How to Make a Worm Farm for Fishing

Worms make excellent fishing baits! In almost all freshwater fish, you can hardly go wrong with them. The best thing is that they are easily accessible. Almost all bait and tackle shops will be selling them by the pound or bag. As an alternative, you can also grow worms at home.

By raising worms, you are not only saving money for bait, but you are also building a compost at home. This is a great way to make use of kitchen scraps and have the natural fertilizers you will need for gardening.

If you want to learn how to make a worm farm for fishing, keep on reading. Here, we’ll talk about some of the most common types of worms to use as bait, and more importantly, how to raise them at home.

Types of Worms for Fishing

The first thing that you need to do is to identify the worms that you can use for fishing. Not all of them can promise a fresh catch. If you want your fishing trips to be less frustrating, then start with the right kind of worms. Below are some of the most common types of worms that you can use.

• European Nightcrawlers: This is one of the most popular worms for fishing bait. The color ranges from dark gray to muddy brown. They are known for being large, and hence, they are good for a big catch, especially game fish. Because they are large, you can even cut the worm and use it in pieces if you are after small fish.
• Red Wigglers: If you want to catch hook and trout fish, then this will prove to be an excellent choice for live bait. Take note that it is smaller compared to other worms, so make sure that it is suitable for the type of fish you would like to catch. These worms are known for being hardy, which means that they can withstand harsh environments.
• Mealworms: To be accurate, mealworms are not actually worms. Rather, they are larvae of the mealworm beetle. It is a small bait that is suitable for small fish. They can last longer than other worms, making it another favorite amongst fishing enthusiasts.

How to Raise Worms for Fishing

Now, let’s talk about some tips and tricks to raising the best worms for fishing.

Raising European Nightcrawlers

These worms grow anywhere from three to eight inches in length. Compared to red wigglers, they are up to three times larger. Here’s a quick guide on how to raise them at home:

1. Look for the right location. Find a place that isn’t too hot or too cold.
2. Find a plastic container, which will serve as a worm bed. Being prolific breeders, choose large worm beds.
3. Once you have the container, drill holes. There should be holes at the bottom, which will let water pass through. Otherwise, water will remain in the soil, making it soggy and not ideal for the worms to live. You should also drill holes on the side for ventilation.
4. On the first layer of the worm bed, add soaked sheets of paper. Make sure to squeeze before adding on the surface.
5. Add soil on the top. Choose a well-balanced and nutrient-rich soil.
6. Add the worms on the top and feed them several times a week.

When raising nightcrawlers, pay attention to the temperature of their environment, which should be from 55 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. For the bedding, add peat moss and coconut. It will also be good to add chicken egg, which will supplement the calcium needs of the nightcrawlers.

Raising Red Wiggler

To raise red wigglers, the steps are similar to how you can do it with European nightcrawlers. You also need a worm bed with paper and soil and you will need to place the worms on the top. To ensure positive outcomes, below are some tips that will help you successfully grow red wigglers in a worm farm:

• Each red wiggler will be eating about half of its weight daily, so make sure to provide enough kitchen scraps. If there is still food left from the last time you fed the worm, lessen the scraps that you will add.
• Occasionally mist the top layer of the worm bed. Do it lightly. The goal is to make the soil moist, but it should never be soggy.

Raising Mealworms

To grow mealworms at home, the steps will be quite different from growing European nightcrawlers and red wigglers. Here are the things you will need to do:

1. Find a container that is large enough based on how many mealworms you will be raising.
2. For the bedding, start by pouring one-inch cornmeal or oats.
3. Next, add fresh fruits and vegetables. Choose those that will add moisture to the worm bed. Some of the best choices include apples, potatoes, celery, and lettuce, among others.
4. Now that the bed is ready, add the mealworms on the top. Avoid overcrowding the worms. Make sure that there is enough room for the worms to wiggle.
5. Add more materials on the top for the worms to feed on, such as ground-up cereal and slices of bread.
6. Seal the container. This is important to speed up the growth process. Mealworms prefer dark and warm environments. This will let them pupate faster, which is why you will need to cover the bin.
7. Periodically check the bin. For a fishing bait, you do not need a fully grown beetle.

Conclusion

At this point, we hope that you learned a thing or two about how to make a worm farm for fishing. Whether indoors or outdoors, this will be an easy task. All that you need is a worm bed, which can be a plastic container. More importantly, make sure to feed the worms with the right organic scraps so that they can thrive. It won’t take long before they are ready to be hooked the next time you are out fishing.