Temp and Salinity sensitive. I remember worm we caught in tidepools for Perch fishing they had big teeth and beaks. I was going to guess leech but figured that is wrong
Spiritof27 wrote:
And Mike, I don't think they keep very well, they're salt water critters and don't do well away from that environment, although they are worms, so they're a little bit hardy. Kinda like shrimp, how do you keep shrimp alive once they're out of the ocean? You need some awful complicated and big equipment.
We used to buy them in the holiday towns, they keep them in damp sand. To get them ourselves would have a bait pump and find softer sand at low tide. We kept them in hessian and weed. Would last a couple of days
Wv mike wrote:
What is this guy. Would anything bite on it. Will it bite. Wonder if they are a market for them. How would you keep them.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you are planning on using sand worms for bait this summer, you may want to have a backup plan. Many tackle shops in the Northeast have had difficulties acquiring quality ones this year.
Sand worms, which are typically 6 to 8 inches long, are known to be excellent bait for striped bass and flounder. These worms are in high demand during saltwater fishing season, with some bait shops estimating they account for around 30% of total bait sold during the summer months.
Commercial sand worm harvest is concentrated in Down East Maine. Diggers labor strenuously to harvest the worms, which can only be dug during low tides on certain mudflats. In optimal conditions, a few hours of work can result in a couple hundred dollars of income for a digger. This part-time work was once a solid source of income for many in Maine, but lax regulations and years of high demand have led to overharvesting.
According to the Maine Department of Marine Resources, around 255,000 pounds of sandworms were harvested in 2013, compared to the roughly 950,000 pounds harvested back in 1973.
While demand outpacing the supply has caused a shortage of sand worms, the reason for a decline in sandworm quality is tougher to explain. (Many shops have described them as being too mushy, falling apart when touched and almost liquefying in their containers.)
Please click on link for additional information. Thank you.
https://www.onthewater.com/sandworm-supply-woes*
As I said before, I've had pretty good luck with Berkley's artificials. Not nearly as hard to come by and you can store em in your tackle box. I don't work for Berkley, just know that they work and they're a lot less hassle. They also make artificial sand crabs that the perch seem to like about as well as the real thing. Same benefits as the worms. Fish seem to like Gulp for some reason, probably because Berkley has spent millions on research and development. It should probably be illegal for trout.
Wv mike wrote:
What is this guy. Would anything bite on it. Will it bite. Wonder if they are a market for them. How would you keep them.
Blood worm and yes it will bite you and it is painful.
Sandworm, use for winter flounder, fluke,also will catch porgies and Seabass but not the preferred choice. Big ones are excellent for Stripers,with the tube and worm rig. After they bit me the first time (approx.8yrs old) I have enjoyed threading them on a hook,face first. "Here bite on this you little bass turd".
A show on the history channel (I think, might have been NatGeo) used to feature unusual jobs, mushroom hunters, ginseng hunters and sand worm gathering. Think I would have to.opt for the "dry land" jobs. Wading in that yucky sand/mud mix, seems like a rather poor risk/reward job, not to mention tiring... like picking cotton in near-quicksand.... guess someone has to do it......glad it's not me.
should be an artificial that looks close.....
Sand worms, blood worms and pile worms - all very similar and they all will bite you, with the pile worms ( what we called em ) from the Chesapeake Bay Area being the largest and nastiest as far as biting is concerned. Stripers love em. They look kinda like salt water centipedes.
Thats a blood worm. You can find them under rocks near the water. Great striper bait
Larry M
Loc: North Clairmount, San Diego
I used to dig for sand worms as a kid.
I haven't been able to find them for awhile. But I haven't been trying that hard to find them.
The way that I dug for them was to use a short folding army shovel.
I started by digging a hole about a foot or less deep, then start to shave the edge with the shovel gently. The worm would be partially exposed. I would then grab the worm and loosen the sand with the shovel so not to damage it.
When putting them on the hook I would take a knife and touch their head. When that nasty claw thing came out I would cut it off.
Sand worms and blood worms are two different worms here.
In Florida now. In NJ I used them a lot. I would hold the worm in one hand and the hook in the other. I'd wait for the mouth to open with the fangs and insert the hook then. This way all the natural juices were dispersed in the water where the fish could smell it rather than waste in onshore. With the blood worm you could see the blood rush toward the head and knew about when the head would open
JimRed
Loc: Coastal New Jersey, Belmar area
Bloodworm? Sand worms are usually a more tan color.
The grape or purple twister tale is a force to be reconded with. Tell em coon.
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