There is no question that worms are the best bait for early season fishing. Many of the Cape Breton anglers I have been talking to are reporting a slow start to the fishing season. Most lakes remain ice covered, leaving the mouths of brooks as the only open water available. The water is also very cold, resulting in sluggish trout and difficult fishing.
While garden worms are good bait the king among worms is the night crawler. Night crawlers get their name from their habit of crawling on the surface of the ground at night. Another common name for them is dew worms, referring to the fact they commonly appear when the ground is moist with dew or rain. This spring finding a supply of worms may be as difficult as catching some trout. The store I was in told me they import worms from Quebec to meet the demands of early season anglers.
However, the weather will soon warm up and with it the annual nighttime search for night crawlers. Night crawlers are large worms measuring up to 10 inches in length. The dark coloured end is the head where the brain is located and the tail end of the worm is flattened in shape and lighter in colour.
While the surface of the worm feels smooth it is actually covered with many tiny bristles. These allow the worm to move and also help to anchor it. If you have ever tried to pull a night crawler out of the ground you know how tightly they can hold on. Although worms have no ears, they are very sensitive to vibrations in the soil. Try walking up to one and see how quickly they can move. Since worms have no lungs they must absorb oxygen directly through their moist skin. If a worm dries out it dies.
While you wouldn’t think trout would encounter earth worms that often, in reality they can make up an important part of their diet when rain and high water flush worms out of the ground and into brooks and rivers. There they are eaten by eager trout.
While we are familiar with using earth worms as bait there are also a variety of aquatic worms which also make up an important part of the trout diet. These aquatic worms live in sand or silt in lakes or streams and most are fairly small, less than an inch in length and can range in colour from bright red to brown or green.
Tight Lines.
Tip of the week:
Fly anglers have a variety of fly patterns available that were designed to imitate worms and one of the most popular is the San Juan Worm. Your fly can be as simple as a piece or red, brown or green yarn tied on the hook and secured with a wire rib.
Cape Breton native Don MacLean is a fisheries biologist and a resident of Pictou. He writes on sportfishing for a variety of publications. You can reach him at [email protected].