Baitworms

Hi Savagelip,We are still working on our baitworm culture research, unfortunately setbacks get thrown at us and these things take time to get around/over.We are currently on hold awaiting the outcome of a request to change details of our next 'chunk' of research funds.We are hoping to get back into the full swing of things by mid next year, the plans are still the same just the timeframe that has shifted.Latest news is that we have had talks with an industry partner interested in culturing our worms as part of a waste mitigation initiative on their abalone farm.All is still good on the baitworm culture front just not going as fast as we would have hoped.Sam

Hi Savagelip,We are still working on our baitworm culture research, unfortunately setbacks get thrown at us and these things take time to get around/over.We are currently on hold awaiting the outcome of a request to change details of our next 'chunk' of research funds.We are hoping to get back into the full swing of things by mid next year, the plans are still the same just the timeframe that has shifted.Latest news is that we have had talks with an industry partner interested in culturing our worms as part of a waste mitigation initiative on their abalone farm.All is still good on the baitworm culture front just not going as fast as we would have hoped.Sam

Hi Savagelip,We are still working on our baitworm culture research, unfortunately setbacks get thrown at us and these things take time to get around/over.We are currently on hold awaiting the outcome of a request to change details of our next 'chunk' of research funds.We are hoping to get back into the full swing of things by mid next year, the plans are still the same just the timeframe that has shifted.Latest news is that we have had talks with an industry partner interested in culturing our worms as part of a waste mitigation initiative on their abalone farm.All is still good on the baitworm culture front just not going as fast as we would have hoped.Sam

Hi Savagelip,We are still working on our baitworm culture research, unfortunately setbacks get thrown at us and these things take time to get around/over.We are currently on hold awaiting the outcome of a request to change details of our next 'chunk' of research funds.We are hoping to get back into the full swing of things by mid next year, the plans are still the same just the timeframe that has shifted.Latest news is that we have had talks with an industry partner interested in culturing our worms as part of a waste mitigation initiative on their abalone farm.All is still good on the baitworm culture front just not going as fast as we would have hoped.Sam

Hi Savagelip,We are still working on our baitworm culture research, unfortunately setbacks get thrown at us and these things take time to get around/over.We are currently on hold awaiting the outcome of a request to change details of our next 'chunk' of research funds.We are hoping to get back into the full swing of things by mid next year, the plans are still the same just the timeframe that has shifted.Latest news is that we have had talks with an industry partner interested in culturing our worms as part of a waste mitigation initiative on their abalone farm.All is still good on the baitworm culture front just not going as fast as we would have hoped.Sam

Hi Savagelip,We are still working on our baitworm culture research, unfortunately setbacks get thrown at us and these things take time to get around/over.We are currently on hold awaiting the outcome of a request to change details of our next 'chunk' of research funds.We are hoping to get back into the full swing of things by mid next year, the plans are still the same just the timeframe that has shifted.Latest news is that we have had talks with an industry partner interested in culturing our worms as part of a waste mitigation initiative on their abalone farm.All is still good on the baitworm culture front just not going as fast as we would have hoped.Sam

Hi all,I am new to this forum but hopefully have something to offer the angling community and something to gain for my research.I have just completed my PhD developing culture protocols for marine baitworms (Flinders University). We can now successfully grow and produce sandworms and have reached the point of planning some market research.We plan to visit jetties and boat ramps later in the year (probably after July) with free samples of our worms which will be handed out in return for the completion of a survey (online or hard copy). The survey will report upon the following: how easy they are to load on hooks, how well they stayed on hook, if they stayed active once on hook, if they are effective, what species are caught (and how many of each species), would you buy these worms, were the worms still alive at the end of the trip, would you have liked more worms than provided with, would you recommend our worms to friends. Have we missed anything??? I am jumping through administrative hoops ATM with ethics applications so it will take a while before we get the go-ahead.I just thought I would throw the idea out there and see what response we might get. Also seeing as we are at the development stage I would like to ask if anyone has any good ideas about how to get feedback on our worms.I look forward to some interesting replies.Sam

Yours are bungum worms' date=' mine are sandworm/centipede worm initially collected from a protected area (a ministerial exemption permit was granted).Common names cause problems the world over. Yours in the photo are [i']Australonuphis[/i] mine are Perinereis but both are segmented marine worms (Annelida) so they are in the same family but different genus.Local anglers used to use my worm (they showed me where to get them) but I don't think they were ever commercially available whereas bungums are.Hope that helps (a bit)

Correct Kelin, they are similar to the ones near West Beach/Outer Harbour but ours don't break they are very robust. I collected the ones you mention early in the piece but they just fell to pieces so we gave that idea away.

Yours are bungum worms' date=' mine are sandworm/centipede worm initially collected from a protected area (a ministerial exemption permit was granted).Common names cause problems the world over. Yours in the photo are [i']Australonuphis[/i] mine are Perinereis but both are segmented marine worms (Annelida) so they are in the same family but different genus.Local anglers used to use my worm (they showed me where to get them) but I don't think they were ever commercially available whereas bungums are.Hope that helps (a bit)

Yeah my point exactly, and a sub-option to indicate where you will use them e.g- Bottom of Yorkes from a Jetty or Nth Metro from the beach. Then your sample size will cover a range of different places and platforms making your experiment a fair test!

Great Idea, I would be very keen.I did read the survey a while ago with interest.http://dspace.flinders.edu.au/xmlui/handle/2328/7289There is a large market for bait worms, but it is mainly a summer fishery and the majority of anglers searching for live worms are using them for yellowfin whiting.Winter fishing is a bit different and most keen anglers will be collecting their own bloowworms during the bloodworm run to freeze up.

Hi Baitworms, welcome to the forum! I love the initiative and couldn't think of a better control groups than the SA fishing forums!I started out fishing with baitworms and they're probably my fave bait for catching anything that swims!I did stop buying them months back due to the expense and sometimes rarity of them, $8-10 for 4 or 5 worms is just too expensive for someone who fishes mainly for food, especially when a block of pilchards can be had for a good price.All that said, i would love to give your baitworms a go and give all the feedback you want; if you guys can make a large enough scale of farming to be competitive, it looks like i might buy them up again someday.Feel free to PM me if you want to collect contact details etc.

Congrats finishing your PhD, now you just have to wait a year or so for your supervisor to sign it off, get it peer reviewed and do your changes etc then finally graduate sometime this decade You'll be signing letters with Dr before you know it :)Exactly which type of worm are you culturing?I only know of bloodworms, tubeworms, bungum worms and seaweed worms....and as far as I am aware you could call all of them 'sandworms'?If you are culturing bungums, I reckon you're onto a winner. And if you can do seaweed worms that's a whole new market. I'm sure Kelvin can help you find some ;)Bungums are gun bait for whiting, but difficulty of collection, lack of supply and hence high price stops people from using them.If they were a decent price/bait and in regular supply they'd probably be used a lot more.The 'go to' bait is still cockles for most people, coz its what they know.But you know all this already from your previous study.I predict your user/potential customer survey will show that the average joe wouldn't have to foggiest on how to use worms effectively, they would then compare them to another bait like cockles, and you won't really gain much from the exercise.Even so, I reckon its a goer and you're going to do well from your venture. Even better that you are a local.

Sam, I can see great benefits for the angling community, hopefully along with another successful SA business enterprise.Live worms make a great bait for a number of species, they can be difficult to obtain, they can be expensive when purchased.A ready supply at a reasonable price would be a great benefit to the angling community.Likewise, if the angling community can be of assistance during the development stage, you would have our full support, with a view towards a successful venture.Congratulations on the PhD, I'd be interested to read your research paper once completed, and if the staff from this website can offer any assistance in regards to networking with the angling community, or with angling advice, don't hesitate to make contact and we'll do whatever we can to assist.....we have numbers, we have contacts, we have exposure, we have local knowledge.If you need numbers for trials and surveys, I feel pretty sure you'll find them here, and I would expect the local anglers would be keen to assist.....Ya can count me in on the trials too! I'd be keen to give em a go on the beaches for Whiting, and in the estuaries for Bream.

If it's good for angling, development, and local enterprise, there is no reason why Strikehook anglers wouldn't be keen to assist and support wholeheartedly!Let us know what you want, when you want it, and lets work together for mutual benefit!

Hi all,I am new to this forum but hopefully have something to offer the angling community and something to gain for my research.I have just completed my PhD developing culture protocols for marine baitworms (Flinders University). We can now successfully grow and produce sandworms and have reached the point of planning some market research.We plan to visit jetties and boat ramps later in the year (probably after July) with free samples of our worms which will be handed out in return for the completion of a survey (online or hard copy). The survey will report upon the following: how easy they are to load on hooks, how well they stayed on hook, if they stayed active once on hook, if they are effective, what species are caught (and how many of each species), would you buy these worms, were the worms still alive at the end of the trip, would you have liked more worms than provided with, would you recommend our worms to friends. Have we missed anything??? I am jumping through administrative hoops ATM with ethics applications so it will take a while before we get the go-ahead.I just thought I would throw the idea out there and see what response we might get. Also seeing as we are at the development stage I would like to ask if anyone has any good ideas about how to get feedback on our worms.I look forward to some interesting replies.Sam

Sounds like a great idea ,if it works well you could start a whole new industry .

I'll be happy to give em' a shot from the beach! :)

Hi all,I am new to this forum but hopefully have something to offer the angling community and something to gain for my research.I have just completed my PhD developing culture protocols for marine baitworms (Flinders University). We can now successfully grow and produce sandworms and have reached the point of planning some market research.We plan to visit jetties and boat ramps later in the year (probably after July) with free samples of our worms which will be handed out in return for the completion of a survey (online or hard copy). The survey will report upon the following: how easy they are to load on hooks, how well they stayed on hook, if they stayed active once on hook, if they are effective, what species are caught (and how many of each species), would you buy these worms, were the worms still alive at the end of the trip, would you have liked more worms than provided with, would you recommend our worms to friends. Have we missed anything??? I am jumping through administrative hoops ATM with ethics applications so it will take a while before we get the go-ahead.I just thought I would throw the idea out there and see what response we might get. Also seeing as we are at the development stage I would like to ask if anyone has any good ideas about how to get feedback on our worms.I look forward to some interesting replies.Sam

Thanks for that.Glad I tried this approach before we get the go-ahead, by incorporating your suggestions we can get much more meaningful feedback.Great suggestions, fully agree, hadn't thought of that aspect (not being a fisherman!!!).I think using the forums is going to be the best approach as the feedback in the last hour has shown.Thanks again

Theres no point handing a specialised bait to the average mum and dad fisho on a jetty. For a start they need to be fished on long shank hooks and be fished in the shallows where there are often small gutters that hold yellowfin whiting, bream and mullet.If you give these to the average fisho, you will not get an accurate picture of how the worms compare to freshly caught worms in which experienced anglers dig up themselves, because these average fisho's would probably of not of even used worms as bait before, are fishing in the wrong locations and using incorrect gear.I agree that you need to somehow gather a test group from here or dare I say it Fish SA (THE OTHER online forum) so you can really get some decisive and accurate feedback.I would also recommend that the anglers that do the testing be experienced with using worms.I would also like to say that I think there is HUGE potential to sell these as bait to almost every tackle shop! If they are sold at an equivalent price to tube worms they will compete very well.

reckon youd be better to give out to different fishers on here,save travel,save searching for regulars.you'd get all bases covered right herebeachjettyboatcfri'll try them as a boat fisher