Last year we had a flat of worms for six of us, it was a challenge to keep them alive and corralled. They came in the styrofoam flat from Kipawa bait with a half azz lid. We kept the flat in our cooler and in the morning found half the worms in the cooler, swimming with the beer. Then we put the flat in a garbage bag in the cooler and in the morning they would be in the bag out of the flat.
We are 4 guys this year so I will be getting less worms, but I would like to improve our pathetic system, any suggestions?
Here is my suggestion
https://www.fishusa.com/product/Frabill-Crawler-Cabin
buy two if you have to.
RHYBAK's response is a good one, but all it is is a fancy Tupperware container... if you don't want to spend that much $$ -- I have seen people go to the dollar store and buy cheap plastic Tupperware containers - like you would put a flat cake in or 3 dozen cookies (...mmmmm cake and cookies, now I'm hungry).
Snap the rubber maid on tight after each withdraw and before you go to bed, to ensure they don't try to drink your beer!
Or go to your local fish store and ask if they have a styrofoam cooler with lid that the lobsters come in .
I think they throw them out after one use.
I have a small version that I use for my winter Speck trip to keep our worms
For the last few years we've been using two Frabill Habitat II worm boxes with Frabill Super Gro Bedding to keep our flat of crawlers (500 crawlers) for 4 guys for a one week trip - see https://www.sail.ca/en/frabill-boite-a-vers-de-terre-habitat-ii-237133. I realize that the description states that these boxes are good for 8 dozen crawlers each but we've been adding approximately 250 crawlers to each box without issue.
We keep the crawlers cool by putting something similar to a Cryopak Ice-Pak (4" X 7" X 1.5") in each Habitat II worm box. Each day we exchange the these Ice-Paks with two cold ones from the freezer.
This has worked very well for us. Just in passing, four of us typically take in a flat of crawlers and 2 pounds of large leeches for a week long trip. We keep our leeches in leech tamer bags in a cooler with ice in the cabin. Each boat has a leech tamer bag for the leeches they take out for each outing.
Jay
How big is it? No specs on the product link...
We use the styro foam containers that Kipawa bait provides, and tape the tops down. Also freeze bottles of water and place into the cooler where the containers are. Seems to work well. On a different bait topic, does anyone have issues finding leeches 3rd week of July? I am told they may not be available then? Any tips, places, etc. would be helpful.
17 days to go...
Quote from: T-Bone on July 04, 2018, 05:41:31 PMHow big is it? No specs on the product link...
From https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/frabill-habitat-ii-worm-storage-system, the size is 13" L x 10-1/2" W x 7" H
Jay
Thanks everyone for the ideas, I will not stand for another year of wiping worm slime from my beer!
Quote from: Greg on July 04, 2018, 04:02:16 PM
buy cheap plastic Tupperware containers, Snap the rubber maid on tight after each withdraw and before you go to bed, to ensure they don't try to drink your beer!
If using the plastic container idea, would we then need to make some ventilation holes in it or is there enough air getting by lid?
Sure you can drill some small holes - but opening and closing it always added enough fresh air. Add an ice cube in a couple corners each day (adds moisture) - and obviously don't set it in the sun.
...9 days...
Greg
We use an old, large, crawler box that is probably the predecessor of the one
@RHYBAK shared the link for. It's not so much the container itself as keeping the worm bedding moist (not wet) and cool. We use a blue ice pack on top of some newspaper to keep the worms cool. Also, we keep them in the cabin so they don't get too warm outside or in the sun (try to keep them covered in the boat as well).
Quote from: Jighead on July 04, 2018, 08:14:07 PM
On a different bait topic, does anyone have issues finding leeches 3rd week of July? I am told they may not be available then?
Hey
@Jighead, who said this? WTF?
Quote from: Hodgey1 on July 05, 2018, 07:21:56 AM
Quote from: Greg on July 04, 2018, 04:02:16 PM
buy cheap plastic Tupperware containers, Snap the rubber maid on tight after each withdraw and before you go to bed, to ensure they don't try to drink your beer!
If using the plastic container idea, would we then need to make some ventilation holes in it or is there enough air getting by lid?
And dampen a newspaper with some beer so that they don't escape looking for your beer.
Nice to give them their own.
Quote from: RHYBAK on July 05, 2018, 11:12:06 AM
And dampen a newspaper with some beer so that they don't escape looking for your beer.
Nice to give them their own.
Any ideas as to what brand they prefer? ;D Blue?
Canadian... with a little Wisers for spice. They'll dance on the hook. ;) :)
So here's my plan:
Because I'm a guy who loves to save money when I can, I'm going to purchase a plastic tub with a tight fitting lid. I'm going to drill some small holes in the top "smaller than them little buggers" so they can get air. I will line the bottom with news paper soaked in La Fin Du Monde "my favorite Cad beer" then add worms and dirt provided to me by Corina. I will then keep this worm-tastic container in our beer cooler to keep them cool and from being overly active. Once on the water, I will dawn half of one of them worms on my hook and catch me a very large walleye! ;D
Sounds good
As for Jays suggestion.
That was exactly the foam container I was thinking of.
Quote from: Hodgey1 on July 05, 2018, 02:23:28 PM
So here's my plan:
Because I'm a guy who loves to save money when I can, I'm going to purchase a plastic tub with a tight fitting lid. I'm going to drill some small holes in the top "smaller than them little buggers" so they can get air. I will line the bottom with news paper soaked in La Fin Du Monde "my favorite Cad beer" then add worms and dirt provided to me by Corina. I will then keep this worm-tastic container in our beer cooler to keep them cool and from being overly active. Once on the water, I will dawn half of one of them worms on my hook and catch me a very large walleye! ;D
OK for your plastic tube but why not use worm bedding - its cheap and just soooo much cleaner.
Jay
Quote from: Jighead on July 04, 2018, 08:14:07 PM
On a different bait topic, does anyone have issues finding leeches 3rd week of July? I am told they may not be available then? Any tips, places, etc. would be helpful.
Hi Jighead, I called Kipawa Bait and Tackle today and reserved a half pound for next weekend. They didn’t say anything about a shortage. Cheers
Get a worm box, the kind with pressed board siding. Use worm bedding with bottled [non-chlorinated water]. Keep them in fridge when it's warm. Use smaller container in boat and take enough for each session. Plastic container not good; no air and can't absorb excess water.
Thanks Shevene
Jack has always been in charge of the crawlers. he found a Styrofoam box that barely fits in an old cooler and allows for several frozen water bottles to keep cool. We freeze quart size plastic milk jugs with water for ice substitute and drinking as the week progresses . they fit well with the beer in the boat cooler too... one of these in the worm box helps keep them cool all week. NOW, this year I decided that we needed to switch jugs and , blame the Canadian, I put the frozen quart of milk in instead of the water. by the time I started to look for the milk..... a little late..
I use the frabil worm kits also and works perfect. The only issue with Rhybaks suggestion about Beer is you do use Bleue and you are alwaki the same time as T-bone you might find him hanging to close to your worms.
Quote from: Ozzy30 on July 10, 2018, 12:12:06 PM
I use the frabil worm kits also and works perfect. The only issue with Rhybaks suggestion about Beer is you do use Bleue and you are alwaki the same time as T-bone you might find him hanging to close to your worms.
Having spent a week around Tbone last year at Alwaki, I took note of his Blue consumption and witnessed that he never runs low? Could it be the worm boxes, or is he prowling unattended coolers in the dark of night?
I'm not quite sure but I am sure glad I don't drink blue, this way I don't need to lock the cooler or my worm box this year.
Now, now...don't you worry about 'ol T-Bone and his Bleue. Anybody that knows anything knows I prefer leeches...much cleaner...and you don't have to worry about getting worm bedding on your cold Bleue. :P Truth be told, I'm the "lightweight" in our group, and there are no slouches. It always amazes me how much beer we go through...
And I'm typically in bed sawing logs way before any of you party boys...so if anything I should be concerned about YOU!!!
Ok,..... I did want to save some money and not buy something for the worms to sleep in while at camp, but they deserve to be taken care of too. So I laid down $13 US dollars on a Styrofoam container with some dirt in it. I know, seems a waste but, I am just 10 days from departure and not wanting any worm issue with beer this season. I also laid down some more jack and bought a leech tamer bag, to tame them pesky leeches "thanks Jay" !
(http://i68.tinypic.com/30syj3q.jpg)
Good Move.
Nothing worse that warm, decaying, smelly , drunk worms
I purchased two of these babies for the boat also, one for leeches and one for worms.
(http://i67.tinypic.com/1zlxkjs.jpg)
What is it called? I mean brand and product ID... (I know it's a bait container... :o). Where you get it? Nice little container.
Quote from: T-Bone on July 20, 2018, 03:06:31 PM
What is it called? I mean brand and product ID... (I know it's a bait container... :o). Where you get it? Nice little container.
Never mind...I found it...
I think perfect size for Out on the boat for the evening bite.
Frabil leeche Lodge
$6.88 usd at Cabela’s
https://www.cabelas.com/product/FRABILL-WORM-LEECH-LODGE/1751059.uts?slotId=0