worm storage advice needed

[avonmagic]

Hello forum, this is my first thread as i have only just found this top web site.
I am looking for some advice on keeping my worms fresh. if i dig or buy some lug or mud ragworm the day before i go fishing, whats best to keep them in over night ? i have a couple of large containers with lids, just wondering what to add with the worms to stop them going mushy. all advice appreciated.
just getting back into my fishing and looking forward to some flatty fishing around swansea and pembroke this winter.

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Welcome to the fishing forum

Well depends on how may you have ?

If under a 1lb then I would just grab a hand full and wrap ( fold) in newspaper and repeat this way any dead ones do not effect the others and seems to work for me but Im sure someone of the other will have a few tips

[Charter Skipper]

Secret to keepin bait is cool and remove the dead ones....

Keep the worms cool,this minimises activity and water loss,lugworn should be individually layered in sheets of newspaper.Place a worm on the paper at 1" intervals,and cover with another sheet.Repeat this till they are all stored nicely and place in the fridge.Check daily,and remove any dead of mushy ones.Ragworm are best stored in sea peat ,and also in a cool fridge !,remove dead one regularly.Change the newspaer at regular intervals,dont let it get soaking wet...dont tell the wife they are in the fridge and.......they should keep for days like this......

[avonmagic]

i hope this doesn't sound a stupid question, but how do i spot the dead lug worm?

[Charter Skipper]

I hope this doesn`t sound like a stupid reply ..!!!,they look dead !!.

No but seriously,the dead one`s go like jelly,and if your gently prod a lug it will tense op,dying one`s tend not to.Also if you gently drop a lug onto a surface when baiting up it will tense up and it makes it much easier to threadthem onto the hook.

[Old Smoothound]

Some good advice there.

For "Maddies" wrap them in newspaper with the inner paper dampened with fresh sea water. They will be better the day after being dug if kept in a cool fridge, as they tend to toughen up a bit and don't fly off the hook so easily.

With Rag worm you must change the newspaper every day or they will start to go off pretty soon. Again keep them in a cat litter tray with fresh sea peat is probably the best way.

For Blow Lug, the same applies except you can keep them for longer if you place them in a cat litter tray with just enough fresh sea water to come halfway up the side of the worm. Do not completely submerge them.
Put the tray into a cool fridge.

Change the water with fresh sea water once a day and you can keep them for about a week.

It is very important to take out the dead ones each day.

One other bit of advice, look after your worms when out fishing, as they can soon deteriorate if in direct sunlight, chill winds and freezing conditions.

I hope this helps.

[cod head]

make sure there is no blood in the water,
as this will also kill the worms

[FlyingFox]

First of all welcome to the forum mate!!

just dragged this up from an old post of mine but it may give you a bit of help for the future...if needed.



I normally keep my lug worms in a tray with just enough water to cover them over...not to much! normaly try and change it every day but i dont keep them for long so not sure what the outcome would be if say i done this over a four five day period!

if you talking king rag...not sure how they come packed your way but i keep mine in sea peet! ....they keep for ages in the stuff just like you say you just have to keep an eye on em and check you take the split gutted or dead ones out! try and keep a layer of old news paper under the peet and spray a lil fresh sea water over em to dampen them a bit but not drench em!

if your talking about white rag then again store in water...not to deep in tray and try to take the injured or dead out every day and regular water changes are good!

Redrag or maddies i keep in clumps of damp weed! not soaking but just enough to keep the worms damp! just dip the weed in fresh sea water every other day to give it a rinse and wring it out and take damaged or dead worms out and you could probably keep em for quite some time!!

all stored in a fridge not set to cold!

hope some of that is helpfull to ya.....but there are millions of different views on this so good luck with what ever route you decide to take

Ollie.

[big guy]

if it's just over night then wrap the lug in 20's in newspaper and stick em in the fridge.
for long you have to tray them (cat litter trays) with just enough water to cover them. change the water everyday and take out the blown ones. i can keep commons for up to 2 weeks if needed.

as for the mud rag, for over night lay news paper on the bottom of an ice cream tub, dampen it, put the lid with holes on. this will hold 1000 worms easy. for longer you have to tray them similar to lug but with less water, so it 1/2 - 3/4 covers them. lay a newspaper over the top, coz they do escape if left un covered. one tray will take 400- 500 worms for about a week.

[avonmagic]

thanks for all the tips guys, going digging tommorrow for a fishing trip sunday.I now know how to keep em' fresh. look out you flatties!