statesquider 0 Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 HeyI'm thinking of setting up a worm farm or two at home in the hope of breeding myself some freshwater/marine bait. Can anyone suggest what worms would be best to use for any kind of bait? I understand that is very broad but I never use them for anything so I'm not sure of what to use. I suppose I could be using them on carp and callop for a start but I'm not sure on marine species that may also consume them. Was thinking of tiger worms and i've heard talk of scrub worms too...Any suggestions? Cheers Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Softy 2,991 Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 Back in the days when i use to fish fresh water, we use to use tiger worms 95% of the time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tonyb 1,017 Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 I was gifted a free composting bin which I filled up with lawn clippings and horse poo, both of these also as freebies.Now comes the investment, you can buy a few thousand tiger worms for between 15 to 30 bucks but its a one off cost (shop around as the bunnings charge twice as much as some of the smaller operators) I'm never short of bait worms now ;)Good for feeding my pet fish as well Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ranger 48 Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Just go to the tacklestore and buy a coupla tubs of worms to get you started......it's much cheaper! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Ciaravolo 34 Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Tiger worms are the way to go for year round easy bait and are the only worms you can effectively farm. They are good for reddies and callop as well as whiting and even bream. Earth and Scrub worms are much, much, much, much better freshwater bait but you cannot easily farm them.Scrubbies must be dug from the hills and can be found near rocks and watercourses; they are temperature sensitive and impossible to farm.If you want to have earthworms on hand you can achieve this at home but it takes a little work...-The first thing to remember is recruitment must be natural and tigerworms must not be present in the area.-A section of yard is much better than a container for earth worms, as they are mobile and temperature sensitive-You must not feed them uncomposted material they will leave the area if you do, if they are trapped they will die.-To attract earthworms keep an area of soil moist at all times and cover with carpet.-Keep the area shaded.-Some nutrient in the form of decomposted cow manure may be added but only in very small ammounts, say twice a year.-A very small amount of grass clipping is okay, but only a handful-Turn the soil with a fork to loosen it occasionally-KEEP IT WETThat is all you can do but if you keep it going, over time big fat worms up to 15cm long will colonise the area. Never over harvest because it takes a long time for small worms to repopulate.This works for me and I always have earth worms when I need them, but as they are top draw bait I only use them when I NEED to. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shark_Fisho 1 Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Tiger worms are gd use a polystiren box or a plastic bin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
statesquider 0 Posted July 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Thanks guys, Some great replies there, I think I'll stick with the Tigers then I definitely wont be hammering them much as I don't fish all that often. Its mainly a money saver as I have the space and I'm trying to cut down how much money I spend on bait.Sat down a while back and worked out how much money goes into ice and bait and I'm trying to make it as cheap as is physically possible. Also gives me more money to blow on real gear!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
coonta kinta 1 Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 SS, I hear ya loud n clear on the dollar saving schemes So can I suggest a couple of things to help you through it. I too farm my worms, although I generally have to re-establish them every year as the hotest part of summer kills them for me. The area I keep them is shaded at all times, but also has little in the way of air flow and this is where I have a problem I think. Anyway, with these worms I go n catch carp of many different sizes. As well as providing good sport on appropriate tackle, they also make great bait, berley, & fertliser. I use mine minced or as frames for berley. The fillets are turned into bait for almost everything at different times as well as for crabs.As far as ice goes, save all your large fruit juice bottles. Fill these and take them out with you in your esky. They will chill the water to a point that it is much like that of a slurry. I havent yet tested the water temp, but I can vouch for it being bloody cold. The beauty of this also is that at the end of the day u just put the bottles back in the freezer and they are ready for the next trip. Milk cartons & large margarine containers are also good. I used to fill these with water and then smash the blocks with a hammer for smaller chunks.Hope the above is of some help to you mate as Like you I'd rather be spending my money on toys than on the incidentals.Oh, one last thing, get yourself a mincer. Save ALL your fish scraps and at christmas time go collect all the prawn heads. And if u dont already have a suitable freezer separate from the houshold one.......GET ONE! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
statesquider 0 Posted July 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Hahaha I've been onto this money saving idea for a while so I've already come up with all of those ideas I saved up and bought a 150L chest freezer for my fish and fish frames. I now keep absolutely everything for burley and bait. The freezer also contains 4 2L cordial bottles and 12 600mL coke bottles as you suggested for the esky so I don't have to buy ice anymore. I am still keen to get some sheets of techni-ice for he esky too. The bottles work brilliantly in the esky and I'm saving at least $5-$10 every time I go fishing now which is always cool.I fish the torrens more often than anything else so I do always have a stock of carp in the freezer and they are brilliant fun on light gear. I haven't been much recently but I'm going to make it a fortnightly thing as I love it and its a nice spot to chill out on a sunday.One thing I do definitely need is a mincer! I haven't got around to ordering one yet as I'm not sure on a shop I can get one from. I'm in the process of making a fish processing table with a sink and a mincer bolted on. At the moment I just cut the fish parts up as small as i can for my burley.The sink I have had an insinkerator in it but has since been removed as it was broken but I don't know if you can still get them or if they work on fish carcasses.So in my money saving scheme I have cut everything I can, so now all I think I need to do is grow my own worms and gents.. But i'm not to sure on gents. I've never bothered in collecting my own cockles before but I'd like to in the near future. I try to use other baits though as the cockles are under a lot of pressure enough as it is.If anyone can think of anything else I can do then please don't hesitate to let me know Cheers Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Ian 0 Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 you can collect bloodworms when they run next month, better by boat but can be done from shore as the first time I did it, it was from the shore and I got over 2000 worms on two outings.but now just do it from the boat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aarron 29 Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 So in my money saving scheme I have cut everything I can, so now all I think I need to do is grow my own worms and gents.. But i'm not to sure on gents. I've never bothered in collecting my own cockles before but I'd like to in the near future. I try to use other baits though as the cockles are under a lot of pressure enough as it is.Keep me in a job Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tonyb 1,017 Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Ranger wrote:Just go to the tacklestore and buy a coupla tubs of worms to get you started......it's much cheaper!Gotta disagree with you on this one Ranger, about 6 bucks for 4 or 5 dozen worms in the tackle store and for 15 bucks you can get a thousand with careful shopping around, albeit very small for breeding purposes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
statesquider 0 Posted July 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 I support my tackle stores enough with all the tackle I purchase I'd have to spend at least $1000 a year without reels or rods, but I wouldn't change a thing if I had more money I'd spend more. If I could stop losing gear I'd save so much money each year but who am I kidding I'd find a way to spend it anyway...How do you store bloodworms? Just trying to work out how you keep them for a long period of time. At the moment I'm looking for long term keeping of bait so its there when I need it. I'd like to breed gents but it's easier to buy them and they last a while in the fridge anyway. But i'm going to collect my own cockles. Last lot I bought down Yorkes was $18 for a miserable bag... For the time being I use squid tentacles work a treat and stay on the hook really well Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Ian 0 Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 you store bloodworms in the freezer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ranger 48 Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Gotta disagree with you on this one Ranger, about 6 bucks for 4 or 5 dozen wormsIsn't there meant to be 300 in a tub? If not, definately don't listen to me!If anyone can think of anything else I can do then please don't hesitate to let me knowWander the mangroves at low tide and pick up all my snagged lures! At over $20 a throw you're gonna save a fortune! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
statesquider 0 Posted July 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 I've never found lures before... When I dive I find squid jags but I still never find as many as I lose and I never find expensive ones either :(Ah so bloodworms can be frozen! I might hae to give them a sniff What species do you target with them? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ranger 48 Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Whiting luv em, and Bream find em pretty tasty too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pellipeeli11 0 Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Gidday Statesquidder Get a brocolli box and half fill it with washed horse dung( Make sure to wash it good because if the horse owner has wormed his horse its goodnite worms) and or cow/sheep etc put in the worms and feed them with pollard (from the grain store) cost about $3 per year ,cover with bags,carpet or old underlay,even news papers. feed every 2 days as worms eat their own body weight every days, :ohmy: then every two to three weeks put another layer of dung about 50mm thick and feed only at one end of the box untill the worms migrate to that end,now clean out the castings from the other end onto the garden and start again keep the box in the shed or on the verandah in the shade, VOILA fresh bait.NOTE if you dont keep adding dung the worms will get skinny from pushing thru the castings.African nite crawlers are great worms for natives in freshwater and also excellent for snapper,unfortunatly they are best kept at 27 degrees c so can be fiddly to keep long term.the best and easyest to keep are indian red worms and better to catch natives than tigers as tigers have a bitter juice/ dont ask me how i know this cause i aint saying Cheers peelipeeli14 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tonyb 1,017 Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 aarron wrote: So in my money saving scheme I have cut everything I can, so now all I think I need to do is grow my own worms and gents.. But i'm not to sure on gents. I've never bothered in collecting my own cockles before but I'd like to in the near future. I try to use other baits though as the cockles are under a lot of pressure enough as it is.Keep me in a job I'm with you AArron, kick all these "tight wads" off your site mate Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pescados 1 Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 Says Coonta: I too farm my worms, although I generally have to re-establish them every year as the hotest part of summer kills them for me.----------I have had that happen to me as well but generally when temp is over 40 deg for days.Last lot I bought the guy told me that when it is hot, take the top of the worm farm and that will help.However make sure you put the top back on before dark otherwise you won't have any next day.I will try to keep some in an ice cream container with lid on in laundry next summer to see how goes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarsOne 137 Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 semi-related to the topic....Was at a mates place this arvo... where he (being the slack bastard he is) had left an old esky outside since a summer squidding trip.This was full of water.... and there a few worms moving around down the bottom. I thought this was interesting... Will make a prime bait down the track. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pellipeeli11 0 Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 gidday pescados mate dont put a lid on the worms/ice cream container,just cover the manure with some hessian,or wet news paper,or wet towels,or old carpet ,or underlay feed the worms a bit of pollard or bran every few days they wont leave home,keep them inside,when you go fishing they will be that good you will have to hide behind a tree to bait up or the fish will be jumping out the water, Cheers mate peelipeeli14 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rodstar 0 Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 i bought worms last weekend, very expensive $6.50! it said 70 worms on the lid, i recon there was only half that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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