10 / 84
April 2017
10
Find Us On Facebook at Boating On The Hudson
I have been picking night crawlers at night all my life. Nothing
makes my backache as much as bending over and trying to grab
a night crawler before it zips back into its hole!
Tomany, goingout inApril, with snowstill under the evergreens,
the peepers peeping, and the air temperature 60 degrees and a
damp night is a ritual not to be missed.
It has taken me a long time to catch on to the most important
part of this activity, but now I have the secret to my aching back.
It is a 6 year old who has not yet caught on to the fact that
snatching night crawlers off the lawn is not fun. The mysteries of
the universe still fill his young mind, and he can easily be talked
into picking night crawlers. It is good for at least and hour of his
time!
He is close to the ground, and, if he is the inquisitive type, a
bond will soon develop between grandpas, the worms and the
light that grandpa is using just in front of the 6 year old. As soon
as he grabs his first night crawler that is half out of his worm hole
he will realize that pulling on the worm to hard will only break it
in half, but grabbing it and holding on to it the wormwill relax an
can be put into the can that grandpa is holding. In this manner
both the 6 year olds hands are working the lawn, your back is not
breaking, and the young man is getting a good lesson in picking
Night Crawlers.
Night crawlers are one of the best baits you can possibly get
for all types of fishing. From large mouth bass, small mouth bass,
sunfish to perch and beyond, night crawlers, especially free night
crawlers are the best.
Picking Night
Crawlers,
(Earthworms)
in April…
at Night
by
John H. Vargo, Publisher
Beside the 6 year old that is really going to do the picking while
you stand up straight and instruct him is a light. The light and
the way you hold it is very important, as to bright and the night
crawler will disappear down his hole before even a 6 year old can
grab it. So holding the flashlight with your fingers over the lens,
which breaks up the direct light, and by casting the light just
ahead of the 6 year olds hands you enable him to see the night
crawler without scaring the worm down the hole before he can
grab it. The night crawler feels vibrations; both from your voice
and your feet stepping on the ground. Training the 6 year old to
this fact makes it much easier for him to see the worm. Another
secret is to walk on the sidewalk and cast the light onto the grass
just in front of the 6 year old. Once he catches his first night
crawler it is game on. How many can he catch and how fast.
Even better is to have another 6 year old competing with
the first one. Now the two of them are totally unaware that
grandpa’s back is being saved by this little con.
Done right, this operation will provide plenty of bait for future
fishing trips. If a large box with black dirt and leaves is kept in a
cool dark place the night crawlers will live a long time.
I can assure you that the 6 year old will never forget the
experience for the rest of his life.