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Larry Case: In the fishing world, the worm has turned (again)

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Consider the lowly earthworm.
 
Time was in some fishing circles, using worms for bait would get you disdainful looks and maybe even a sneer. The hunting, fishing and outdoors world can be just as trendy and fickle as anything in fashion or politics, though, and thankfully for many of us worm-dunkers, spearing a fat nightcrawler on a hook seems to be more in vogue these days.
 
This whole worm defamation thing started many years ago with fly fishermen. They tend to form the obsessive part of the fishing world. (No offense.) This isn't really their fault — it stems from all of the stress fly fishermen are exposed to learning and enduring their sport.
 
You see them spend a lot of time worrying about the tiniest details. They are often seen crawling around in creeks and trout streams, picking up rocks and debris as they seek various insect life. What they are doing is trying to determine what insect activity is going on in the stream to see what the fish might be eating. Fly fishermen call this "matching the hatch," and while this helps them catch fish, it can tend toward infatuation.
 
Add to this the endless hours many fly fishermen spend just learning to cast a dry fly. The lure — a fly on the end of a line — has no weight, so the fisherman must learn to cast the line to get the offering into the water. Accomplishing this calls for all sorts of gyrations with the fly rod, and after a windy day on a brush-choked trout stream, novice fly fishermen are often seen in rural towns looking for the liquor store.
 
Misery loves company, and the end result is sometimes a depressed, haggard individual with strong opinions on how you should fish. It's OK if you fish, he just wants you to fish like he does and suffer some of the same trials and tribulations.
 
Fly fishermen don't use worms for bait, and they don't want you to use them either.
 
The worms, of course, have no real opinion on all of this — that we know of — because they're, well, worms.
 
Earthworms are divided into more than 6,000 species worldwide, with at least 180 of these in the United States and Canada. They're considered beneficial in gardens and most areas because they loosen and aerate the soil. Earthworms breathe through their skin, have no eyes and possess both male and female reproductive organs. Some people find this an awkward fact about earthworms, but I bet it leads to some lively talks around the worms' Thanksgiving table.
 
Having spent a good portion of my wayward youth in pursuit of worms and other live bait, I have no problem stating I am an expert in such matters. Drawing from this vast body of knowledge, let's look at a couple of the popular types of bait worms.
 
Red wigglers are small, dark red worms sometimes known as spring worms because they're more readily available that time of year.
 
Often found under leaves and other debris in moist areas, these worms can be deadly for trout (cover your eyes, fly fishermen) but also are good for pan fish like bluegill and sunfish. I usually toss them in a can when I find them, intending to use them eventually. About two months later, I find the dry, mummy-like remains of these worms and wish I had taken them fishing. (Just FYI, they cannot be reconstituted by adding water.)
 
Nightcrawlers are the kings of the worm world when it comes to fishing bait, which may be a distinction they do not particularly enjoy. They're nocturnal (obviously), so you can hunt them after dark, which I often did when I needed bait for the next day, much to the chagrin of some people in my old neighborhood.
 
Lady of the house at 2 in the morning: "Fred, there's someone in our yard running around with a flashlight, call the police!"
 
Man of the house, groaning: "It's just that Case kid again, Ethel. He'll leave when he gets a can full of nightcrawlers."
 
Nightcrawlers are good bait for about any freshwater fish you can think of, including bluegill, bass, trout, catfish and walleyes. Experienced fishermen know the presentation of the nightcrawler is often important for some finicky eaters like the trout family. (Again, avert your eyes, fly fishermen.)
 
The trick here is to simply run the hook through the crawler only once or twice so the bait may make a natural appearance drifting in the current.
 
When fishing for other species — say catfish or carp — the fisherman may thread the worm on the hook several times and will sometimes use multiple worms. (This is known as a "gob" of worms in fishing terms.)
 
The big idea here, as in all pursuits in the outdoors, is to make it fun. There are worse ways to spend a day than digging a can of red wigglers and going to a good bluegill pond, catfishing with a bucket of nightcrawlers or just stream fishing with worms, not really knowing what you might catch. If you can take a kid with you, all the better.
 
I know you think I was too hard on the fly fishermen out there. I don't mean to be. To tell the truth, I once thought of myself as something of a fly enthusiast, and I still would like to pursue that world when I have time.
 
Fly fishermen are good people and mean well. There ain't nothing wrong with them that a good bucket of worms and a cane pole couldn't fix.
 
"The Trail Less Traveled" is written by Larry Case, who lives in Fayette County, W.Va., has been a devoted outdoorsman all of his life and is a contributing columnist for The Times Free Press. You can write to him at larryocase3@gmail.com.
 
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