Types of Nightcrawlers – Which One Will You Choose for an Enjoyable Fishing Trip?

As such there are many types of nightcrawlers, like Canadian, African and European nightcrawlers. Among these, Canadian nightcrawlers are considered to be the number one worms for fishing. They are big, fat worms and resemble much to slugs. Most anglers love them because of their huge size, around 10 times bigger than an average Red Wiggler. Nightcrawlers are perfect as live fish bait. It is interesting to know which of the nightcrawlers are more preferable as live fish bait.

Raising Nightcrawlers

You can raise nightcrawlers on your own or can get fresh worms at stores like CanadianNightcrawlers.com. Raising nightcrawlers is easy. A worm bin with some soil is what you need (but not for Canadian nightcrawlers – they need more unconfined spaces). Of course, you also need to provide them organic food. You have to store them in indoors initially (in the garage or basement) and later outdoors (in the garden).

Keep in mind that nightcrawlers have no ears or eyes. They can sense the motion of things around them with vibrations. They tend to burrow in the soil right upon sensing even minor shakes around them and the burrows can be as deep as 6 feet or more. The burrows offer an advantage of keeping the soil aerated. Also they can’t bear bright light which is also a reason that they prefer to burrow down during the day. They also tend to feed at night and after it rains (often when there is dewfall on grass). Their size is larger (as long as 14 inches) and thicker as compared to red worms.

Types of Nightcrawlers

As mentioned earlier, there are three types of nightcrawlers:

Canadian (Lumbricus terrestris): Canadian nightcrawlers are very large in size. Commonly known as Dew Worms, Canadian nightcrawlers are the most popular live fish bait. They are deep burrowers and are often kept in less confined spaces as compared to red wigglers which can sustain in limited spaces. They are not typical bin worms as they need to make long tunnels through numerous layers of soil. In heavy rains or humid environments, they usually move to the upper surface at nigh to feed on organic matters like dead grass, leaves, etc.

African (Eudrilus eugeniae): African nightcrawlers need warm weather conditions and may even die if temperature drops down below 10 degree Celsius (50 degree Fahrenheit). They are widely used for composting.

European (Eisenia hortensis): European nightcrawlers are actually cousins of red wigglers, but are much larger in size. They are also known as Belgian nightcrawlers and are found in most piles of animal manure and compost heaps, where they burrow and thrive.

As Live Fish Bait

Nightcrawlers are popular live bait to attract fish because of their continuous twisting movements which appeal most fish of all types. They can also be kept submerged in water for much longer, unlike red wiggler. You can buy them or collect them from your garden after a heavy rainfall. They can serve you best as live baits for your fishing trips and for keeping your soil aerated with their burrows which facilitate transport of water and nutrients to roots of plants till your next fishing trip.

If Canadian nightcrawlers are your favorite live fish bait, you can maintain them easily for many months with proper care. They can last for as many as 3 weeks if refrigerated at 45 degrees, in organic pet bedding. If the temperature is higher, you will need to change the peat more often because of fast processing.

Choose your favorite live fish bait among these worms and enjoy fishing!