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Bloodworms for Bloodworm


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Headed out to "Moonta North" on Tuesday evening with my trusty deckie, three days after the New Moon to see if the bloods were running and to check out the new lights on the boat.

Launched a few hours before dark to sus out the spot and then moved out about 5kms for a little fishing till sunset. Did not expect to catch anything due to the timing of the Bloodworm run but what else do you do apart from look at the stunning scenery from the wind farms to the start of the Flinders Ranges. Expected to catch a few squid but surprise, surprise George decided to come to the party and had enough for a feed before we had to head off.

Moved back to spot x and sat around chatting and adding layers of clothes until about an hour after high tide before switching on the lights.

We had some severe reservations about being out worming this night because there were ZERO boats out apart from a pro that was out wide. Do the locals know something we don't???? Are there no worms to be had on this perfect June night?????

 

 

Bloodworm17 004.JPG No butterflies here.

 

Soon after turning on the lights we were again stunned by how alive the water was with small fast worms (I don't know what they are) and before long the first Bloodworm appeared out of the darkness. About 2 hours later we had about 4 litres of worms. We were allowed 8 litres but 4 was plenty and wanted to get back home by 2 am to get a few hours sleep

 

I will finish this report when I reduce the size of the pic files and let you know how we got on with the preserving and storage. Stay tuned.

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Thanks for that Barney, it was a reasonable run. We were very happy and who knows what the weather will be like on those few days in July and August.

Back to the report and a few pics.

We had a few delays on the way back with masses of weed blocking the intake causing some over heating as well as covering the sounder so it was a slow trip back to the ramp. What ramp???? For a new facility it was disappointing that there were no lights on or operating on the night we came back in. Nearly crashed into the break wall at the entrance. Note: remember to take the spot light next time. Backing the trailer was not that easy in pitch black and the reversing light on the trailer.

 

Bloodworm17 009 (1024x768).jpg

 

Bloodworm17 011 (1024x768).jpgBloodworm17 012 (1024x768).jpg

 

Decided to change my method of preserving as just drying them needed salt for thawing otherwise they just go very soft and mushy.

Thanks to Panga for your input as I had lost my notes from previous threads.

 

50:50 Seawater and Metho

 

Bloodworm17 014 (1024x768).jpgBloodworm17 017 (1024x768).jpg

 

100% Metho for one minute

Bloodworm17 018 (1024x768).jpg

 

I can hardly wait to try them out and compare the two methods out soon. I had a thought to put Tuna oil in some of the packets before freezing but time ran out. Would like anyone's thoughts about adding oil. 

 

That's all Folks, good fishing.

Bloodworm17 022 (1024x768).jpg

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Interested to know how both methods perform after being frozen for a while.

 

My only though regarding tuna oil: Bloodworms are quite a 'clean' bait, in that your fingers dont get too messy from using them and they dont smell too bad. Adding tuna oil, it's going to end up on your hands and fishing gear. Not that i mind the smell of tuna oil, it just gets everywhere!

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No point in adding oil when freezing. Just dip into oil when your ready to use or even aniseed. Can even soak the bloods awhile in oil or aniseed before using. Personally I don't bother with either anymore. If the bloods don't work then I change the bait to something else that does. I prefer to use salted tube worms with the bloods as a back up bait although still enjoy getting bloods during the runs.

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No point in adding oil when freezing. Just dip into oil when your ready to use or even aniseed. Can even soak the bloods awhile in oil or aniseed before using. Personally I don't bother with either anymore. If the bloods don't work then I change the bait to something else that does. I prefer to use salted tube worms with the bloods as a back up bait although still enjoy getting bloods during the runs.

I would prefer also to just use them el'natural and agree tubies are better bait.

 

The reason for adding the oil was to be able to eliminate all the air out of the bag before zip sealing. I checked the bags today and there was air and ice in the bags. I have heard that vacuum packing the fresh worms is too rough on them but I think that was worms that had been just dried on paper.

 

I use Bloodworms for YFW, KGW and Bream. Plenty of other species like them too like Mullet, Tommies, ST and of course Mulloway. 

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No point in adding oil when freezing. Just dip into oil when your ready to use or even aniseed. Can even soak the bloods awhile in oil or aniseed before using. Personally I don't bother with either anymore. If the bloods don't work then I change the bait to something else that does. I prefer to use salted tube worms with the bloods as a back up bait although still enjoy getting bloods during the runs.

I would prefer also to just use them el'natural and agree tubies are better bait.

 

The reason for adding the oil was to be able to eliminate all the air out of the bag before zip sealing. I checked the bags today and there was air and ice in the bags. I have heard that vacuum packing the fresh worms is too rough on them but I think that was worms that had been just dried on paper.

 

I use Bloodworms for YFW, KGW and Bream. Plenty of other species like them too like Mullet, Tommies, ST and of course Mulloway. 

 

Yeh, vacuum packing can be harsh on them & not worth the time & effort. What size zip bags are you using?. I only pack about 75grams in a small zip lock bag (100 x 75mm approx) & squeeze out as much air & water as possible. My reasoning for a small bag is that you take out one bag at at time when fishing and the other bags stay in your esky frozen other wise they go sloppy if too many are taken out to defrost. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

good work mate and great too see ya back on ol salty ;)  never had any success in june before i recon this month will be full on over there this year ;) .. metho firms them up but fresh is best i tryed something different  last year froze alive as normal then defrosted in a small tub of sea water def keeps them firmer and no metho flavor ;)

 

will get over ur way soon mate and catch up for a froffy or coffee B)

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Took some of the Metho treated worms out yesterday for a try on the Tingas.

Although I did not catch any on the worm I was pleased with the way they presented.

They thawed out without going soft and mushy, almost like fresh ones.

 

 

Bloodworm, when you are defrosting the natural worms, either use paper towel or dry beach sand. That will suck up the juices and will be perfect to use :)

 

David

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Took some of the Metho treated worms out yesterday for a try on the Tingas.

Although I did not catch any on the worm I was pleased with the way they presented.

They thawed out without going soft and mushy, almost like fresh ones.

 

 

Bloodworm, when you are defrosting the natural worms, either use paper towel or dry beach sand. That will suck up the juices and will be perfect to use :)

 

David

 

David, I have always thawed my natural worms on a bed of salt or put salt in the bag before hitting the beach for YFW. Just trying a different method but find salt the bees knees.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got 2 friends to crew and I hope they are fit because if the worms are running they will need to be. Last year Joy and Lofty were sweating and down to shorts and tee shirts :excited: Would be better to have 4 as crew but that's life, same as last year. Weather looks unreal under 4 knots from the west by 8-30 pm, outgoing tide and moons great.

Looking forward to worming and a laugh out on the :boat:

Will put up photos (if I remember to take the camera)

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  • 2 years later...

My negative fishing experiences with contaminates like sunscreen and petrol on my hands have shapeD they way I look at metho soaked baits

 

and my experiences with the salting down of fish flesh have me wondering why guys use metho

 

have you tried just putting the worms in a bag full of salt and draining the juice after a couple of days

 

this method turns fish flesh, to some where between fresh and jerky, with no metho required - and it lasts forever 

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11 hours ago, yellow door 1 said:

My negative fishing experiences with contaminates like sunscreen and petrol on my hands have shapeD they way I look at metho soaked baits

 

and my experiences with the salting down of fish flesh have me wondering why guys use metho

 

have you tried just putting the worms in a bag full of salt and draining the juice after a couple of days

 

this method turns fish flesh, to some where between fresh and jerky, with no metho required - and it lasts forever 

I just dry in newspaper until they start to bleed, then straight into bags and the freezer. When I defrost, I just put some paper towel in the bag to ensure they don't go soggy - works a treat :)

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