm Food completes the circle, providing the nutrients to
keep crawlers in perpetual fighting condition. Bring it on,
fish…
All of
Frabill’s bait care and live bait gathering products
enhance what Kolodzinski calls the “total fishing experience.” By
that he means making bait collection and care as fun and fundamental
as wetting a line. Next time you take a kid fishing, take him
or her collecting first.
ABOUT FRABILL
Frabill,
Inc. (Jackson, Wis.) has built the most trusted gear in the
fishing industry for over 70 years. Frabill’s
ice fishing product mix consists of portable ice fishing shelters,
rod and reel combos, tip-ups, bait containers, portable aeration
and other related accessories. Open water products include
landing nets, portable aeration, bait containers, bait care,
bait traps and seines, and other accessories. Visit www.frabill.com.
