Nightcrawlers 2024
Lord Castlereagh reply :
When fishing nightcrawlers, what is the technique? Slowly drag the bottom like a wacky rig?
Thanks
Glaucus reply :
You're slow dragging a wacky rig on the bottom?
Lord Castlereagh reply :
On 5/10/2018 at 4:28 AM, Glaucus said:You're slow dragging a wacky rig on the bottom?
Well, I let it hit bottom and then pop it off the bottom, let it drop, pop it, etc.
optimator reply :
For bass? No way man. That's a great way to have a hook swallowed. I only use nightcrawlers for fish I intend to kill.
Lord Castlereagh reply :
On 5/10/2018 at 5:51 AM, optimator said:For bass? No way man. That's a great way to have a hook swallowed. I only use nightcrawlers for fish I intend to kill.
I eat a LOT of the bass that I catch. So, what is the best way to use nightcrawlers to catch bass.
Thanks, all...
optimator reply :
On 5/10/2018 at 6:04 AM, Lord Castlereagh said:I eat a LOT of the bass that I catch. So, what is the best way to use nightcrawlers to catch bass.
Thanks, all...
I couldn't tell you then. I do my best not to kill them.
soflabasser reply :
Nothing wrong with using a nightcrawler if its legal in your state, you have a freshwater fishing license, and plan on eating a bass. With that said a split shot a couple inches away from the hook is a good rig for live nightcrawlers. You can leave it on the bottom and wait or slowly reel it in and catch bass.The bass will not always bite a nightcrawler "instantly" like some think and you might have to fish it for a while before you catch a quality sized bass( there would be no need for lures if nightcrawlers where a 100% guarantee to catch a quality bass on every single fishing trip).
WRB reply :
Fly lined big Canadian crawler with no weight tail hooked or hooked ounce in front of the egg sack band with size 1 octopus style circle hook.
Cast and watch the V in the line slowly sinks cuts the water, that is your strike indicator, it will stop or jump before the line starts to move off...starting reeling. Bass strike a live nightcrawler instantly, no reason to drag it along the bottom, let sit for a few seconds and recast.
Tom
burrows reply :
You can hook it like a drop shot suspended.
papajoe222 reply :
About the only way I've ever fished crawlers for bass is on a split-shot rig anywhere from 12in.-18in. above the hook.
If you're gut hooking fish it's because you're not concentrating. It can happen with nightcrawlers, Senkos, tubes and plastic worms too.
Darren. reply :
I've used nightcrawlers like @papajoe222, as well as
wacky rigged (doesn't exactly work well), and on the
drop shot as @Burros mentioned.
Have to agree that vigilance is critical. I like to use
bright yellow braid + leader at all times and it really
helps line watching.
@Fish Chris has caught unbelievable numbers of bass
over 10 pounds on live crawlers. I can't find the thread
where he discusses it...and I wish he were back on the
forums!!
Bluebasser86 reply :
I used them a lot when I was a kid and had a great place to catch my own crawlers after big rains. Weightless on 4lb test and a light action rod with a small hook passed once through the tail is hard for a bass, or any fish really, to pass up. Watch for your line to twitch and set the hook by reeling into the pressure and lifting.
Lord Castlereagh reply :
On 5/10/2018 at 6:41 AM, soflabasser said:Nothing wrong with using a nightcrawler if its legal in your state, you have a freshwater fishing license, and plan on eating a bass. With that said a split shot a couple inches away from the hook is a good rig for live nightcrawlers. You can leave it on the bottom and wait or slowly reel it in and catch bass.The bass will not always bite a nightcrawler "instantly" like some think and you might have to fish it for a while before you catch a quality sized bass( there would be no need for lures if nightcrawlers where a 100% guarantee to catch a quality bass on every single fishing trip).
Are there states where it is NOT legal? And why? Very curious about that.
Thanks
On 5/10/2018 at 6:55 AM, WRB said:
On 5/10/2018 at 6:55 AM, WRB said:Fly lined big Canadian crawler with no weight tail hooked or hooked ounce in front of the egg sack band with size 1 octopus style circle hook.
Cast and watch the V in the line slowly sinks cuts the water, that is your strike indicator, it will stop or jump before the line starts to move off...starting reeling. Bass strike a live nightcrawler instantly, no reason to drag it along the bottom, let sit for a few seconds and recast.
Tom
Hi, Tom:
LOVE your replies to all my stuff, and you seem to be QUITE knowledgeable, but... I can't make out all that you wrote above.
You're saying I should "fly line" it? What is that? I'll google it here in a minute, and I probably should have googled it before responding, but oh well.
I should hook it through the tail and use no weight, OR I can hook once? Ounce? in front of the band.
WRB reply :
On 5/10/2018 at 11:08 AM, Darren. said:I've used nightcrawlers like @papajoe222, as well as
wacky rigged (doesn't exactly work well), and on the
drop shot as @Burros mentioned.
Have to agree that vigilance is critical. I like to use
bright yellow braid + leader at all times and it really
helps line watching.
@Fish Chris has caught unbelievable numbers of bass
over 10 pounds on live crawlers. I can't find the thread
where he discusses it...and I wish he were back on the
forums!!
Chris fishes live big Canadian nightcrawlers like discribed, tail hooked with 4 lb line.
Tom
On 5/11/2018 at 12:28 AM, Lord Castlereagh said:Are there states where it is NOT legal? And why? Very curious about that.
Thanks
Hi, Tom:
LOVE your replies to all my stuff, and you seem to be QUITE knowledgeable, but... I can't make out all that you wrote above.
You're saying I should "fly line" it? What is that? I'll google it here in a minute, and I probably should have googled it before responding, but oh well.
I should hook it through the tail and use no weight, OR I can hook once? Ounce? in front of the band.
Fly lined is a term we use for no added weight, line with hook only. Hook 1 time like a soft plastic worm, except in the tail end instead of the nose end, they tend to wiggle more, or 1 time like a wacky rig near the egg sack band.
Tom
PS, some places restrict the use of any live bait and only barbless hook.
Lord Castlereagh reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 12:36 AM, WRB said:Chris fishes live big Canadian nightcrawlers like discribed, tail hooked with 4 lb line.
Tom
Fly lined is a term we use for no added weight, line with hook only. Hook 1 time like a soft plastic worm, except in the tail end instead of the nose end, they tend to wiggle more, or 1 time like a wacky rig near the egg sack band.
Tom
PS, some places restrict the use of any live bait and only barbless hook.
Okay, dumb question 101... If I tail hook the worm and toss him out, won't he fly off the hook? I guess he won't or you would have told me that, but it seems to me he'd go flying.
Thanks
WRB reply :
Use a slower motion lob cast with about 3' of line from the tip of the spinning rod using line no heavier than 8 lb test and you can cast over 20 yards easily.
Canadian nightcrawlers are fairly tough worms and about 5" to 8" long and 1/4" diameter, these aren't earth worms, and kept in a cool place like a cooler. Most tackle shops carry medium and large size live Canadian nightcrawlers, they are not native in the west.
Tom
Gundog reply :
I have fished with crawlers quite a bit when I was a kid. Cheap and easy to get. I always used a egg sinker with a swivel in front of it and then the line to the hook. That way the fish doesn't feel the weight when it picks it up. Works great for all species especially trout.
Hyrule Bass reply :
the one thing not mentioned about Fish Chris' method here is that he is usually sight fishing and casting his crawlers close to fish he can see. and he will try to get away with as small a split shot as possible if needed at all.
and honestly, i usually hook the crawler twice through instead of just once. if youre not really fast to set the hook, the bass will inhale it right off the hook, and the hook will never make it in the basses mouth sometimes. i've witnessed this more than once in shallow clear water with bass...
J Francho reply :
On 5/10/2018 at 5:51 AM, optimator said:That's a great way to have a hook swallowed.
I think this is less true, if you're using the same sensitive stick we use for detecting the slightest tap. If you are just gonna toss them out there on an Ugly Stik, lay your rod on the ground, crack a beer and wait for the line to take off, then sure, you're going to have some deeply swallowed hooks. But fished the way we do with modern finesse gear, I don't think it's the problem we've made out to be. I include myself in that group, btw. I've thought about this, but haven't put it into practice. Live bait is expensive and messy.
To answer the original question, I used nose hook a crawler, leech, or soft shell crab using a #1 or #2 bait hook on a split shot or drop shot rig. We didn't call the rigs that back then. They were either fishing "on the bottom" or "off the bottom" respectively. The split shot was for around 10' or less, drop shot for deeper.
Lord Castlereagh reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 12:59 AM, WRB said:Why this worry that using crawlers means a deeply imbedded hook? What is it about crawlers that makes this happen?
snake95 reply :
Yes fly lined as WRB says or split shot are the preferred methods when I take kids with crawlers.
Lord Castlereagh reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 4:15 AM, snake95 said:Yes fly lined as WRB says or split shot are the preferred methods when I take kids with crawlers.
Describe the split shot method if you get a minute.
Thanks
Choporoz reply :
https://www.google.com/search?q=split+shot+method+bass+fishing&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1
optimator reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 3:20 AM, J Francho said:
I think this is less true, if you're using the same sensitive stick we use for detecting the slightest tap. If you are just gonna toss them out there on an Ugly Stik, lay your rod on the ground, crack a beer and wait for the line to take off, then sure, you're going to have some deeply swallowed hooks. But fished the way we do with modern finesse gear, I don't think it's the problem we've made out to be. I include myself in that group, btw. I've thought about this, but haven't put it into practice. Live bait is expensive and messy.
I get what your saying. I can feel a fish fart within a few feet of my rod. 
But not everyone is like us, and a lot of guys are slob fisherman like you described. I won't eat bass, so I do everything I can not to kill them. A stringer of trout looks good to me. A stringer of bass just ticks me off. Just my .02
frosty reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 5:34 AM, optimator said:I get what your saying. I can feel a fish fart within a few feet of my rod.
But not everyone is like us, and a lot of guys are slob fisherman like you described. I won't eat bass, so I do everything I can not to kill them. A stringer of trout looks good to me. A stringer of bass just ticks me off. Just my .02
Harvesting a few bass is better for the population than strictly catch and release.
optimator reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 5:59 AM, frosty said:Harvesting a few bass is better for the population than strictly catch and release.
I know that. There are plenty of guys that do it. I don't need to.
FishDewd reply :
I wasn't aware it was possible to catch a bass with a nightcrawler (in theory, sure, but not actually in practice). Whenever I fish with live worms, I get perch #1, and catfish #2. Pretty sure they'll beat any bass to it in most cases, but maybe it depends on what lives in your waters.
frosty reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 7:41 AM, FishDewd said:I wasn't aware it was possible to catch a bass with a nightcrawler (in theory, sure, but not actually in practice). Whenever I fish with live worms, I get perch #1, and catfish #2. Pretty sure they'll beat any bass to it in most cases, but maybe it depends on what lives in your waters.
Around here you can’t keep the bluegill off of them long enough usually. I remember fishing in Minnesota on vacation, the perch would devour a worm in a split second!
bigbill reply :
First bass don’t hit a worm balled up or knotted up on a hook like other fish do. You put the hook in the nose of the night crawler and let the body dangle. This works, I seen bass strike 10”/12” culprit works with the hook in the nose of the plastic worm. I use a weighted, weedless hook and a worm rattle, one shot of scent with a plastic work.
Cak920 reply :
A slip bobber and a crawler with 3+ inches hanging down. Keep it just above the weeds. Can be a pain if there’s a lot of panfish but it works.
On 5/11/2018 at 7:41 AM, FishDewd said:I wasn't aware it was possible to catch a bass with a nightcrawler (in theory, sure, but not actually in practice). Whenever I fish with live worms, I get perch #1, and catfish #2. Pretty sure they'll beat any bass to it in most cases, but maybe it depends on what lives in your waters.
I run in to a lot of people that are surprised seeing me and others fishing smallies in a local river with a night crawler but it works. Catch the occasional carp or catfish but the crawler catches more bass than lures there probably 60-70% of the time
FishDewd reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 8:09 AM, bigbill said:First bass don’t hit a worm balled up or knotted up on a hook like other fish do. You put the hook in the nose of the night crawler and let the body dangle. This works, I seen bass strike 10”/12” culprit works with the hook in the nose of the plastic worm. I use a weighted, weedless hook and a worm rattle, one shot of scent with a plastic work.
Ah that might be why then. I normally hook them with the intention of catching panfish, up the shank with just a bit dangling off. That's how I rig my dropshots and use them along weedbanks. Perch destroy it.
Mbirdsley reply :
heck yeah crawlers catch bass. Growing up that is the only way we did it. We didn't have money for any of that artificial stuff as kids. We caught the majority on them bottom fishing in the rivers. Even sucker fishing we rarely gut hooked a sucker. You just need to be on your game and don't let them swallow the hook. Me personally, I would try using a smaller sized circle hook maybe in the 6-4 size range with a worm hooked once or twice in the tail and a split shot about 12-24 inches above the worm. if river fishing find a deep run throw the crawler up stream and let it drift down. In the river I would only use half a crawler. That way they don't nip the tails off and waist your crawlers ( another trick we used as kids to make the crawlers go farther). Adjust split shot to river current. If fishing a lake I would probally fish it like senko cast it out and let it slowly fall to the bottom. Enclosed is a pic of my brother and his son ( who caught the smallie) who took a nice C & R smallie during a kids sucker tournament. *Legal disclaimer* No bass were harmed during this post.
soflabasser reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 8:25 AM, Cak920 said:A slip bobber and a crawler with 3+ inches hanging down. Keep it just above the weeds. Can be a pain if there’s a lot of panfish but it works.
I run in to a lot of people that are surprised seeing me and others fishing smallies in a local river with a night crawler but it works. Catch the occasional carp or catfish but the crawler catches more bass than lures there probably 60-70% of the time
I have seen many YouTube videos of people catching quality sized smallmouth bass in rivers with nightcrawlers but I have not tried it yet. Every smallmouth bass I have caught so far has been on a artificial lure but I have a open mind and will consider using nightcrawlers for river smallmouth bass the next time I fish for smallmouth bass.
mattkenzer reply :
I am surprised that no one mentioned injecting air .... or maybe they did and i missed it.
In my neck of the woods, we call it "Blow Worm Fishing" .... deadly on trout.
Darren. reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 10:54 PM, mattkenzer said:I am surprised that no one mentioned injecting air .... or maybe they did and i missed it.
In my neck of the woods, we call it "Blow Worm Fishing" .... deadly on trout.
I almost did...great technique for bass.
NYWayfarer reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 10:54 PM, mattkenzer said:I am surprised that no one mentioned injecting air .... or maybe they did and i missed it.
In my neck of the woods, we call it "Blow Worm Fishing" .... deadly on trout.
My tackle bag always has one of those Berkley Worm Blowers in it.
On 5/11/2018 at 7:48 AM, frosty said:Around here you can’t keep the bluegill off of them long enough usually. I remember fishing in Minnesota on vacation, the perch would devour a worm in a split second!
As mentioned in another post in this thread, sight fishing for Bass when using Nightcrawlers helps.
I patrol the banks quietly looking for shallow Bass. Toss the Nightcrawler past them a bit and then hold on for dear life when they hit it.
Hyrule Bass reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 7:41 AM, FishDewd said:I wasn't aware it was possible to catch a bass with a nightcrawler (in theory, sure, but not actually in practice). Whenever I fish with live worms, I get perch #1, and catfish #2. Pretty sure they'll beat any bass to it in most cases, but maybe it depends on what lives in your waters.
its certainly possible, youre also likely to pick up a bunch of other species, which myself i dont mind catching any species of fish willing to bite my hook. the best way to bass fish with crawlers is to sight fish for them...
On 5/11/2018 at 8:09 AM, bigbill said:First bass don’t hit a worm balled up or knotted up on a hook like other fish do.
this is simply not true. the 2nd biggest bass i ever caught was on the hook like this. if not the white perch wouldve easily stolen my night crawler in seconds...
snake95 reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 12:39 AM, Hyrule Bass said:On 5/11/2018 at 8:09 AM, bigbill said:First bass don’t hit a worm balled up or knotted up on a hook like other fish do.
this is simply not true. the 2nd biggest bass i ever caught was on the hook like this. if not the white perch wouldve easily stolen my night crawler in seconds..
Agreed.
I'm surprised by this thread - as a kid that's the main way we caught most types of fish in my hometown: crawlers on a snelled hook or a jighead.
FishDewd reply :
Well I have to try to catch a bass with a nightcrawler now! Just so happens I raise them in my fridge and have some giant worms to try and feed them!
Lord Castlereagh reply :
So, I went fishing with NCs yesterday and it left me quite puzzled. Right off the bat, if I look at the responses to my last NC posting, I can see that there is a great deal of mystery behind fishing with these creatures. One man was amazed that you could even gun for bass with them, while others described them as VERY effective. Just think for a moment how strange that little fact is...
Well, after burning through 12 NCs yesterday, I can see where the mystery comes from.
Let's first eliminate the "ball" method of putting the hook on the worm. I never got a nibble with the ball.
HOWEVER, when wacky rigging them or putting them on in any way "loose," the bites were truly amazing! Unlike anything I have EVER seen before. The average time in the water before a strike was UNDER five seconds. But... I did not land one single fish. The fish would hit, I would retrieve, and half or all of the worm would be gone. Believe me, I tried every method I could think of, from a vicious hook set at the earliest possible instant, to letting the fish take and run with the bait. Nothing worked.
What am I doing wrong?
What should I do?
Why does a plastic wacky snare the fish, but a real worm not?
Why do some states (from what I read on my first NC thread) outlaw NCs?
By the way, after I fed the d**n bass all 12 of my NCs, I switched to a Senko wacky rig, and bagged 3 bass.
Please help.
Thanks
ratherbfishin1 reply :
Do you know they were bass because bluegill will usually be the first to hit a nightcrawler and bluegill generally can’t choke your lure/bait as well as a bass can
georgeyew reply :
Are you sure that it was the bass hitting the nightcrawlers? Bluegills love them and will bite the ends of them and take them off the hook quickly.
Lord Castlereagh reply :
On 5/16/2018 at 12:38 AM, georgeyew said:Are you sure that it was the bass hitting the nightcrawlers? Bluegills love them and will bite the ends of them and take them off the hook quickly.
Well, darn! You two might have solved the mystery just that fast. The pond I fish is PACKED with bluegills, and there were hundreds of 'em crowding the banks yesterday. I bet that's it.
J Francho reply :
Definitely getting robbed by panfish. You can fish for them, by downsizing the hook. There's no worry of missing bass with a smaller hook, and you'll hook the little devils to prove it to yourself what's happening.
I merged these into one thread, so we can get the whole story into a single thread. That way, when someone does a search, and finds one thread, they won't have to hunt for the other. 
MIbassyaker reply :
Yep, sounds exactly like bluegills and sunfish -- they are notorious live bait thieves.
TO understand bass anglers attitudes about live bait, it's important to realize that modern bass fishing owes much of its current popularity to tournament sport fishing, in which live bait is prohibited, and where bass are targeted specifically to the exclusion of any other species. Most bass anglers have never tried fishing for bass with live bait, and assume the use of live nightcrawlers, minnows, leeches and other critters is simply for catching other species like panfish, walleye, catfish or others, but not bass. But of course, bass love live bait as well, it's just that everything else in the water loves it too - live bait's major advantage can also be its curse, if your goal is to target bass specifically.
NYWayfarer reply :
On 5/16/2018 at 1:10 AM, MIbassyaker said:Most bass anglers have never tried fishing for bass with live bait, and assume the use of live nightcrawlers, minnows, leeches and other critters is simply for catching other species like panfish, walleye, catfish or others, but not bass.
Funny but it was the exact opposite for me. I grew up fishing for Bass with live Nightcrawlers, Shiners and Crawfish exclusively. Back then I dabbled with lures here and there. It wasn't until I picked up a Senko that I started using artificial baits with any frequency.
I have been using 100% artificial baits for the last 3 years.
MIbassyaker reply :
On 5/16/2018 at 1:44 AM, NYWayfarer said:Funny but it was the exact opposite for me. I grew up fishing for Bass with live Nightcrawlers, Shiners and Crawfish exclusively. I dabbled with lures here and there. It wasn't until I picked up a Senko that I started using artificial baits with any frequency.
I have been using 100% artificial baits for the last 3 years.
It was the opposite for me too, although I wasn't fishing "for" bass, so much as for anything fun to catch and possibly eat. We mostly fished live nightcrawlers, minnows and frogs for walleye, pike, and channel cats. One day I caught a stocky brown fish I hadn't seen before, and discovered there were bass in the river too (I hear the smallie population is now better-established there now, but it wasn't at the time). While we had artificials too, and caught fish on them regularly (especially grubs and in-line spinners), it was only when i started fishing for bass almost exclusively several years ago that I went all artificial.
J Francho reply :
Same here, we were just fishing off the dock for whatever would bite. Occasionally someone would catch a bass. Later, when I was a little older and better at casting, I used "lures" which were various cranks, topwaters, spoons, and inline spinners. Until some nice guy in a bass boat caught two nice fish in a row from "the slop" near our dock that I avoided because baits didn't go through. When I asked how his bait gets through, he showed me a proper Texas Rig, and gave me some worms, hooks, and bullet sinkers. That totally changed the game for me.
WRB reply :
I believe Chris’s 18+ was a night crawler bass. Fish where the bsss are located not a school of hungry bluegill.
Tom
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